11000, 12000- either way thin enough i couldn't remember clearly.
and yeah- when we did the decalibro there were rumors bross would soon be off limits.
Holy Cow, post: 390790, member: 50 wrote: One might notice a complete absence of trees. Apparently they need oxygen to survive.
Cow,
Tree line is approx. 11,700 up there with only limber pine and bristlecone pines at that elevation. Of course, nothing grows on the windward side of those ancient trees.
Here's a NAIP image from 2009 of the area that shows Mt. Democrat (the 3 ridge lines that come to a point NW of Kite Lake). From flyin solo's last post, the hike is called the Decalibron Loop. Folks first hike up Democrat, then along the east/NE ridge to Cameron and Lincoln (just off north edge), then double back to Cameron and then SSE along another ridge to Mt. Bross before descending down the scree slope and back to the trail head. Loveland Mountain is the long ridge in the SW part of the photo. The summits of all four 14'teeners are private property (patented mineral surveys).
ETA: From a geologists viewpoint, is a classic U-shaped glaciated alpine valley.
The trees end at the mouth of the Red Amphitheater (center right). The absence of trees is great for GPS surveys though.
Your client better be careful. It's not unheard of for property to be condemned by the county for open space...especially if it's desirable land.
Sick.
Gene, thanks for sharing the pictures. Always enjoy them.
Nice!!!
are they after gold?
MightyMoe, post: 390809, member: 700 wrote: Nice!!!
are they after gold?
Next season's "Prospectors" episodes no doubt. They've given away all their honey-hole locations on Mt. Antero.
[QUOTE=".... Made me wonder aloud whether the old deputy mineral surveyors had something akin to a Ames Lettering Guide to layout the chiseled numbers on their stones. Draughtman's quality lettering by U.S. Deputy Mineral Surveyor J.W. Evans in 1889.
The lettering is very well done, and those appear to be very hard stones. Do you know what they used to cut in the text? Just lots of patience?
MightyMoe, post: 390809, member: 700 wrote: Nice!!!
are they after gold?
Initially, this area was first mined for placer gold. The old mining camp Buckskin Joe was part of the Pikes Peak gold rush and is east of the lower right of the photo. Buckskin Joe was the first mining camp in Colorado (then in Kansas Territory) to organize and establish mining rules in September 1859. The placer gold ran out quickly and the miners worked their way up the drainage searching for the "Mother Lode". The south nose of Mt. Bross has native gold associated with quartz veins. Geologically speaking, as one goes to the north on Bross the mineralization facies goes from gold to silver. Bross is mostly known for its silver deposits which are lead/silver carbonates; most notably the Moose Mine on its northeastern flank. The Moose Mine is above 14,000 feet and for a while the miners lived year round at the mine. Here's a link to several photos of the hardy Moose miners.
http://www.parkcoarchives.org/photos/photos4/photos_moose_mine.html
Obviously, mining at that elevation wasn't the most pleasant of work. In 1878 William Stevens and his partner noticed that the geology around Leadville was very similar to Bross. Being 2500 lower in elevation the silver boom in Leadville made the claims on Bross less attractive.
Ken Salzmann, post: 390826, member: 398 wrote: The lettering is very well done, and those appear to be very hard stones. Do you know what they used to cut in the text? Just lots of patience?
Ken, I don't know what type(s) of chisels they used. I have an old field book from a mineral surveyor that did several of the claims in the 1930s. He made the following note in his field book, "Oct. 3, 1932 - Quit about 4:00 PM and sharpened tools until 5:00 PM".
Maybe Loyal can shed some light on chiseling tools.