Lost Mine of Blanca Peak, northeast of Alamosa, Colorado

KGCnewbieseeker

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Oct 29, 2005
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Rising up majestically from the San Luis Valley, the Blanca Peak complex lies 20 miles northeast of Alamosa, Colorado, in the Sangre de Cristo mountain chain. The Blanca Peak massif forms the pivot point where the Sangre de Cristo chain veers nearly east-west before continuing on its northwest-southeast trend. The Blanca Peak complex is made up of several high peaks ranging in elevation from 13,580 feet (Twin Peaks) to 14,345 feet (Blanca Peak). The Blanca Peak group includes Mount Lindsey (14,042 feet), Little Bear Peak (14,037 feet), Hamilton Peak (13,658 feet), Ellingwood Point (14,042 feet), and California Peak (13,849 feet). Known as the "Sacred Mountain of the East" by the Navajos, Blanca Peak forms a towering landmark which has lured travelers, explorers, and prospectors for centuries. The Blanca Peak complex is bounded by two major gates or pathways through the mountains: La Veta Pass to the east and Mosca Pass to the north. Located 17 miles east of Blanca Peak, La Veta Pass is the most important gateway over the Sangre de Cristo range today. La Veta, which means "The Vein", is indeed the preferred route over the mountains now, but it wasn't always that way. Mosca Pass, located 11 miles north of Blanca Peak, fulfilled that role in the past.


Long before the appearance of the white man, Mosca Pass served as an ancient gateway over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Used by local Indians for centuries, Mosca Pass is home to one of their most sacred sites, the so-called "Lake of Souls". Believed by the Indians to be the birthplace and final resting place of the soul, the "Lake of Souls" occupies an important place in Indian mythology. It is perhaps fitting that it lies just north of the Navaho's "Sacred Mountain of the East", Blanca Peak.


Mosca Pass was a busy thoroughfare prior to the opening of La Veta Pass. Traveled by Indians, mountain men, and explorers, the pass became famous during the early and middle 19th Century. For awhile, the pass was known as Robidoux Pass, after the renowned mountain man Antoine Robidoux. In 1846, George Fredrick Ruxton made use of the pass during his epic journey to the Rocky Mountains. Two years later, the "Pathfinder" John Charles Fremont traversed the pass on his way to the San Luis Valley and the La Garita Mountains beyond.


The Blanca Peak complex served as an important guidepost for all of these mountain men and explorers. But Blanca Peak was also a beacon for prospectors. The rugged granite mountains "looked right" to the miners and prospectors that surveyed them from a distance. Before long, rumors of gold on Blanca Peak began to circulate throughout the region. One of the most famous accounts concerns an Army deserter who passed through the area during the 1870's.


Known as the Lost Mine of Blanca Peak, the hidden deposit has intrigued mining men and prospectors for over a century. It all started during the early 1870's. One of Ula, Colorado's most famous sons, William "Moccasin Bill" Perkins, and a hunting partner whose name has not come down to us, were camping on the slopes of Blanca Peak when a man in tattered Army clothes showed up at their fire. The man turned out to be a deserter from the Army and he had a tale to tell. Only a few hours earlier, "on the other side of the hill from the camp", the soldier had stumbled upon a rich deposit of gold-bearing quartz! The soldier produced a handful of rich gold ore and rough nuggets that he had collected from the deposit. All thoughts of hunting vanished as the astonished men gazed at the rich ore. But try as they might, they could not persuade the soldier to backtrack and show them the location of the deposit. The only thing he would do was draw them a rough map. When the soldier departed, Perkins and his partner eagerly made their way "over the hill", fully expecting to find the gold deposit by the end of the day. They found no gold that day or any other day. The rich gold deposit still remains hidden to this day.
 

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