Mine Dump

[f1addict]

Hey folks. I feel bad for posting over a month ago and then just disappearing like that. I check in here frequently to read about all the great stuff everyone is finding but just haven't had the time to update. You may recall that back in early August I introduced myself and mentioned that I used to visit these mountains with my grandfather every year, that I had met a girl there 24 years ago and she is now my girlfriend (its not that I move slow , we just recently rekindled our childhood romance, as adults).

So, I'm here to update. We've been back to the dump once since I last posted and came home with 10 or 12 bottles after about 3 hours of digging. I doubt that they are rare but it doesn't matter, it was fun. We're going back again next week and I will make sure to update in a more timely fashion. For the time being, here are some pictures of our adventure

An overview of the dump area with my girlfriend, for scale

A little closer view.

Some broken bits and of course, lots of cans.

It's tough digging, not only because of the cans, but because the dump is above 10,000 feet in elevation. Last time we were there I dug a small test hole to see if there were other layers. After reading something here about "Plugs" or something, I thought 'hey, maybe this thing is deeper than just one layer' and sure enough, after going through about two feet of an odd, gray colored soil (not at all like natural soil surrounding the dump, I started finding little bits of rusty tin. This time we're taking better tools (rather than just gloves, like last time) and hope to unearth an area big enough to explore the layer beneath and maybe determine if there might be another layer under that. The dump sits in a valley and even if they didn't dig a hole there, it could be 6 or 7 feet deep. If they dug a hole, who knows how deep it is. I'll be back to let ya know what we find, and next time I'll have pictures.

 

[bigghouse]

its good that u came back[]. if u go back in to pages 20 on the digging and finding forum 1/2 the names u wont even no.

hope u dont need to get a tecnist shot, those hurt!

anna

 

[f1addict]

Fortunately, I got a Tetanus shot last year... after shooting myself in the finger with a nail gun. From what I recall, the shot hurt worse than the nail. My understanding is that the shot lasts a few years though, so I think I'm safe... unless there's a nail gun buried in there somewhere ;-)

 

[capsoda]

Hey Jeff, Great pics of a beautiful area. That gray clay may be tailings from the mine and could be toxic. Wear a paper resperator along with those gloves and good luck.

 

[f1addict]

It is a beautiful place. I've seen some of the places you guys have had to go to find stuff and feel a little spoiled. The soil is damp so there is no dust, although I suppose the soil we dig out will probably dry so I'll make sure to take a couple masks with me, just in case. If I'm not mistaken, I think this dump served a gold mine. However, there are also numerous tungsten and silver mines in the immediate vicinity.

 

[justadddirt]

Hey Jeff & Anna I got a tetanus shot 2 months ago & the doctor said it was good for 10 years. Shot didn't even hurt, just a little pinch. Found out over the years that some people are better at giving shots than others. By the way it was a lady doc that gave me mine.

 

[capsoda]

If you get silvery stuff building up on you gloves or on a bottle it is probably mercury, which was used in gold mining and as you already know is very toxic.

I was in Colorado for 5 years in the 1980s and learned way more than I wanted to about mining.[] You could find some really good bottles there.

 

[hemihampton]

What State is this in? I love Rusty Cans. Keep the cone top beer cans for me, I see some there. THANKS, LEON.

 

[CALDIGR2]

Looks like eastern NV to me. I won't name the area, but I've prob'ly been there a time or two.

 

[f1addict]

Hi everyone. I'll answer a couple questions first then tell you about our latest adventure. First, we both have current tetanus shots. It's not the shot that hurts, it's the week long muscle ache that accompanies it. The dump is in the Sierra Nevada mountains, in California. There are a lot of old cone top cans there, I didn't realize they were beer cans until this trip. There are a few that are in reasonable condition and some that still have ledgeable print. I didn't know they had any value but will be more careful from now on and separate the ones that are in better shape.

We managed to pull about 40 more bottles out this time. We were chased away on our last day by a thunderstorm, the idea of sitting in a giant pile of tin right next to the ONLY tree in the immediate vicinity seemed... well, risky. We also learned a little more about the site, itself. It was originally a dumping area for a small mining community just before the turn of the century. When the mine was abandoned, a hunting lodge began using it for their kitchen and guest refuse, this continued through the early 30s, at which point, the dump was abandoned as well.

As a result, many of the bottles we are finding are condiment containers... old ketsup bottles, mustard, cooking oils, vinegar, peanut butter and, of course, the ever present liquor and beer bottles. We found large pieces of old Coke bottles but haven't found a complete one yet. The embossing shows a bottle design pattent of December 25, 1925. We also came across a couple cobalt Bromo-seltzer (Emerson Drug Company) bottles and a small cobalt screw top that looks like a Vicks bottle. In addition, we found a shoe polish bottle and an ink bottle.

A small collection of what we pulled out the first day. We cleaned up a couple of them for the picture.

The bottom of what appears to be a ketsup bottle.

This is what we believe to be the shoe polish bottle. Some of the lable is still there, but we couldn't read it.

We could not determine what this was. I believe that it is a J.H. Heinz jar, though.

Old Mr. Boston.

Old Mr. Boston cap.

Action shot!

We're planning on returning in October. I'm sure it will be miserable as the temperatures were already getting into the mid-30s when we left the other afternoon. It's hard to dig with cold fingers! We'll keep you updated.

If anyone has any information on the stuff you see here, we'd love the input! We're new to this and have no idea what we have. Fortunately, it doesn't really matter to us, because we're having fun, regardless, but it would be neat to have an idea of what vintage these things are.