"Trinity was built around 1914 although there had been some mining activity as early as 1900. Copper was the mainstay of the town with some silver as a passing interest. The town had a power plant, a mess hall, a commissary, rooming houses for single miners and homes for married miners and their families and all the other buildings usually found in a mining camp. The town even had a sawmill. There had been about 275 men working in the mines and mill but the number dwindled as operations began to slow down. At last everything stopped and everybody moved away. What is left are rusting ore carts on narrow gauge tracks and buildings that show the affects of heavy winter snowfalls."
Taken from the Book...Ghost Towns of the West by Lambert Florin 1971
We picked up our friends and headed up the Chiwawa River Road on 14 miles of pavement. The road became narrow and graveled for 9 more miles with a few washouts, many rocks and steep drop offs to the river. We could see where several trees had been cut over the winter as they had fallen across the road. We traveled this road last year, so I knew it would be bumpy and it was even more so! The family we were going to visit travel the 9 miles on snowmobiles in the winter and have trucks for summer.
We enjoyed the afternoon with good friends and learning more about the ghost town. Life in such a remote place has advantages to be balanced with long periods of lonliness when the road is closed in winter. The generator creates excesses of electiricty so there's a hot tub on all the time and plenty of heat in the cabins. The State has placed meterological stations in several places and there is a web cam that broadcasts weather conditions that we frequently check when we are on the West side. Trinity is a a mecca for sled dog events, snowmobiling, hiking, quad riding, back packing and hunting. I think it would be fun to camp out overnight there in the wilderness with the comforts of home just a few steps away if needed!
We picked up our friends and headed up the Chiwawa River Road on 14 miles of pavement. The road became narrow and graveled for 9 more miles with a few washouts, many rocks and steep drop offs to the river. We could see where several trees had been cut over the winter as they had fallen across the road. We traveled this road last year, so I knew it would be bumpy and it was even more so! The family we were going to visit travel the 9 miles on snowmobiles in the winter and have trucks for summer.
We enjoyed the afternoon with good friends and learning more about the ghost town. Life in such a remote place has advantages to be balanced with long periods of lonliness when the road is closed in winter. The generator creates excesses of electiricty so there's a hot tub on all the time and plenty of heat in the cabins. The State has placed meterological stations in several places and there is a web cam that broadcasts weather conditions that we frequently check when we are on the West side. Trinity is a a mecca for sled dog events, snowmobiling, hiking, quad riding, back packing and hunting. I think it would be fun to camp out overnight there in the wilderness with the comforts of home just a few steps away if needed!
 |
| View from the family cabin porch looking to the Cascades. The Pacific Coast Trail is along these ridges |
 |
| Old power plant building which houses the generator that supplies the buildings with electricty. The snow is often up to the eaves and more in the winter. |
 |
| Interior of the power plant. |
 |
| My friends found a small moose for the truck bumper where the deer hit me last week. |
 |
| After we arrived at Trinity, we took two vehicles another 5 miles along a narrow woods road to the diversion dam on Phelps Creek. The dam is 6000' and the peaks around us were towering above. We could see a waterfall way at the very top. |
 |
| This platform is over the diversion pipe. You wouldn't know that we had a snow shortage this winter judging by the amount of water rushing by. |
 |
| Tesing the water temperture. It looks like the stream is even with the platform but really, it's several feet below. |
 |
| Looking down river from the dam. |
 |
| These steps lead to a small heated room to use in winter after the 5 mile trek. |
 |
| Panoramic view of the dam. We learned that in high summer, the creek is low enough to walk across (if one dares try it!) |
 |
| Our transportation to the end of the road at the dam. I didn't watch when the vehicles got turned around for the trip back. Fearless drivers!! The edge was too close for me |
 |
| Thistle near bloom along the road. |
 |
| Looking back to the platform at the dam. |
 |
| Further down stream looking back. The air was so clean and cool. |
 |
| On the way back, I was trying to capture the ridge line above us. |
 |
| From the truck window. This is the water sifter. There are 3 pools in the large tank. The water is going through the pipe on the left which has a filter attached to catch the sand. As the water travels to the next pool, there is another filter which helps to keep the water clear for the turbine in the power house below. |
 |
| Beginning the bowling alley tour. This building must be 100' long. |
 |
| The bowling alley has two lanes and a manual ball return. On the left is an old forge. Those beams were probably 12x12 and the building was 3 stories high. Our tour guide told us that in the winter, his daughter climbed in the window on the third floor which was at "ground level". |
 |
| Pins are set up.... |
 |
| and it's a strike!! |
 |
| Old ore cart rusting in the bushes. |
 |
| The are many foundations around the property. This one is probably 100 years old. |
 |
| The deer come in the evening. At one count, there were 9 |
 |
| These two are 6 weeks old. They will grow up to run with a sled in winter. |
No comments:
Post a Comment