Farrell's Eye: The Mineral Belt Trail

The Mineral Belt Trail is a 12.5 mile paved recreation trail designed for hikers, cyclists, skaters, runners, and skiers that loops around the Leadville, Colorado area through forests, foothills, gulches, and city streets. Local history is highlighted along the trail, focusing mostly on the mining industry that built the town's fame and sometimes infamy. Here are some photos from my hike along the trail:

We started the trail near its summit of 10,606 feet above sea level. Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive can be seen in the background on the left and right respectively. Beautiful views of the Sawatch Range to the west and the Mosquito Range to the east can be enjoyed anywhere along the trail.

Abandoned mines line the trail. They look as if they are waiting for their miners to return to work, but awake each morning as isolated and alone as before.

A closer look at the pond from the previous photo.

The Mineral Belt Trail winding into California Gulch, home of the abandoned mines of Meyer Guggenheim.

Many great ghost stories and mining lore come from these abandoned mines - this is one of the haunted ones. Don't whistle while you work - miner's superstition says whistling drives away the friendly spirits that protect them from the evil ones that lurk deep in the mines.

My favorite story I found along this trail involved two mines that ended up tunneling to the same point underground in the late 1800s. Only one mine knew they had intercepted a rival mine's tunnel. Those miners filled a boot with sulphur, lit the boot afire, and left it at the tunnel's point of intersection. The other mine tunneled completely through, saw the flames, and ran out of the tunnel for their lives - not because they were afraid of the fire, but because they thought they had mined their way to Hell!