Our latest exploration led to us to the wilderness once again.
The gold-mining town of Briggs, Oregon only lasted about two years until the miners' moved on in search of better gold fields.
The crude grave of Sam Brown lies atop a small knoll near the town-site. His past clouded in rumor! Was he shot, or hanged?
The stories abound, but with town springing up and dying overnight, nothing remains in permanent records, and the people who would have known, have long since moved on.
A barber shop, hotel, brothel and bar were the main establishments in this short-lived boom town. Sam Brown was remembered to be the bartender. Only Sam can likely say, as he's the only left and he keeps watch on the trail that brought his customers from the gold camps down the creek. Who knows when the sun is setting in the evening if Sam is still welcoming the ghosts of his friends that still stop by after a hard days' work along the banks of the creek.
Going in search of the two of the mines along Briggs Creek Trail led through beautiful forests on relatively easy trails that wind along Briggs creek.
The only sounds you hear are the Jays loudly announcing your presence to the inhabitants of the forest and the rippling sound of the creek as it pours over numerous waterfalls, creating beautiful eddies and crystal clear pools.
In some places stand the remnants of red cedars that were over four feet in diameter, magnificent trees that stretched to the heavens. Even today, there are so many red cedars in this particular area that reach so high above the trails you can't even see the tops.
Some of these trees are so large you can see the leaves from vines clinging to the tree as they climb to the top of it to reach heights that they could never reach on their own.
On the Briggs Creek Trail you will find an occasional Sugar Pine tree. Although they are rare in Oregon, there are a few on this trail and they produce pinecones that get absolutely huge! This is an example of a small Sugar Pine cone that dwarfs a large size pinecone from another tree and notice the smaller dark cone that is what you normally see.
We found the mining camps, but unfortunately Nature destroys all that she does not create and some items such as hoses, pipes, barrels and discard piles that remain are gradually deteriorating and joining the soils.
All that remains of the more modern privy from a later mining operation at the same site.
A side trip off the Briggs Creek Trail led to a beautiful clearing surrounded by eroding landscape, and in this clearing are grave-sites of some lost loved ones which could have been people or pets known only to those who cherished them with these monuments. We paid our respects and left them in peace.
Our pleasant afternoon consisted of stops to admire the scenery, a journey across a knee deep creek to access a mine on the other side, and although we didn't see deer, elk, mountain lion or bear, probably because of the jays' and the loud panting of our dogs, we did see numerous birds, fish, and a grouse that apparently had never seen a human before, as we walked right up to it before it bothered to fly away. We did see lots of signs on and around the trail of the denizens of the forest, but we were too deep in to see much around us. It's best that the four-legged critters are so camera shy as they tolerate our presence without our interfering with their homes.
This is just another example of the beautiful country in Southern Oregon.
