Cleopatra Mine May, 2005

Plans had been made earlier in the year by Scott and I for a trip to the Cleopatra Mine during the late spring. As May got closer, we narrowed the day down to the only Saturday that seemed to be open, and looked nervously at the long-term weather forecasts. A week or so before the trip we had managed to gather together a rag-tag group of like-minded explorers interested in making the long trek to the mine.

The second Coney Basin creek crossing proved to be difficult

A few days before the trip it became evident that rain wouldn't be a factor, but heat might. All of a sudden, in the midst of normal spring weather, Jeff Renner was forecasting a freakishly hot day for Saturday, the hottest of the year so far (and probably the hottest day we would have all summer). A quick email was circulated suggesting that everyone go as light as possible and bring plenty of water containers.

We met outside of Sultan none too early, and carpooled to the trailhead off of the West Fork Miller River. Everyone hefted packs out that looked anything but light. Scott was bringing a full video setup and had an external frame pack. Jimbo had a huge pack with most of his belongings inside. Everyone else made sure they would have all the comforts of home with them. We started up the old road quickly, noticing that it was beginning to heat up already.

The heat was oppressive even in the wooded hillside climb

The pace seemed pretty casual as we made our way up the rough West Fork road. We chatted as we made our way up, stopping for pictures and video sessions along the way. After a couple hours we finally reached the two streams draining Coney Basin, and the heat was really creating a lot of runoff. The second stream was the most difficult, and we would see later on the way back how water levels can rise in the afternoon.

We picked our way through trees and boulders of the lower basin

We reached the site of Cleopatra Camp on the West Fork after about 3 hours. Our pace was slow, it seems like this just happens with a larger group. We took some time off here, ate a bit, and explored around looking for old stuff hidden in the brush.

Soon we set off uphill on the route to the basin. It was really getting hot - normally most of the route is shaded, but with temps already in the 80's, we were sweltering. The guys with hats refused to take them off. The ones with long pants suffered and the short-wearers rejoiced for now. They would be singing a different tune later. We noticed that Kent was not sweating at all, and we all eyed him suspiciously for the rest of the trip.

After about an hour, we finally made it onto the wide road leading to the basin. Soon after that we climbed into the lower open part of Cleopatra Basin, with grand views behind us of the Cascade Mountain massif. The real views were just ahead of us however, and after a well-deserved rest, we continued up the rocks and trees into the basin proper, and were amazed at the volume of water that was pouring from above and down into the basin. The high twin waterfalls at the head of the basin were especially impressive. After a few more minutes, we could see the area around the mine, our destination.

We broke out into the basin head and travel was much easier

While we could see the mine area, we still had work to do. We would have to reach the relatively open head of the basin, cross it and climb up to the large talus slide beneath the twin falls. From there, we would ascend toward the mine and follow the stream up to the lower falls beneath the mine, and finally climb up a dirt gully. We took an extended rest in the brush trying to get under some shade. This probably was the worst part of our trip - there was some serious doubt amongst ourselves whether we could finish the trip in this heat. Kent still looked pretty fresh.

Jimbo striking a dramatic pose next to the roaring lower falls

A little rest, food, and water did wonders. We picked back up and soon broke out into the head of the basin. Suddenly it didn't seem too far to the mine now, and we got strong again. Here we made a the most direct line we could toward the talus under the falls, and after a while we gained some elevation towards some light brush. Unfortunately for the shorts group, the brush was of the thorny variety and blood started to flow. Here we stopped for another good rest among some shade-giving slide alder, hydrated and took some video. The heat was probably in the 90's by now, and Jimbo commented how it seemed like eastern Washington in the summer, too hot for him.

Soon we were up on the large talus blocks below falls, and in minutes angled up towards the direction of the mine and the creek flowing next to it. We crossed the creek, and then climbed up alongside of it on the ugly dirt and loose rock. After the tedious work up the creek, we all gathered at the base of the small falls below the mine. We had one more steep dirty gully to climb to the adit, and at one point used a rope to help us up. We rested outside of the Cleopatra adit, a full 5 hours since we left the vehicles.

We gathered around the ore cart which is really the star attraction

Our rest was brief though, and there was a mad rush to dump out our underground equipment and go inside. Getting inside the Cleopatra adit is somewhat awkward, squeezing over some slabs that have fallen in front of the portal. Just inside, one must then squeeze past some junk including a barrel with some old clothes draped on it, and some bedframes stacked up for storage. Just beyond the bedframes are some slippery timbers and rusty strongbox that holds some old dynamite. We made a wide berth around that.

A little bit further in is where the old ore car sits on the mine rails, and we gathered around that taking video and pictures for a while. It really is in great shape, but probably doesn't roll any longer. Some tools such as shovels and picks were scattered inside. Jimbo explored the old tunnel directly behind us which was caved at the old portal about 50 feet back. In the process he narrowly missed tromping all over some old dynamite in a bag. Oops.

The main workings of the mine were located past this caved area

The parts of the Cleopatra Mine that are accessible are not too bad. We made our way further down the tunnel to an intersection where the mine rails turn sharply right, and ventured down the long drippy tunnel. This part of the tunnel leads to where most of the main underground workings are, but now after a few hundred feet the way is caved. We stopped at a large area of deep red mud that no one wanted to venture out into. If one could continue, the tunnel past the cave-in would lead to some winzes and a raise to the upper adit. Most of the ore was taken out of this unattainable area.

We backtracked to the intersection, which is marked by the old wheelbarrow, and wandered down the short tunnel to the left. A ways past the wheelbarrow was something that looked like an old ore bucket, maybe used inside the vertical workings of the mine long ago. Beyond that it looked like the tunnel was caved. Once we all crowded up, the pile of dirt was not from a cave-in but rather the results of some stope work immediately above. It's unclear whether this was a later effort from the early 1960's, or an abandoned early attempt. The tunnel here was flooded beyond the obstruction, and a small drift to the left about 50 feet or so was flooded as well, so this was the end of the line.

The shorter left tunnel was found to be flooded

After a while, we all stumbled out into the heat again, amazed at how much cooler the mine was that day. No one seemed to have enough energy to consider finding the route to the upper adit. That would have to be pushed back another year, hopefully on a day where no heat records were set. At about 3:00 pm, we started down, some of us poking around at the wreckage of the mine buildings nearby. At the creek crossing near the talus slope, Kent popped out of the brush and said he followed the old road down to this point. Doh!

Everyone did their best to stumble down the route and into the basin. Not much is remembered from this part of the trip, other than Scott became the expert in finding the "hidden" holes so others didn't step in them, and Rob seemed to find all the talus blocks that would suddenly shift under the weight of a human. After a couple hours we bumbled out onto the West Fork road near Cleopatra Camp.

It was a long slog out on the road. The Coney Creek crossing was very high and fast, and yielded some funny moments during the "Thong Incident", in which one poor soul lost his flip-flops on the crossing and almost was swept down the creek. Ouch! Sharp river rocks really hurt sore bare feet! Instead of lending a helping hand on the far side, Jimbo "The Paparazzi" stood with an evil grin, snapping images wildly. Some bad words were uttered.

References:

• Discovering Washington's Historic Mines - Oso Publishing. Cleopatra Mine information.
• Mineral Resources of the Alpine Lakes Study Area (1975) - Gualtieri and others. Information about the Upper and Lower Cleopatra.
• Geology and Mineral Resources of King County - V.E. Livingston. A section on the Cleopatra Mine.