Melissa by Patsy's Mine entrance
On Friday we hiked to Patsy’s Mine in the mountains above Farmington. The trail to the mine is marked and we had no difficulty in finding the entrance. The mine does not go very far and most of the time you can stand upright, though in places one has to stoop. I found out how hard the rock is when I banged my head against it.
Melissa found the bat first. We wondered if it was rabid
There was a bat about 20 feet into the cave. We wondered if it was rabid. It must have been, to want to go hang from the roof of an old mine. Apparently exposure to rabid bats increases with the migration season. This year, four elementary-aged Davis County students have been exposed to a bat that could not be tested. Whenever bats aren’t able to be recovered or are too decomposed for testing, it is not known if they carried rabies. Therefore, to err on the side of caution the children are treated with post-exposure vaccine because the disease is virtually 100 percent fatal.
Melissa, Susan, and Jill with the mine entrance in the background
I walked past the bat and caused it to fly out of the cave past the girls which provoked an appropriate round of screaming. Further into the cave we could hear a faint rumbling sound. We thought maybe it was the freeway traffic or the train. We were a long way from the valley though.
The last time Jill and Susan visited the mine, they navigated by the light from their digital cameras. This time they were more prepared.
There is graffiti on the walls of the mine that in 2,000 years will have archeologists wondering what manner of intelligent life wrote it. They will be figuring that out for a long time.
The right fork is basically just a big puddle
The main tunnel is straight with a fork at the end. The right fork ends in a few paces and the only thing of interest is a rusty rail. The left fork does not go much further before ending. Off of the left tunnel is a small space where you can clamber through and stand upright. Nothing to get excited about.
The left fork soon comes to a dead end
According to the deep thinking and creative Chanelle (her blog no longer accessible), there is an old steam engine that has become hidden from the main trail with years of plant growth. If we had known this beforehand we would have searched for awhile to see if we could find it. According to Chanelle, copper is the most available mineral in the mountain. Shes writes that “…even though there are large quantities of it, the quality is lacking. Because of this, the mines in this area were abandoned and closed up.”
There is an opening in the left fork that goes nowhere
Patsy's Mine entrance. That's it for the tour
Jill says she enjoyed this mine and that she wouldn't mind finding another to explore
Can you imagine my surprise when I stumbled onto your blog looking for information on the pictographs in Parrish Canyon when I saw my name mentioned on this post? :) LOL
I’m glad that you enjoyed the information. I have done quite a bit of research on the mines up there and have been thinking about sharing it on my blog. I might just do it now. ;)
If you would like {and if you plan on going up there again} I can tell you where the steam engine is {it was made by Henry Haynes and Sons Boiler Company. Henry Haynes owned the Rhymney mine, which is just south of Patsy’s.}
Thanks for the great pictures of the pictographs. I plan on going to see them in the next week or so. I’m super excited about them because the panel has identical characters as two other locations we have found a little north of Parrish. I’m hoping to learn what they mean {I already have an idea of the other two.}
I can’t wait to see other posts about local hikes!
Yours was the only website or blog that I could find that had any information about Patsy’s Mine, so thank you. I would think we would make another trip there if there was a steam engine to see so any information would be very welcome.
Here are some other small hikes we have been on, but there is nothing spectacular about them and I am sure they are familiar to everyone:
http://www.rickety.us/2010/09/deuel-creek-north-and-south-and-centerville-canyon/
http://www.rickety.us/2010/07/the-mueller-park-trail/
http://www.rickety.us/2010/07/city-creek-canyon-trail/
http://www.rickety.us/2009/09/waterfall-canyon-trail/
http://www.rickety.us/2010/07/the-view-from-the-living-room/
The girls are mainly hiking for the exercise and I go along for the blog posts to add some variety to my blog and to prove that I don’t sit in front of a computer all evening.
@Channel
I know this is 8 years old, but you said the Rhymney was due south of Patsy’s Mine.
Do you have any additional information to a more specific location of the Rhymney in the Farmington Cliffs?
Thats a very very lovely hat Patsy, I might have to get one of those
Interesting blog on Patsy’s mine. I’ll need to go up and take a look. If you would like to learn a little more about Patsey Marley, you will find some information in “Tales of Four Alta Miners,” Utah Historical Quarterly, v.68, nl.2, Spring 2000. Patsey was one of the four miners. His grave in Mount Calvary Cemetery in Salt Lake City remained unmarked until about two years ago when some “friends” of Patsey Marley had a granite monument placed there.
okay i just went there yesterday and the floor was really wet and i don`t think i saw any turns in the cave and no bats that or maybe i was unlucky
Go in the summer.