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THE OLD WISCONSIN GOLD MINE
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NO PLACE WAS TOO REMOTE FOR THOSE WITH GOLD-FEVER
The magnificent Selkirk Mountains in British Columbia. WINTER IS NEVER MORE THAN 3-MONTHS AWAY
In actual fact the site cannot quite be reached by road at this present time as a log bridge is in unsafe condition, and there has been a rock fall on a very narrow ledge with a steep drop-off to the valley far below! At best we can get within 2-miles of the site and hike-in after that, but it's a truly wonderful and inspiring hike with a good opportunity of seeing moose and bear. Helicopter access is possible at any time the landing sites are snow free, and has the bonus of spectacular views during the flight which takes about 15-minutes from Nelson.
As the site has restricted access, for safety and environmental reasons, and in order to ensure that any visit is an enjoyable one, please contact us prior to making any plans. When fallen leaves are crisped by autumn frost and the first snow filters through the evergreens the forest grows silent - creating a landscape as peaceful as that seen by the first homesteaders and prospectors over a century ago. Canada jays still search the trees for food they stored during the summer, and yellow evening grosbeaks add colour to the evergreens; while beneath the snow bears and other hibernates snooze until spring heralds a change.
Mining
operations are either placer or lode. All gold was originally deposited in lodes
or veins in the rocks. In many cases, where these deposits have been subjected
to erosion, the lode has broken up. If the ore has been ground sufficiently,
gold particles will be found either free or in association with small quantities
of gangue. These are then known as placer deposits. At the Wisconsin mine the
deposits are lode. THE GOLDEN YEARS: The Bullion Mine was reworked in the 1920s and with its hydraulic monitors used more water per day than the whole city of Vancouver. It yielded half a million ounces of gold a year, leaving the original Dancing Bill’s Gulch a monstrous chasm 2 miles long and 250 feet deep. |
Due
to weather conditions at the 6,300 feet altitude of the Wisconsin, and the long,
steep single-track forest access road over three mountain passes, we can only be
sure of reaching the site by road for about 3-months of the year - July
thru September – and it can be snowbound for much of the rest of the year.
In
2001 we brought in a heavier helicopter to lift 14-tons of materials into the
site for the construction of a shelter and bunkhouse. Pictures taken during this
project are shown on other pages.
In
an everyday lifetime, there will come from time to time an opportunity for
adventure. Very few recognise the opportunity, even fewer seize it.
While
there was a 'gold rush' to the Kootenays, the gold in these finds was lode gold.
Lode mining required hammers, drills, dynamite, mills and smelters, and the
ability to engineer a tunnel. This was a more capital-intensive form of mining
that required a large waged work force to work a mine. Few of the placer miners
desired to eke out a living as a miner working for a mine owner. The day of the
spectacular rushes was over.