Big Bell Mine Extension Trail

Dogs No Dogs

Features Geological Significance · Views

The trailhead for this hike is the parking lot at the Keane Wonder Mine. There are no amenities and no water at this trailhead. Although you'll pass a large spring, it's water is no potable and there are no other water sources along the trail. So be sure to bring plenty of drinking water and sun protection with you. The best time to do this hike is between November and April; it is usually too hot to hike here during the summer months.

A well-worn use trail starts from the Keane Wonder Mine parking lot and contours northwest along the toe of the Funeral Mountains. In a few places the trail is the old road that ran between Cyty's Mill and the Keane Wonder. You'll notice that the trail parallels a broken line of old pipes. This pipeline was used to bring water from Keane Wonder Springs to the Keane Wonder Mine. At about a mile from the parking lot, you'll arrive at the springs, which spread over a wide area and are marked by clumps of grass and cattails and expanses of brilliant white salts.

The trail continues on past the springs and, at 1.25 miles from the parking lot, arrives at Cyty's mill and cabin. Johnnie Cyty bought the mill used in 1911 and moved it here to process ore from his Big Bell Extension Mine some 1,800 feet above in the Funeral Mountains. He also built a sturdy trail from the mill to the mine so pack mules could bring down the ore. But, as was often the case with so many of these mining hopes, the Extension went bust less than a year after the mill was in place.

The obvious use trail seems to end at the mill and if your primary interests were the spring and the well-preserved old mill, you can head back from here. But go directly east uphill from the mill and you'll come to the still very obvious trail that Cyty built to his mine. Finding the mine trail at this point is the only tricky part of this hike. Once found, you should have no problem following it all the way up to the old mine. Even after 100 years, it's still a remarkably good and easily followed trail.

From the mill, the old mine trail crosses a small wash, climbs to ridge, and then contours and switch-backs up the mountain. About 3 miles from the parking area, after some steady climbing, the old trail crosses a saddle and starts contouring into the valley that holds the Big Bell and its prospects. From the saddle you have a good view of Corkscrew Peak to the north.

From the saddle, the trail climbs gently to its end at the mine. There never was much to this mine and there's very little left of it now – old cabin floors, parts of an ore car, some rails, and other mining junk. One of the most poignant sights is two old spring mattress in a shallow tunnel littered with old dynamite boxes and pack rat nests. It looks like the miners subsisted on oatmeal and canned sardines.