Field notes from exploring backcountry locations of the Western United States

Starbuck's Exploring

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Sierra Nevada

Telegraph City

I had been wanting to check out this area for a while and one day we were able to meet up with a few exploring buddies and go out there.

Telegraph City got its namesake from the telegraph lines running from Stockton to Sonora. It was established in 1860s as a copper camp. Probably a few hundred miners lived in the area during the copper rush to Copperopolis. Only a few building and mining ruins remain.

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Tungstar Mine Tram

Tungstar Mine Tram

This very adventurous hike follows an old mining trail which led to the Tungstar Mine, a 1940s tungsten mine high on the western slope of Mt. Tom, the prominent 13,658-foot peak just west of Bishop. The trail was used in the early days of the mine to build a

Hess Mine

Hess Mine

Not far from the Tioga Pass entrance station to Yosemite National Park lie the remains of the Hess Mine, one of the more accessible 1940s-era tungsten mines in the High Sierra. Three widely-separated claims comprised the mine: the main claim at the north end of Steelhead Lake; a small middle

Hanging Valley and Tungstar Mines

Hanging Valley and Tungstar Mines

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, surging worldwide demand for tungsten led to the opening of several tungsten mines in the High Sierra above Bishop. Two small but relatively high-grade ore bodies were discovered on the west side of Mt. Tom, which would become the Hanging Valley Mine and