Name Change and New Home

Argonauts and 40 Niners had its origins on Blogger, before I happened upon Webs.Com and signed up for that service.  It has been almost one year since I started Argonauts and 40 Niners.  After weighing the option of renewing my account with Webs.Com, I have chosen instead to return to Blogger.  To say that Webs.Com has been disappointing would be an understatement, they've come up short in many aspects...lack of traffic, poor customer service, limited formatting features.. just to name a few. I thank the readers who stumbled upon my blog and signed up as members or left comments. I hope you follow me over to Blogger, I will continue to document the history of abandoned mines and other places of interest in Luna County, New Mexico, U.S.A.  It's a part of the American West with a long legacy of historic events and sites. I'm in the process of copying and transferring my articles and pictures from Web.Com to Blogger.  Luna Explorer is the new name of my blog and it should be up and running on Blogger by the end of March.  I'm currently preparing a  feature story about New Mexico's Descansos, the roadside memorials found alongside the state's roads and highways. In addition to the other projects I have in the works; Fluorite Ridge, Old Hadley, Cooke's Canyon (Ft. Cumming, Massacre Peak, Starvation Draw) The Cook Mining District (Cooks Town) and of course my never ending efforts to document the many mines in The Florida Mountain Mining District. Thank You all for your support.  Ernest D. Aguirre

Lobo Draw-Atir Mine Redux

I returned the following Sunday, with a goal of 1. finding my phone and 2. finding the Atir mine.  As I drove into the Floridas I was greeted by a chorus of rifle fire from scattered hunters, most seemingly too close to the road for comfort.  As I drove away from this haphazard gathering of outdoors men, I had to ask, why after taking the first shot and missing, would you immediately follow with 7-8 more shots in rapid succession?  Any game that was in the vicinity, was making tracks, for safety's sake, as did I.  Driving towards  Lobo Draw with gunfire echoing off the hills, I had to fight the urge to cringe or duck down the entire way. At English Well I found a group of hunters had set up camp,  after driving past them, I put the truck in reverse and went back to their camp.  Having seen the trigger happy yahoos down below, I thought it would be wise to let these gentlemen know that I was in the vicinity.  The group was from Albuquerque, quail hunters, which would explain the birds I had seen blown to bits alongside the road.  I gingerly walked up to their camp, and introduced myself "Good Morning, I'll be hiking along the draw towards the box canyon" they were neither friendly nor unfriendly, slightly bothered, as I expected them to be, that I had walked up on their camp.  I talked to one gentleman, who asked about a white feature on the mountainside, he asked "Is that a camping trailer up there?"  I had asked myself the same question earlier in the week, while peering at it with binoculars. "I don't know" I told him  "But I'll be up there later this morning to find out"  he then asked me "What are you hunting?" to which I answered "My Cell phone" which got a laugh from the group, one man then added "Good luck with that one."  I then continued on to the trail, I re-traced my steps, knowing the phone wasn't in the finger draw. When I got to the clearing I did a quick sweep of that area, nothing, I then started up the slope towards  a large tailing dump, nothing, I found the game trail I had followed up the slope, as I went along, something caught my eye, and just like that, there it was, my phone still in its black case, no worse for wear.

 From my vantage point, I realized that just below me was the trail that follows the draw from English Well, I worked my way down and found it was actually an abandoned road.   Conveniently, this path led to  the white object  that had intrigued us earlier, as I approached, I saw that it wasn't a travel trailer, it looked like a small dwelling.  Just below me, the draw had grown to a canyon dropping off steeply.  Then as I came around the last turn, A massive head-frame and timber hoist came into view, the white building was actually a concrete holding tank, painted white, below it, hanging precariously was a long abandoned privy.  The site was quite build-up with  a ranch house (parts of which were still under roof) work shops, foundations and a large scattering of debris. The mine works were layed out on a fairly level spot near the head of the draw, to the west the rock cliffs rise towards the sky, to the north the draw drops down a couple hundred feet.  The tin metal buildings stepped up the slope from the ranch house, judging from the infrastructure you would expect a large mine opening with an extensive network of shafts or tunnels.  However all I found was one modest opening that was back-filled. The task of hauling the large timbers up the mountain was monumental, all that work and expense for so few results, it didn't add up.  I found conflicting information regarding the name of the mine, the longitude and latitude coordinates, identify it as The Lobo mine, however The Anniversary mine has very similar coordinates.   Information scrawled on the ranch house walls dates the mine's start-up at 1943. Below a long list of names, someone wrote: Target mine Anniversary. I'm not sure if this refers to the name of the mine or if these people gathered here to mark some sort of anniversary.  Debris and materials found at the sight would indicate that work took place up until the mid- 1970's. The years of production, recorded for both the Lobo & Anniversary mines are very similar, while I've found no mention of a Target mine. With sunlight fading, I started back down the trail, I had not found the Atir mine, I had found my phone and I had solved the mystery on the mountainside.

The Florida Mountains are rugged, too often people underestimate just how rough the terrain is and find themselves in trouble. The range doesn't give up it's secrets easily, it can test the vigor and skills of anyone.   In 2010, two search and rescue missions were necessary to pull injured or stranded hikers out of the Spring Canyon area. Hiking in the Floridas should be accompanied by a healthy amount of respect and apprehension. There are days that we just don't have it, on my third trip into Lobo Draw, I didn't have it, my legs felt heavy as I started up the trail. I pushed on telling myself that it would be Ok as long as I didn't burn energy  needlessly.  When I got to the head of the trail, I had the option of working my way slowly along the ridge of a nearby hill or plowing straight ahead. I made the wrong choice and quickly found myself funneled into a draw, where I had to fight through a tangle of brush.  After a thirty minute struggle to reach a nearby crest, I realized it was a dead end.  Returning to the trail, I decided that if I can't climb over, I'll climb around the mountain.  I worked my way south, finally reaching another crest, that was also a dead end.  While retracing my steps, I stepped on some loose dirt and went down, landing on my seat. The mountain was winning,  I sat there for awhile, allowing the futility of my efforts to sink in.  They had dug a 775ft. long adit into the mountain, they got up there somehow, yet I could not find a road or path leading to the elevated slopes above me.  After a lunch break, I worked my way across two draws and up another hill, from there I could search for Ibex along the high slopes.  I did not spot the elusive mountain goats, but something did catch my eyes.  High on the mountain, I saw two tailing dumps, they were about 100 yards apart, the small one being the Atir Mine and the large one The Waddell Prospect.  I had finally spotted the mines, however my heart sank as I realized how hard the climb would be.  Both mines sit at about 6200 ft., climbing up on a smooth slope, it would be possible. In the Floridas nothing is that easy, as ravines, brush and cactus impede your progress.  I sat there with my binoculars trained on the mountain side when it dawned on me, I can't get up there.  I don't know how they got the equipment to the two mines, maybe they flew the larger pieces in by helicopter.  Did the miners camp at the site, did they commute, if they did, where is the damn road?  As the most isolated and hard to reach place in Luna County, Atir could just as well be Kashmir.

 

 

Lobo Draw- Atir Mine

When I started to document  the history and locale of Luna County's many abandoned mines,  I put  three sites at the top of my wish list 1. Cooks, which I finally found and was able to do some preliminary poking around  2. The Mahoney Mines in the Floridas, these mines sit on the eastern slope of the Florida Mountains just below the ridge at 6600 ft. in elevation.  I made one attempt at reaching them, last spring and I'm preparing for another try this winter.  3.  Waddel Prospect/Atir  mine, located right in the midst of Ibex country on the eastern side of the range.  The Atir mine was first prospected in  1910, this resulted in a 90' adit  that produced minimal results.  The prospect of a big pay off, kept luring miners back to Atir over the years, however no production or tonnage extracted from the mine was ever recorded.  In 1980, The Barite Corporation of America bought the holdings and using modern equipment drove a 775' long adit to intersect the elusive vein, but did not find enough ore to produce. This project known as The Waddell Prospect did discover a vein that consists primarily of barite and fluorite, the ore proved to be low grade and did not warrant further prospecting.  Over the years the mine became known as a white elephant, which only added to its legend, making it the best known prospect mine in the Florida Mining District.

Lobo Draw, is in the heart of the Florida Mountains.  The Tres Lomitas are to the Southeast, the San-Tex Mines are just south of those three hills.  It is beautiful country, wild and rough.  The draws are thick with brush and boulders, the slopes are covered in wild grass, there is an abundance of cactus and yuccas. There is wildlife all around and  although isolated, on my first two visits it was crawling with hunters.  The trail into the mountain starts at English Well, here a windmill, scattered debris and stock tanks remind us of the area's ranching heritage. At first glance, Lobo Draw looks innocuous, but it tends to get rougher, especially as you start to gain in elevation.  One thing I've learned is to stay out of the draws whenever possible. In the draws you either get bushwhacked or find yourself  climbing up and down boulders without gaining much ground,  the going is easier along the top.  While the trail starts at the windmill, you can also drive  appox. 1/2 mile to the end of the road where there's another trail.  This trail follows a draw up the slope to a clearing, there I found the remnants of a particularly large mine, it's most prominent feature is a number of support rods driven into the rock, held in place by metal plates and bolts. The mines are back-filled and the site has returned to a natural state with the exception of two large tailing dumps.  I would've fooled myself into thinking this was the Atir Mine, as I found part of a pipe clamp that was of recent vintage.  However, I knew getting to Atir was not going to be as easy as following a trail to its portals.   

It was then that I had a rare encounter, as I sat on top of a debris pile, examining bore holes, I sensed that I wasn't alone.  Upon standing, I saw an ibex ram standing on the ridge just above the mine opening, appox 50 yards away. It was a fully grown adult, its massive horns curling back, probably 36-40" long, with a full dark beard.  Throughout the day I had been serenaded by rifle fire coming from the northeast, the billy it seems had been driven south by the presence of the hunters and right onto my path.  The ram stopped, looked at me without spooking and then slowly ambled up the ridge, stopping again to look my way.  I quickly reached for my camera, only to realize that I had left it in my pack, back on the trail, opportunity lost!  I stood there looking at him, then not knowing what else to do, I whistled, he stopped, reared his head back and slowly continued over the ridge and out of my sight.  These animals are elusive, you seldom spot them with binoculars, much less, within eyesight.  The Ibex, is a species of wild goat was brought to New Mexico from Iran in 1970,  originally 42 Persian ibex were released in the Florida range.  One of two exotic game animals transplanted to New Mexico (Oryx or gemsbock were released at the White Sands Missile Range in the late 1960's) The ibex have flourished in the Florida Mountains, The BLM and the Dept. of Game & Fish manage the population, with 400 animals designated as the maximum number the range can sustain.  Annual hunts are held to keep the ibex population in check, with hunters selected by lottery. The Ibex have filled an ecological niche in the Florida wilderness ,  feeding on mountain mahogany, oak, grasses and forbs.  In Lobo draw they seem to favor the prickly pear and cholla cactus, as evidence of their feeding on both can be found everywhere on the trails and ravines.

I left the clearing and traversed the slope in a southeastern direction until I came to a finger draw, I followed the draw down (failing to heed my own advice) and promptly found myself fighting my way through a tangle of brush.  I worked my way back to the trail and hiked back to my truck, where to my dismay, I discovered my cell phone missing.  I had covered about 3 miles total during my hike and the thought of re-tracing my steps this late in the day was not something I wanted to do.  I started this blog less than a year ago, but I've been hiking into the mountains around New Mexico much longer than that.  I have found cellphones to be very comforting, a lifeline to the world, when I'm out there by myself, knowing that there are no other people nearby (there may not be anyone around for days, weeks or months)  The cellphone helps ease my mind, if I get hurt, I'll at least have a chance of calling for help (if there's a signal and  I remembered to re-charge the battery)  So, I've grown fond of my cell phone, it's a vital part of my pack, I won't hike without one.  So now I faced the task of finding my phone, which normally I would tuck into my back pack, but on this day, out of haste and laziness, I had clipped it on my belt, a bad decision as it turned out.  Reasoning that the phone had fallen off while making my way through the finger draw, I started from there,  when I got back to the tailing pile where I had seen the ibex ram, I called off my search.  With my pack and water back at the truck and no means of communication, I decided to return home.