Posted 2007-05-29. Tags: angry truck, canada, mines, srt.

Mining trips are rarely so successful, this day we declare Mission Win! Our honour has been restored with a glorious victory and the debut of Angry Truck, which performed spectacularly on its maiden voyage.

After the mine closed in the 1950s the old access road faded under the rampant appetite of the forest. Occasionally an ATV cuts a narrow path through the new growth but access by those carrying full exploration equipment requires fair preparation. Humming along quite nicely courtesy of new brakes, a new axle, bearings, oil filter and an oil change Angry Truck was loaded to the brim with palettes, timber, SRT gear, food, water and tools for trail clearing.

The Canadian wilderness is spectacular but imposing. Clear mountain rivers of liquid turquoise smooth the river stones under the looming presence of snow capped peaks. Thousands of slender pines line the river banks like infantry guarding the winding paths that lead up the mountains. The drive to the minehead mirrors the meandering river, crossing from bank to bank over wooden plank bridges. The cliches of escaping to the wilderness to forget the city holds so true.

Before us lay a 50 year mess of tangled brush. Skaught revved the engine, dropped the clutch and bellowing a might battle call Angry Truck launched into the scrub. Boughs broke, dirt showered in every direction and small woodland creatures ran in terror as the 2 ton beast charged down the trail obliterating all in its path. You definitely enjoy the outdoors more when you interact with it.

The mine road is protected by a number of vehicle traps - each a deep perpendicular trench cut into the road to prevent vehicle access. The dirt extracted from the trench during their construction is piled at both entrance and exit from the trench effectively doubling their depth and increasing the chance of high centering your vehicle (getting stuck on the undercarriage). Clearly quads had been through here last summer, but their approach and departure angles are much more accommodating.

Our plan for the traps was to fill them with palettes and dirt. With palettes in the trench we could break up the top of the trap and pull it down to fill the palettes. I removed my shirt, began work on a tan and got to enjoy the great Canadian wilderness by destroying it with a truck and a shovel. We're not totally thoughtless though, wooden palettes will harmlessly decay into nothing over the next 20 years. Shortly, the first trap was negated.


Avalaches are a problem in areas like this and as the roads aren't maintained nobody ever takes the trouble to clear them. We chopped the fallen trees then laid the offcuts onto the hard packed avalanche snow for extra grip. Angry Truck flared its nostrils, roared and charged the pile. Watch the video... we sound like fucking rednecks. Who'd have thunk it?

A second vehicle trap twice the size of the 1st was filled with 4 palettes in what I consider an engineering work of art. I'll try to find some before and after pictures. Further up the trail we encountered what has become the bane of our existence, snow. Small amounts proved no match for the truck but with higher altitude and lower temperatures it got too deep for us to pass. We continued on foot to survey the terrain.


Further up the trail appeared the biggest vehicle trap of them all, Legendary Trap. Legendary Trap was massive, an easy 6 ft deep and 8 feet across with sharply inclined sides. Whereas the previous 2 traps were dug from soft earth this was hard, rock filled ground among steep slopes. Years of snow melt and runoff had washed the topsoil away. With no more palettes and the dwindling light the day was done.

We rose early and drove to the minehead. Without the materials to handle Legendary Trap we chose to recon the mine itself and document the further work needed on the trail. The mine road runs wide around the mountain away from the mill site, switching back and returning to the level 3 portal which is, as the crow flies, only 400m from the mill site and 300m above it. An old tramway carried ore from the level 3 portal to the mill which today sits even with level 7. Eventually the tramway was abandoned as the mine went deeper and the main haulage (level 7) came out right at the mill level. The hike up the tramway takes about 30minutes and the the view as you emerge at the top is spectacular.



Level 3 alone took us almost 4 hours to explore and we only took 2 photos inside. You'll have to wait until next time for proper interiors and description of it but for now here's a neat little crystal we almost stepped on.


what a great weekend it was!
dsankt, fyrephreak and skaught over and out.

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