Mule Rights and Lefts

Friends of the SALINE VALLEY SALT TRAM

www.SaltTram.blogspot.com   SalineValleySaltTram@gmail.com

Salt Tram history is rapidly disappearing, and we are striving to rediscover the efforts of our forefathers in order to give proper recognition to their hopes, dreams and abundant sweat from an era that is rapidly fading from our memories. We are actively seeking out information about the mining of Salt in Saline Valley between 1903 and the 1950's, including: documents, photos, articles, stories, artifacts, etc. If you can help us out, please email us at the address above - Thank-you! --Tim and Brian Waag, the Waag brothers (aka E. Clampus Waagus).

Caution (PLEASE READ): Climbing around on the tramway is dangerous because its really old and defnitely unsafe, so don't even think about it. Shoot, just getting to it requires some perilous hiking, and if you don't believe me, just take a look at the Zig Zag Access Trail (or what's left of it). Plus, climbing on it weakens it and endangers your life. Also, the Saline Valley Salt Tram is on the National Register of Historic Places and should be treated with the respect that it deserves. What little remains is of great historic value, and should not be disturbed in any way. Heck, its probably against the law to move parts of the tram around, and certainly a crime to take home some of the few bits of it that remain (though you'd have to ask your friendly local BLM agent for details). So please treat it with the respect it deserves, so that future generations can enjoy whats left, without you messing it up. Really. Please. You can see its listing on the National Register of Historic Places at these web links:
National Register of Historic Places 1          National Register of Historic Places 2

*****************************************************************

QUESTION 1:  We finally got this story from Jim, and frankly, I'm not really understanding it, but it is documented here in case anyone can figure it out and explain it to us - thanks!
QUESTION 2: If we understand this technique correctly, it may not have worked at the forested sections of the Salt Tram pack trail (i.e., between the Summit Station and Control Station II), but may have been deployed coming up from the Salt Lake to Section I (Salt Lake to Control Station I) and Section II (Control Station I to Control Station II).

*****************************************************************

RIGHTS AND LEFTS

Okay, after talking with Norm, this is the way I understand the process: The packer has a string of mules. The mules are carrying  long wooden beams. When the trail makes a switchback, say to the right,  the packer stops the mule train. At either end of the beam [is] a pole or pipe, bolted to top the beam and hinged. The beam is swung into vertical position to hold the beam with auxilliary packers to help steady it. The mules are changed out below the supported beam. The "rights" are brought up and placed beneath the beam. The "right" mules then carry the beam to the right until the next switchback to the left. The process is then repeated with the "lefts" employed under the beam and so forth up [or down?] the switchbacks.

This story was told to Norm (a local cowboy), by his Uncle who as a young lad worked for his father/uncle packing the salt tram materials during the construction phase. I believe the packer with the contract was Pete or 'leaky' Olivas - somehow, all part of Norm's family! The mules were fitted with apparejo's in those days.

Hope this helps,

Jim


Stark/Lone Pine

********************click to go to Salt Tram Home********************

AA Forbes Salt Tram Postcard, or "Constructing Engineer"?

Friends of the SALINE VALLEY SALT TRAM

www.SaltTram.blogspot.com   SalineValleySaltTram@gmail.com

**********
QUESTION 1: Compare the text writing on this postcard to the writing used by A. A. Forbes to determine whether this is a Forbes photo or not. Right now, we sadly believe that we were duped, and that it is NOT a Forbes photo. Doc-007 indicates that this photo was taken in the Summer of 1911 when the Salt Tram was still under construction.

QUESTION 2: Cross reference Summer 1911 with the construction in this area of the tramway to see if perhaps Cliff Patterson (Salt Tram Diarist) had worked on any of these towers shown in the postcard.

**********

You can read more about pioneer photographer A. A. Forbes by clicking here.

**********
Update February 2014: We now believe that this postcard was NOT taken by A. A. Forbes, but was instead taken by a Salt Tram "Constructing Engineer". See page 4 of Doc-007, which shows this same EXACT photo. Read about Doc-007 by clicking here. 

Note that this is the exact same photo that we bought as a postcard on eBay that was attributed to A. A. Forbes. It has the classic white text annotation which was generally written onto the negative of the photo, but no A. A. Forbes name on it. This leads us to believe that this photo was NOT taken by A. A. Forbes. Note that it also identifies the photo as having been taken "last summer" (which would be Summer 1911), and that "work has now been completed" [on the section of the tram line shown in the photo].

**********
On September 23, 2011, I received this email:

Dear Tim Waag - Saw your blog.  Thought you might want to know about this auction item, if you have not already seen it. LINK. -Bob (Bob Edberg, Piedra Pintada Books, P.O. Box 1376, Claremont, CA 91711, 909-620-6742, books@rock-art.com).

Of course, I was thrilled to get this email, then took a quick look at the link he provided for the eBay auction item. The item in question was an A. A. Forbes postcard depicting the Saline Valley Salt Tram. The caption in the photo read “Tramway under construction, SALINE VALLEY SALT CO., Inyo, Calif.”, but no mention of A. A. Forbes. Forbes, like most other photographers of his day, included his name in his photos, but its missing on this one. That omission, of course, called into question whether or not this was really the work of Alexander Forbes. Also, I was disappointed to realize that it was a postcard, and not an original Forbes photo print. Oh well.

I emailed a neighbor who frequented eBay auctions as both buyer and seller, and asked if he could work his magic on this one for me. On 10/1/2011 when the auction closed, my friend Nick G. had won the bidding, overpaying at $78.77 plus $2.95 shipping and handling, for a grand total of $81.72. But it was mine, and it arrived in the mail yesterday (10/8/2011) and I was thrilled. The seller was a Robert Varlotta of Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.; you can bet I’ll be following up with Robert to see what other A. A. Forbes or Salt Tram stuff he might have.

My plans for the postcard are to scan it at high resolution (done), then donate it to our friends at the Eastern California Museum (done) and take the tax deduction! In the meantime, a few observations about the postcard:

1. RARE HISTORICAL PHOTO: I wanted it, not just because it was the work of Forbes, but because it depicted a section of the tramway on the west (Owens Dry Lake) side, which has largely been decimated by vandals and scavengers AND we don’t already have historical photos of this section of the tram route. It was filling in some missing information on a section of the tram that turns out to be unique.

2. TEN TALL TOWERS IN A ROW: The photo shows a section of very tall towers spaced very closely together - ten towers in a row to be exact. We don’t believe that this occurs anywhere else along the tramway - especially towers of such height. Remember, again, that these towers are now gone, with only scattered concrete foundations to show they were ever there.

3. TRAMWAY CONSTRUCTION ERA: The tow tall towers in the foreground of the postcard are similarly missing today. However, they are shown without any tram cables attached in the postcard, neither traction nor track cables. This means this is a construction phase photo, which are also more rare than operational photos. 

4. ON-SITE PHOTO EVALUATION: We’ll be taking this photo out to the Salt Tram and investigate the particular location in which this photo was taken, as well as examine the two-tower and ten-tower cluster site. Its possible that there were ultimately additional towers in this section of the tram that were not built yet. Historical photos show the addition and removal of towers over time. This was surely done on an “as-needed” basis in order to fine-tune the operation of the tram.

5. CONSTRUCTION ROADS: Another contribution that this photo makes is that it reveals the roads that existed during construction to support the building of the tramway (see postcard photo showing the roads in the area). Again, we’ll visit the site and map the roadways and add them to our master map of pack trails and roadways that serviced the Salt Tram.

6. MAP SECTION: The area in the postcard is in Section IV of the Salt Tram. I’ve included the map showing the exact part of the tramway depicted in the postcard. The postcard photo was looking west (towards Owens Lake). The map is from the 1917 ACME article, and it only shows 8 towers where the postcard shows the 10 tower cluster. The 2 large towers in the postcard foreground match the 2 towers in the map.

7. MANY THANKS TO: Bob Edberg of Piedra Pintada books for alerting me to this eBay auction, Nick G. for winning the auction bidding for me, and the folks at the Eastern California Museum for being such excellent caretakers of Salt Tram history.

PHOTOS BELOW (CLICK TO ENLARGE):

Below: This appears to be the same tramway section as in the postcard, only looking the other direction. The four towers in the foreground are part of the grouped set of 10 from the postcard. The two towers in the distance are the two towers in the foreground of the postcard. The photo below shows the tram towers with buckets and cables, obviously in an operational state. Photo Courtesy of the Eastern California Museum.

***************click to go to Salt Tram Home***************

Cliff Patterson Starts Work on Salt Tram

Friends of the SALINE VALLEY SALT TRAM

www.SaltTram.blogspot.com   SalineValleySaltTram@gmail.com

Salt Tram history is rapidly disappearing, and we are striving to rediscover the efforts of our forefathers in order to give proper recognition to their hopes, dreams and abundant sweat from an era that is rapidly fading from our memories. We are actively seeking out information about the mining of Salt in Saline Valley between 1903 and the 1950's, including: documents, photos, articles, stories, artifacts, etc. If you can help us out, please email us at the address above - Thank-you! --Tim and Brian Waag, the Waag brothers (aka E. Clampus Waagus).

Caution (PLEASE READ): Climbing around on the tramway is dangerous because its really old and defnitely unsafe, so don't even think about it. Shoot, just getting to it requires some perilous hiking, and if you don't believe me, just take a look at the Zig Zag Access Trail (or what's left of it). Plus, climbing on it weakens it and endangers your life. Also, the Saline Valley Salt Tram is on the National Register of Historic Places and should be treated with the respect that it deserves. What little remains is of great historic value, and should not be disturbed in any way. Heck, its probably against the law to move parts of the tram around, and certainly a crime to take home some of the few bits of it that remain (though you'd have to ask your friendly local BLM agent for details). So please treat it with the respect it deserves, so that future generations can enjoy whats left, without you messing it up. Really. Please. You can see its listing on the National Register of Historic Places at these web links:
National Register of Historic Places 1          National Register of Historic Places 2

*****************************************************************

QUESTION 1: Where was the first surveyor's camp (referred to in the article below)?

*****************************************************************

This one is pretty easy. We know that Cliff Patterson began his salt tram construction diary on December 1, 1911. We know that construction of the tramway had already commenced on or around September 1, 1911 [check that date] with the arrival by railcar of the first shipment of salt tram parts from the Trenton Iron Company in New Jersey. We also know that Saline Valley Salt Company stock was already being sold in 1910, so plans for the Salt Tram at that time were pretty firm. 

Our periodical search of the Inyo Register revealed that Cliff Patterson (along with Ed Schober and Loland Varnoy) were already employees of the Saline Valley Salt Company on April 6, 1911, when this article appeared (click to enlarge):

The article announces that Ed, Cliff and Loland were to start work establishing a camp for the surveyors of the various possible Salt Tram routes. They were met by Roub Spear and his pack train, which was assumedly transporting the supplies for the establishment of the camp.

********************click to go to Salt Tram Home********************

Cliff Patterson Leaves the Salt Tram ... Forever

QUESTION 1: No doubt, after leaving the Salt Tram in October, 1913, Cliff went on to other work and never returned to the Salt Tram. What did Cliff do after leaving the Salt Tram?
QUESTION 2: We believe that Cliff stayed in the Owens Valley area for the rest of his life. Brian needs to investigate the Census records to see what he lists as his occupation.
QUESTION 3: Perform periodical search of the Owens Valley Herald for Salt Tram information.
QUESTION 4: The tram was re-started on August 11, 1916, after the weak grip problem was solved. However, the newspaper article indicates that the tram also had new cables installed. Why? The tram should have had minimal wear, and new cables should not have been required. The only thing that makes sense is that they had new grips, which required different traction cables than the ones currently installed. If this was the case, they would have had to install 13.5 miles x 2 or 27 miles of new 3/4" traction cable, which would be very expensive and labor intensive. Also, it appears that the original 3/4" traction cables are still on the line, so this mystery continues.

Above (click to enlarge): Cliff Patterson reports in his diary on October 25 - 26, 1913 that he is packing up his stuff, unloading the tram line, and heading down to Swansea. That can only mean one thing. Here's the diary entry for those dates.

In the Patterson Diary Book (available for purchase at the Waag Brother's cost to print it!), we document Cliff's departure from the Salt Tram ... forever:

"If you have made it this far in reading Cliff's diary, then it is my sad duty to inform you that Sunday, October 26, 1913 (see diary page above) was his last day to ever work at the Salt Tram. That fateful day marked Cliff's completion of a grueling 2 years and 7 months of dedicated work committed to the planning, construction and operation of the Salt Tram. He notes on October 25, 1913 that he "worked all day packing my duds", then the next day "ran [the] tram and unloaded [the] line", then "gathered up [my] tools" and "came to Swansea" (the location of the discharge station show below right). Cliff gave us a clue that all was not well with the Saline Valley Salt Co. when he indicated that he "unloaded [the] line", meaning they moved the tram buckets off the track cables and into the control stations until the time when the tram would run again."

Corroborating Evidence of Cliff's Departure: Our intense periodical search has revealed corroboration of Cliff's (and his brother, Earl Patterson) departure from the Salt Tram workforce, in the form of an article from the October 30, 1913 edition of the Inyo Register, which announces his return to Bishop in the column that Chalfant labels "TABOOSE". This column also announces the return of Ambrose White (White Smith's older brother) from the Salt Fields as well. Scroll down to the section highlighted in yellow 

Much Salt is on Hand: We were fortunate to locate another key article in our search of the Inyo Register, also appearing on Thurs. Oct.  30, 1913 (click to enlarge). 

The above article gives a plausible explanation for the sudden shut-down. It implies that the Salt Tram is working so well that too much Salt is being accumulated at the Discharge Station (i.e., the end of the Salt Tram line, i.e., the "delivery end") in Owens Valley at Swansea. It goes on to explain that the massive 5,000 ton accumulation of Salt has to be sold and shipped before the Salt Tram restarts its operation. This story is convincing, as the photo archives of the discharge station repeatedly show massive salt piles. Photo Courtesy Eastern California Museum (click to enlarge):

Where's the Conveyor System? What is missing from these Discharge Station photos (taken over several decades of intermittent operation) is the "conveyor system" that was to deliver salt to the dryer and the grinder.

The above 1920's photo is just one of many that gives evidence that the conveyor system alluded to in the article was never built. What was built is seen in this photo: a conveyor system designed to dump salt all over the ground. This is what our photographic history of the Discharge Station tells over and over again: Salt is piling up at Swansea, its pure salt contents getting contaminated with the persistent dust of Owens Valley. Where are the storage bins to keep the salt pure and protect the product? Where is the conveyor system and the automation required to process a large volume commodity such as Salt? 

First, that little automation detail was never fully dealt with, and as they say, the devil is in the details. The pre-occupation with the salt collection operation at the Salt Lake, along with building and operating the monsterous 13.5 mile tramway over the Inyos apparently precluded serious thought about salt processing operations at the "delivery end". This problem would never adequately be addressed, and in fact, we believe that the salt piled up in the above photo was wheel-barrowed (!) to the drying facilities - yikes! Evidence for this is in the form of multiple historic photos of workmen and their wheel barrows moving salt from the pile to the dryer. Here's one of those photos, courtesy of Eastern California Museum of course! (click to enlarge):

Grip Problem Rears Its Ugly Head: Unfortunately, the problem of salt accumulation at the discharge station was nothing compared to a much larger problem: the grip mechanisms on the buckets were failing, causing the salt carrier buckets to fall off the line! This problem would be solved by designing a completely new grip mechanism, but it took years to do it. More on this elsewhere in this website. 

After shutting down on October 30, 1913, the Salt Tram would not be run again until August 11, 1916. Evidence for this is provided by the article (Courtesy of the Eastern California Museum) below that appeared in the Owens Valley Herald on August 11, 1916. No doubt, after leaving the Salt Tram in October, 1913, Cliff went on to other work and never returned to the Salt Tram. The article below also indicates that for some reason, not only were newly-designed grips needed for the tramway, but also new cables were needed. 

********************click to go to Salt Tram Home********************

Station 18

Friends of the SALINE VALLEY SALT TRAM

www.SaltTram.blogspot.com   SalineValleySaltTram@gmail.com

Salt Tram history is rapidly disappearing, and we are striving to rediscover the efforts of our forefathers in order to give proper recognition to their hopes, dreams and abundant sweat from an era that is rapidly fading from our memories. We are actively seeking out information about the mining of Salt in Saline Valley between 1903 and the 1950's, including: documents, photos, articles, stories, artifacts, etc. If you can help us out, please email us at the address above - Thank-you! --Tim and Brian Waag, the Waag brothers (aka E. Clampus Waagus).

Caution (PLEASE READ): Climbing around on the tramway is dangerous because its really old and defnitely unsafe, so don't even think about it. Shoot, just getting to it requires some perilous hiking, and if you don't believe me, just take a look at the Zig Zag Access Trail (or what's left of it). Plus, climbing on it weakens it and endangers your life. Also, the Saline Valley Salt Tram is on the National Register of Historic Places and should be treated with the respect that it deserves. What little remains is of great historic value, and should not be disturbed in any way. Heck, its probably against the law to move parts of the tram around, and certainly a crime to take home some of the few bits of it that remain (though you'd have to ask your friendly local BLM agent for details). So please treat it with the respect it deserves, so that future generations can enjoy whats left, without you messing it up. Really. Please. You can see its listing on the National Register of Historic Places at these web links:
National Register of Historic Places 1          National Register of Historic Places 2

*****************************************************************

QUESTION 1: Observe the anchorage features of Station 18.
QUESTION 2: Observe the current state of the track and traction cables at Station 18. Where is the bitter end of the small track cable (it is NOT attached to its weight box).


*****************************************************************

Internal Code: 204


Location: Station 18 is the 2nd station below the Summit Station to the East (see Section III Map above).

Basic Characteristics: Station 18 is classified as "C", meaning that it is an Anchorage and Tension Station. The anchorage features still needs to be field-observed. Station 18 tensions the 2 track cables that run from Station 18 and through Station 19 and up to the Summit Station (Station 20); it does so with 2 Weight Boxes (see photos). The larger, heavier weight box tensions the heavy 1.25 inch North track cable, and the smaller weight box tensions the lighter 7/8 inch South track cable. Below: view of Station 18 looking North (click to enlarge).

Current Condition: The larger weight box is still attached to the heavy track cable, but the smaller weight box is detached from its cable. Both weight boxes are generally intact (and full of rocks), but sitting on the ground. The structure in general is intact. Below: 1st photo below shows large Weight Box with track cable still attached; 2nd photo shows the smaller Weight Box withOUT the track cable attached.

Dimensions: Station. 4 Sections Long. 4C. 4l. 14'.


Unusual Features: There is a large wood water pipe lying on the ground adjacent to Station 18 to the South. It is believed that this was "back traffic" used for water operations from Hunter Spring to the Salt Lake and Loading Station. It is believed that this water pipe may have fallen off its tram hanger and was never re-loaded onto the tramway for shipment to Salt Lake. Noted in 2006 field notes that trail was hard to follow up to this Station.

Also on this blog, see Wood Water Pipe Mystery.

********************click to go to Salt Tram Home********************

Station 19

Friends of the SALINE VALLEY SALT TRAM

www.SaltTram.blogspot.com   SalineValleySaltTram@gmail.com

Salt Tram history is rapidly disappearing, and we are striving to rediscover the efforts of our forefathers in order to give proper recognition to their hopes, dreams and abundant sweat from an era that is rapidly fading from our memories. We are actively seeking out information about the mining of Salt in Saline Valley between 1903 and the 1950's, including: documents, photos, articles, stories, artifacts, etc. If you can help us out, please email us at the address above - Thank-you! --Tim and Brian Waag, the Waag brothers (aka E. Clampus Waagus).

Caution (PLEASE READ): Climbing around on the tramway is dangerous because its really old and defnitely unsafe, so don't even think about it. Shoot, just getting to it requires some perilous hiking, and if you don't believe me, just take a look at the Zig Zag Access Trail (or what's left of it). Plus, climbing on it weakens it and endangers your life. Also, the Saline Valley Salt Tram is on the National Register of Historic Places and should be treated with the respect that it deserves. What little remains is of great historic value, and should not be disturbed in any way. Heck, its probably against the law to move parts of the tram around, and certainly a crime to take home some of the few bits of it that remain (though you'd have to ask your friendly local BLM agent for details). So please treat it with the respect it deserves, so that future generations can enjoy whats left, without you messing it up. Really. Please. You can see its listing on the National Register of Historic Places at these web links:
National Register of Historic Places 1          National Register of Historic Places 2

*****************************************************************

Internal Code: 203.

Below: From Station 19, you can look uphill and view the Summit Station (Station 20).

Location: Station 19 is the 1st station below the Summit Station to the East (see Section III Map above). Using National Geographic topo software, the distance from the Summit Station (Station 20) to Station 19 is .61 miles (3,220 feet), with a net descent of 1,041 feet - for a tramway, that is quite a span!

Below: Station 19 with Saline Valley in the background.

Basic Characteristics: Station 19 is classified as "F", meaning that it is a Curved Rail Station, the most boring and featureless of stations! Curved Rail simply means that when the carriers go off the track cable and onto the fixed track inside the station, the fixed track is curved to allow the buckets to traverse the ridge with the least amount of resistance by matching the angles of the incoming and outgoing track cables - got that? More later.
Below: one of the many buckets littered around Station 19.

Current Condition of Structure and Features: The structure in general is intact. There are 2 more-or-less complete buckets in the Station: 1 hanging from the structure,  and 1 on the ground. It would appear that there are 1 or more hangers tangled up in the structure as well. Station 19 looks very similar to Station 18, in that they are both similarly structured and surrounded by a pinon pine forest, including saplings surrounding the tramway itself; its likely that pinon pines were cut down at this location to make room for the tram station, and that the seedlings have taken root, and this is how much they've grown in about 100 years. There are 2 buckets inside the Station on the ground, an one bucket hanging up in the air in the station.


Dimensions: Station. 7 Sections Long. 77 feet long (14 feet wide???). 


Unusual Features: There is a massive coil of 3/4 inch traction cable lying on the ground just to the West of Station 19. It was intentionally coiled around two tree stumps, and we estimated each coil at 500 feet long, and at least 14 sets of coils (ie, 7 loops), making the total length of cable approximately 7,000 feet of track cable. Speculating, it was either there as spare cable (unlikley, as they would have stored it on cable spools at the Summit Station) or it was one of the track cables that frequently snapped (according to the Patterson Diary), and when the cable was replaced, they coiled it up out of the way, rather than take it down the mountain. 
Below: piles of traction cable spooled around the tree stumps at Station 19 (seen in background).

********************click to go to Salt Tram Home********************

Construction Camp: Flagstaff

Friends of the Saline Valley Salt Tram
SaltTram.blogspot.com   SalineValleySaltTram@gmail.com

Salt Tram history is rapidly disappearing, and we are striving to rediscover the efforts of our forefathers in order to give proper recognition to their hopes, dreams and abundant sweat from an era that is rapidly fading from our memories. We are actively seeking out information about the mining of Salt in Saline Valley between 1903 and the 1950's, including: documents, photos, articles, stories, artifacts, etc. If you can help us out, please email us at the address above - Thank-you! --Tim and Brian Waag, the Waag brothers (aka E. Clampus Waagus).

Caution (PLEASE READ): Climbing around on the tramway is dangerous because its really old and defnitely unsafe, so don't even think about it. Shoot, just getting to it requires some perilous hiking, and if you don't believe me, just take a look at the Zig Zag Access Trail (or what's left of it). Plus, climbing on it weakens it and endangers your life. Also, the Saline Valley Salt Tram is on the National Register of Historic Places and should be treated with the respect that it deserves. What little remains is of great historic value, and should not be disturbed in any way. Heck, its probably against the law to move parts of the tram around, and certainly a crime to take home some of the few bits of it that remain (though you'd have to ask your friendly local BLM agent for details). So please treat it with the respect it deserves, so that future generations can enjoy whats left, without you messing it up. Really. Please. You can see its listing on the National Register of Historic Places at these web links:
National Register of Historic Places 1          National Register of Historic Places 2

******************************************************

QUESTION 1: Examine mining prospects and shaft along the Old Charcoal Road and look for signs that it was at one time could have been the Flagstaff Camp during the Salt Tram construction phase. Let’s call this location Flagstaff Mine - North. In particular, we would expect to find signs of a dump in the area with cans and other material from the Salt Tram era.

QUESTION 2: Examine old topo maps in the area of the Flagstaff Mine and the Flagstaff Mine - North. Look at maps from around 1880 to 1920 and see what was shown on these topos in these 2 sites. We expect to find the Flagstaff Mine on maps of this era, as is known to have been in operation prior to 1882. However, we are curious to see if the Flagstaff Mine - North prospects and shaft is shown on these older maps.

******************************************************

Flagstaff Mine: 

Background information on the mine itself. A report from the State Mining Bureau (of California) shows that their museum collection includes sample silver ore from the Flagstaff Mine in the Inyo Mountains near Swansea. This publication is dated April 16, 1881 and was published in Sacramento in 1882. It clearly identifies the Flagstaff Mine as being of rather old vintage, and certainly establishes that it existed prior to the construction of the Salt Tram in 1910 - 1913 timeframe. A 1986 reference puts the Flagstaff Mine in Inyo County as producing the commodities of Silver (Major), Lead (Trace) and Zinc (Trace), and its current status was as a “past producer”. Below: Brian and Mark at a portion of the Flagstaff Mine (click to enlarge).

******************************************************

Patterson Diary References to “Flagstaff” Camp: 

Cliff Patterson references numerous construction camps, including at least 3 references to “Flagstaff”. Control Station IV (CS IV) is also known as Station 29, and is not far from the “Flagstaff Mine” on a current topographical map. CS IV is also only .9 miles by pack trail from what we consider to be the likely location of the Salt Tram’s Flagstaff Camp along the Old Charcoal Road, and only 1.3 miles from the late 1880’s Flagstaff Mine.

Below: 3 entries from the Patterson Diary that mention Flagstaff:

July 21, 1912 (graph paper): Sun. Reed & one of Ben’s gang put up tent at Flagstaff.

July 21, 1912 (ledger paper): Sun. Put up one Tent & moved the other at Flagstaff.

July 22, 1912 (ledger paper): Mon. Moved To Flagstaff and excavated on Station # 29.

There are 2 entries on separate diary pages for 7/21/1912 and 7/22/1912. The reasons for this is unknown, except for the fact that the diary pages are not bound, and in fact, the diary uses 5 different types of 3” x 5” paper! We speculate that he simply misplaced the original diary pages and reproduced them from memory, then subsequently found them later. Under this scenario, he chose to keep both of the duplicate pages in the diary. Obviously, the statements for the same day from the 2 separate pages are similar. 

Below: Diary Page from Henry Clifton Patterson Diary, which references the Flagstaff Camp:

******************************************************

Location of Flagstaff Camp: 

We believe it is most likely that the camp is located in the draw through which the Old Charcoal Road passes. On current topo maps, it shows numerous mining prospects in that area, along with a mine shaft. It is conveniently located along the Old Charcoal Road (the Salt Tram’s main access road on the West side of the tramway), and is in a sheltered canyon that provides some protection from the elements. Control Station IV (CS IV) is also known as Station 29, and is not far from the “Flagstaff Mine” on a current topographical map. CS IV is also only .9 miles by pack trail from what we consider to be the likely location of the Salt Tram’s Flagstaff Camp. Below: Topo Map showing Old Charcoal Road, Pack Trail, Flagstaff Mine, Flagstaff Mine - North.

*****************click to go to SALT TRAM HOME*****************

November 2010 Salt Tram Field Report

Friends of the Saline Valley Salt Tram

SaltTram.blogspot.com    SalineValleySaltTram@gmail.com

As the years pass, researching the true story of the Salt Tram is getting more difficult, as the abundant photos and written first hand accounts from that era find their way into landfills (instead of museums). We  are striving to rediscover the efforts of those who built and ran the Salt Tram, in order to give proper recognition to their hopes, dreams and abundant sweat from an era that is rapidly fading from our memories.  We are actively seeking out information about the mining of Salt in Saline Valley between 1903 and the 1950's, including: documents, photos, articles, stories, artifacts, etc. If you can help us out, please email us at the address above - Thank-you! --Tim and Brian Waag, the Waag brothers (aka E. Clampus Waagus).  

Caution (PLEASE READ): Climbing around on the tramway is dangerous because its really old and defnitely unsafe, so don't even think about it. Shoot, just getting to it requires some perilous hiking, and if you don't believe me, just take a look at the Zig Zag Access Trail (or what's left of it). Plus, climbing on it weakens it and endangers your life. Also, the Saline Valley Salt Tram is on the National Register of Historic Places and should be treated with the respect that it deserves. What little remains is of great historic value, and should not be disturbed in any way. Heck, its probably against the law to move parts of the tram around, and certainly a crime to take home some of the few bits of it that remain (though you'd have to ask your friendly local BLM agent for details). So please treat it with the respect it deserves, so that future generations can enjoy whats left, without you messing it up. Really. Please. You can see its listing on the National Register of Historic Places at these web links:

National Register of Historic Places 1          National Register of Historic Places2

******************************************************
QUESTION 1: Match the Salt Tram photo that references the "pictographs" with the area around Owens Lake to determine where the photo was taken.


******************************************************

Introduction: Fred had the idea a few months ago to hike from the Salt Tram Summit in the Inyos all the way down the old pack trail along the tram route to the Saline (pronounced by locals as SLEEN or SUH-leen) Valley in a single day. We had certainly not done it in one day before, as we usually did it as a 2 day with an overnight stay at Control Station 2 (Station 15). We checked around, and there was enthusiastic interest in Fred's idea, so it was a go! We rounded up the usual suspects, along with a new one or two, and we were in business. Although this Summit-2-Sleen hike would be the focal point of the trip, we did do a few other Salt Tram-ish things on this trip (as well as numerous other interesting non-Salt Tram-ish stuff that will not be included in this report. On with the fun! Below: Moonrise over Control Station I (click to enlarge).

******************************************************

Field Trip Summary: Since it takes so long to put Salt Tram data collected from field trips like this one onto the website, I'll give a summary of the trip, leaving out the many non-salt tram stuff we did on the trip, because that just wouldn't fit the theme of this website, now would it? Most of these numbered items below will eventually be described or linked to in this blog entry.

1. 
   
   
   

   Visited the Cottonwood Hydroelectric Plant - rumored to be the source of electricity to run the Salt Tram - still with its original turbines, circa 1908 (unit 1) and 1909 (unit 2).
2. 
   
   
   

   Visited the Eastern California Museum in Indie to actually get a look at the recently donated Saline Valley Salt Company Stock Certificate.
3. 
   
   
   

   Visited Nancy and Fred Patterson in Bishop (Fred is the son of Salt Tram diarist Henry Clifton Patterson - it was great to see and visit with them).
4. Stayed at "Ray's Den Motel" in Indie - the unofficial home of the Friends of the Saline Valley Salt Tram! (yeah, Linda!). Okay - not really a Salt Tram bullet, but kinda...
5. Field observation of the pack trail below Control Station IV, including power pole route, pack trail, Station 30 and 31 (54 feet high - thanks Mark!), tram towers, cable spool, misc. buckets down canyons, interesting artifacts, etc.
6. Discovery of the likely location for the so-called "Flagstaff Construction Camp" referenced in the Patterson Diary.
7. Exploration of the famous Swansea Petro site (INYO-272) that is referenced in a historic Salt Tram photo below (probably photographed by longtime Keeler resident Lillian Hilderman).
8. 4x4 Drive to the Salt Tram summit in preparation for the next day's "Summit-to-Salt" hike (hey, I just gave it a nickname!).
9. Brian's desert-famous "Death Valley Chili" - the colon cleanser! (also not a Salt Tram bullet).
10. Summit-to-Salt Dayhike - with numerous observation objectives, a few of which were actually completed - see below. For a link to Corey's unlisted U-Tube video of the trip, click here.
11. Observation of the Temporary Tramway System from Chuckawalla Hollow Camp to Control Station I.
12. Brian and Mark hike up to the Zig Zag trail and put in fixed ropes to aid the hikers coming down from the Summit (Thanks, guys!).
13. Tim's desert-famous "Death Valley Burritos" (also not a Salt Tram bullet).
14. We can't end the list with lucky number 13, so I added this one: everybody got home - either driving, flying, or getting dropped off. Thanks to everyone who helped out on this trip! Awesome experience - again :-)

******************************************************

Trip Observations: The trip observations are divided into two groups: observations from the thru-hike, and other non-thru-hike observations. Here we go:
A. Non-thru-Hiker Trip Observations

A1 - Find the Swansea petro site and explore? Done. Ironically, we became curious about these petros because of a historical Salt Tram photo that made reference to them! The photo mentions pictographs, rather than petroglyphs, but that still got our interest. We are not able to match the photo to the mountains in the area to see if we could identify where the photo was taken - that'll have to wait for another time. See photo below.

Also, thanks to Earl for meeting us at the petros to give us his take on these unusual petroglyphs. Part of what makes them unusual is that they are carved, not into heavily patinated volcanic rock, but a light marble-dolomite rock that gives them a different look from your more typical Death Valley-area petroglyph. Below: Earl at Swansea Petroglyph site.

You can find out a bit more about these petros online at these sites:
Harry Helms Blog   
Equinox Project
Reminder: the Swansea Petro site, like so many others, has been heavily vandalized and abused. Please respect this site. I know it sounds obvious, but don't walk on the petros, and certainly don't re-peck them, as has been done here. Sadly, the real damage was done to the site by a mining operations that used this site as a gravel quarry (so I've been told - I do not have independent confirmation of this, but it looks right).


A2 - Find the lower Salt Tram construction camps on the west side of the tram? Started. Found one (Flagstaff camp). See blog entry: Construction Camp: Flagstaff

A3 - Detailed exploration of the lower west side tramway and facilities? Progress made (area below CS IV). We explored the area shown on this map below, including the towering Station 31, which we measured to be 54 feet tall!

A4 - Find failed friction grip - uh, yeah? No (no time to look).

A5 - Examine temp tramway between Chuckawalla Hollow Camp and CS I? Extensive progress made.  
*******************************************************
B. Saturday Thru-Hiker Trip Observations (Alan, Jim, Fred, Corey, Alex). Brian notes tha the drive from the Summit Station to the base of the tram in Saline Valley took around 2 1/2 hrs. Brian and Mark left the summit at around 6:20am and arrived at around 9am at the base.  For the hike for my buddy Mark and I to fix the ropes at the top of the zig zag was around 3 1/2 hrs with a few rest breaks in the middle (Brian wasn't in his best "fighting shape", although Mark always is - he works out 5 days at week at 5am - discipline!). Tim and Corbett took 3 hours to make the same drive in our twin white Broncos!

B1 - Which Station has the wood water pipe next to it? Station 18.
B2 - Document anchorage of 1.25 inch (heavy) track cable and 7/8 inch (light) track cable between Summit Station and station to the East? Done, but awaiting photos from Alan Station 18 has 2 Weight Boxes which would tension the 2 track cables that go to the summit station; both Weight Boxes are sitting on the ground. The heavy track cable is still attached to its Weight Box, but the light track cable is not attached to its Weight Box. See photos. New Question: Station 18 Weight Box for 7/8 inch track cable is not attached - where is the detached cable?
B3 - Evaluate pack trail around the hump near “cut limb 14” waypoint on map? Did not find. Alan indicates no discernable trail at all. I’m surprised by this answer, as I've seen it several times, and its hard to believe its completely washed away. Its possible that Alan was either looking in the wrong place, or just didn’t have enough time to find it.
B4 - Hike from CS II to Station 13, 12, and 11 and identify trail in confused area? Did not make the hike.
B5 - Identify original trail on final approach to CS II from above? Did not have time.
B6 - Photos of “May Pole” (temp tramway structure) next to CS II from various angles? Done (awaiting photos from Alan).
B7 - Examine lower dump below CS II above trail? Did not have time.
B8 - Historical Zig Zag photo - recreate photo? No. Tried but ran out of time.
B9 - Structural integrity of CS II - photos? Done (Alan reports only 3 support beams below the station deck appear to have any damage whatsoever - a very small number). Awaiting photos from Alan.

BX. Bonus Question: which station (19 or 18) has all the extra track cable next to it - to the west (see photo below)? STATION 19.

Observation below Control Station IV:
We had a short amount of time to drive up the Swansea Grade and hike the newly discovered pack trail that ran from Control Station IV (CS IV) to the modern Swansea Grade Road below (note that the trailhead located at 36 33.630 117 54.023). We have a goal of making detailed observations of the entire Salt Tram route, and the newly discovered pack trail gave us a good reason to cover this area next. On previous occasions when we have hiked along the West side of the Salt Tram, we would find snippets of pack trails (single track) to go along with the numerous wagon (and auto) roads that were built to construct and maintain the tram. It slowly dawned on us that there was a pack trail along the entire West end of the Salt Tram. The extensive Salt Tram pack trail on the East end of the Inyo's existence is well known, if not well-defined! However, the pack trail's existence on the West side is probably known only to us. The diary of Cliff Patterson tells us that Cliff worked as the operator at CS IV when it first began operation in 1913, and it is likely that he used this pack trail extensively when he traveled between CS IV and Swansea. Knowing that we were walking along a trail extensively used by Cliff was exciting! 

We killed alot of time early in the day on other projects, and only had about 2.5 hours to spend on this activity, which was just not enough time to cover it all.  Below: view of the pack trail as it winds below CS IV (click to enlarge).

******************************************************

A big thanks...

...goes out to you, all my team members for this incredible event we pulled off.   This was not the adventure I would have contemplated on my own, it clearly took all our efforts to bring it to fruition, climaxing to completion when all back safely at base camp by the next morning.

 To my team members: I truly meant it when I stated that this event will live in my memory for the rest of my life, all because you were standing with me, each in his/her own role to make success possible. 

In appreciation for what we all pulled off, I am truly grateful, my life sincerely enriched because of it.  I love each and every one of you. Wow, we did it! 

-- F. F.  PS: I'll shuttle "next year"

**********click to go to SALT TRAM HOME**********