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Between 1911-1938,
five mines (with 65 miles of tunnels) produced 600,000 tons of copper
and 900,000 ounces of silver. The take yielded $100 million net
profit for the corporation. It was, however, a hard life for the
miners. They worked every day except Christmas and the 4th of July.
Their working conditions were poor, often with freezing temperatures,
and dust filling their lungs. They rarely visited McCarthy, a mere
five miles away.
Walking through Kennicott I was reminded
of Clint Eastwood in High Plains Drifter. The identifying mark on
all the company buildings is the color: mineral oxide red with white
trim. The color has faded some, and the buildings are in disrepair,
but the appearance is striking. The buildings are also on the National
Register of Historic Places, but their future is uncertain. The
private owners have expressed an interest in turning over the site
to the National Park Service, but money would have to be spent in
stabilizing the structures. Given the current situation in Washington,
the transfer of ownership may not come to fruition.
After we took photos in Kennicott, Deb and
I hiked out of town along the old wagon trail. We were concerned
about black bears, which the locals had told us were giving them
trouble. There had been no fatal attacks, but several encounters.
With several days of food in our packs, we were extra cautious.
Cowbells strapped to our packs, combined with clapping and singing,
became our normal routine. Happily, the bears stayed away.
We hiked a few miles to Amazon Creek, and
made camp on the lateral moraine of the Root Glacier. With the glacier
beside us and Mt. Blackburn in the distance, it was a beautiful
spot for a base camp. The next day we hiked up further along the
trail towards the Erie Mine. The old tram cables still ran up to
the mine, stuck impossibly into the cliff wall 1000 feet above us.
With no trail to the mine, and nothing but jagged scree between
us, we were content to have a picnic lunch and gaze up in admiration
at the difficult piece of construction. At our feet we discovered
all kinds of beautiful rocks with an assortment of colors - the
dull green of copper, the bright green of malachite, and the icy
blue of azurite. It was hard not keep everything we picked up, but
the weight would have eventually stopped us in our tracks.
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