Exploring The Walker Mine: Part 4 - Having A Bad Air Day!

[@AbandonedMines11]

Wet, wet, wet! Cool footage of the oxygen sensor going off.

[@TVRExploring]

Given how far we went, it's crazy to think that this adit kept going for several thousand feet more after this collapse... That was the only time my oxygen sensor has ever gone off inside of a mine!

[@MinesoftheWest]

Wow this mine just gets better and better. That raise was really cool! Great job!

[@TVRExploring]

Thank you. Yes, this one had some great stuff inside... I thought that raise at the end was really cool too. I would have lingered on it longer, but I was getting pelted in the face by the water that was falling from several stories up. Kinda made it hard to focus on the raise, you know? Both at this one and at the waterfall, it would have been interesting to see what was in the upper levels, but those waterlogged ladders that are getting close to 75-years-old now didn't really inspire a lot of confidence - especially at the heights of those upper workings!

[@briscollama2521]

Great scenery.

[@CornishMineExplorer]

That ground certainly got dodgy towards the end, I am guessing the water did not do the timbers any favours there! Still. some really nice colours in the rocks, some nice finds in there and a nice big tunnel! Time well spent! :)

[@markattardo]

Watching this video something occurred to me. We marvel (or even take for granted) tunnels used for transportation. Mines on the other hand......This was a pretty amazing mine!

[@docmccoy1928]

that is an amazing damned mine. I would have loved to have seen it in it's heyday. Some huge ass timbers that they hauled in there. You guys be safe

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, I was amazed by the size of the mine as well. We discovered later that the tunnel continues for thousands of feet past that collapse at the end of the video too! It definitely would have been cool to see this one when it was up and running. The timbers in there were huge - hard to imagine them hauling them in there and then muscling them into position...

[@docmccoy1928]

That is the thing I think most people forget They did that all by hand. They may have had some jacks but jacks don't put in stulls. They have to be hammered in. When I was a miner shoring timbers were usually put in with the help of hydraulics but when you in a stope and putting in a stull it's all manual labor. One trick was if you knew you were going to put in a stull you left a little rock on the floor to wedge the bottom against

[@TVRExploring]

I love getting comments from individuals such as yourself because you know so much about mining... Yes, especially in some of the older mines we visit (before the miners would have had ANY mechanical assistance), it is amazing to see some of the timbers they put in place or some of the rocks they moved around. That's interesting about leaving the little rock for the stulls. I'll keep an eye out for that in the future. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@terrylee6224]

TVR Exploring 'l

[@terrylee6224]

Doc McCoy 'll(?

[@leesherman100]

You don't explore mines, you attack mines! Five star!

[@robertsnyder5149]

We used old road grader blades that had been worn down.

[@paulniblock]

The smoke you see in various shots is his breath. It was COLD for such a warm day.

[@TVRExploring]

Paul isn't joking - it got REALLY cold in there! This was especially the case if one manned up (like Paul did) and charged into the mine without waders or any other waterproof gear...

[@paulniblock]

yeah! lol

[@mainlineprospector3813]

Another great video. What oxygen sensor would you recommend, I'd like to get one?

[@TVRExploring]

Thank you very much. The one I have is from BW Technologies and it is what most mine explorers seem to use... If you get the single gas device, they cost about $120 depending on where you buy it. In other words, you can buy one for oxygen or one for hydrogen sulfide or whatever. The device has a battery life of two years once you activate it and once the battery is gone, you have to get a new one. If you want one device that detects multiple gases, they are much more expensive. The instance in this video is the only time I have ever had my oxygen sensor go off inside of a mine, but it is comforting to have it all the same. Be sure to calibrate it at the entrance to the mine before you go inside because it is quite sensitive to altitude and other factors. Sometimes when driving through the mountains it just goes off like crazy because of the changing altitudes.

[@mainlineprospector3813]

Awesome thanks very much I do appreciate it.

[@TVRExploring]

You're very welcome. I hope that was helpful.

[@mikecarr1484]

I went into that mine in 2001. The audit I went into collapsed it was down by last chance Creek. Below the actual mine. But it all connected .

[@TVRExploring]

We didn't see any lower levels in this mine. How did that adit you entered connect to this one?

[@mikecarr1484]

Technically I guess it would be same level just from another part of the mountain. I am sure my way is now collapsed.

[@cameronland4439]

Such an amazing, huge mine! I love yours and Frank's videos, they're so fascinating. Do you ever go exploring in Southern California? If so, I'd love to tag along sometime

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, this was a very big mine! What's crazy is that it supposedly went in for more than 8,000 feet. I had to stop at the collapse, of course, but the idea that it kept going for thousands of feet past that was incredible to me. I have not been exploring in Southern California yet. However, I'm sure it will happen in the future. Good company is always welcome!

[@cameronland4439]

TVR Exploring Yeah you were already thousands of feet in. It's crazy to think that man will never see what's past the collapse ever again, enclosed forever. I spent 4 hours last night watching mine exploring videos ( mostly yours and a few more of Frank's)

[@TVRExploring]

Haha, that sounds like some quality time to me! Thanks for watching. I love it when other people enjoy what we were able to document. Oh, and, yes, to me it is a little sad to see a huge collapse like that because whatever is back there will never be seen again. It is gone forever.

[@cameronland4439]

TVR Exploring Oh yeah, I was wondering, how do you find all these mines? I downloaded the KML mining site Google Earth overlay and I look at them on Earth but it doesn't look like there's any portals to any of the mines

[@Narilyte]

That one side tunnel looks almost like they tapped into a natural cave/opening, given how the rooks looked. How often do you encounter Bad Air in the mines that you explore? Edit: oops, nevermind. You answered this in another comment. XD

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, it is not uncommon for the miners to hit natural caves or pockets underground. I have a video I still need to publish where the miners ran into an absolutely enormous natural underground cavern. Also in upcoming videos, I have some bad air experiences. This season (2017) was the first time I ever hit legitimately bad air that I felt and it happened three times!

[@robertsnyder5149]

Pounding rails into the ceiling is called spiraling. My partner and I did 30 ft. of this to get into an old tunnel.

[@TVRExploring]

That's a lot of work. I hope it was worth it.

[@robertsnyder5149]

@@TVRExploring Never finished, Mark sold the claim before we did.

[@mikecarr1484]

Careful I got empitigo from that exact mine. Flesh eating bacteria. My uncle had a claim right next to that mine. We must have gone into their 20 times back in 2001. Really made me sad when his side collapsed . On like 2006. In had mud slides that covered that adit. I just recently figured out there was many other ways inside.

[@TVRExploring]

I'm only aware of the way we went in being open now...

[@BritishColumbiaGhostMines]

So no upper workings video??? Don't leave me hanging!!!! Lol

[@eleonoragiuliani4123]

It's painful, but it looks like they were eroded shut and were inaccessible.

[@BritishColumbiaGhostMines]

Yeah I was hoping that wasn't the case, but did look like it..

[@TVRExploring]

British Columbia Ghost Mines Yes, I'm sorry to say that the portal had eroded shut. A second one that was supposedly around the corner had eroded to the point that it wasn't even possible to locate where it had been. It's a lot easier to go down into workings rather than up into them. So, unless someone brings in an excavator to dig out that upper adit or grows wings to fly up into those upper levels from inside the mine, I'm afraid we may never know what is up there.

[@worldtraveler930]

TVR Exploring Telescoping Ladder just might be worth the investment. Possibly a thought for Patreon account?

[@RobbWilliams11]

Didn’t you hear the alarm going off?.

[@TVRExploring]

Brief periods of low oxygen are usually fine unless one dips down to single digits or some other extreme... The oxygen meter I am using now displays the precise percentage of oxygen in the environment so that I know exactly how far I can push it.

[@ericmuetterties1984]

@@TVRExploring single gas or 4 gas monitor?

[@ericmuetterties1984]

I could hear your breathing being more labored before the monitor went off. Dang, be careful and carry emergency oxygen cans.

[@TVRExploring]

Yes, it definitely makes a difference. I've had four that were worse than this one now and in one of them you can hear me just gasping for breath in the video. I got to the end of that one and got out pretty quickly.

[@ericmuetterties1984]

@@TVRExploring you should get at least one of these. $15 could save your life. www.boostoxygen.com

[@222foont]

MASSIVE collapse!

[@TVRExploring]

Yep, no way I was getting around that one...