Alternate Route Up Bachelor Loop Road

There is an alternate route up Bachelor Loop Road that forks off from the “main” road at the Commodore Mine, and heads north up the mountain.  It was worth the extra effort to explore it!

When driving up the alternate road, it feels very much like we are in a slot carved out of the mountain. It really makes one feel rather small!

#There were some remnants of those that once lived and worked here.  The image on the left shows what seems to be the remains of a mine, up high on the mountain side.  The top image on the right is of what appears to be an old wagon that may have been used to transmit the ore that was mined, and the image on the lower right looks to be an old trestle from a mine.

This route also offered a creek running along side the road that we traveled.  It was wonderful to see what appears to be such clear water, given the former mining operations, and how polluting they could be to the water.

The green space you see in this image was once the Phoenix Park Mill Site.  It was constructed in the 1960s, and processed gold, silver, zinc lead and cadmium.  In 1971, milling operations ceased; however, about 5 acres of tailings remained from the mine. In 2003, the Willow Creek Reclamation Committee began work to restore this area back to what it most likely looked like before the mining operations.  After much work, this is the result.

And, as we reached the end, the top part of this road, we did enjoy a lovely tree lined road, and some traffic!!

Enjoy!!