In George A. Thompsons book “Faded Footprints” pg. 52 he related the following story. “One of the many clues Caleb Rhoads let slip, perhaps purposely, about on e of the places where he found gold was that the trail to it passed between two knolls, one rocky and brush covered, the other bare of growth. That trail supposedly crossed a small creek and turned up a canyon which led off to the left just after those knolls were passed. No doubt other similar knolls might be found elsewhere in the mountains, but there is just such a place near the head of Blind Stream. Several hikers have come upon an ancient looking mine shaft just beyond those two knolls, only to learn later that they were unable to return to it.

The shaft is said to be located in Lake Basin overlooking the South Fork of Rock Creek. It is deep, but no one knows exactly how deep, for many of the footholds cut into its vertical walls have sloughed off over the years, so that descending into it is a perilous pastime. One brave, or perhaps foolish, prospector recently told me that he had made his way down those crumbling stone steps while clinging to a rope he had tied to a tree which grew near the edge of the shaft. He descended nearly one hundred feet before he ran out of footholds, from which level a dropped stone disappeared in the black depths below, echoing as it bounced from side to side in that bottomless pit. So if you’re up around the head of Blind Stream, be careful where you step; your next step could be your last one!”

We located this pit has while searching for the stone staircase mine. It has well formed walls and looks as if it could continue much further, but about 25 feet down it is filled with break-down and some snow.  It has a tree next to the opening as described in the story and can appear to have steps in the side walls. Who knows if this is the mine from the story and it’s depths have been greatly exaggerated or if another ones still exists in this area.  There are many natural caves along this limestone plateau, and it is easy for someone to stumble upon one and think it could be an old mine, but from our observations, the only mining that has happened in this area is recent treasure hunters digging out natural caves. But that’s not to say there couldn’t still be an old mine hidden somewhere in this expansive plateau.