What kind of cart/sled could this be?

killakane · Sep 16, 2012

Found this in a very steep and rocky arroyo ABOVE many cliffs/waterfalls. Found somewhere near badger creek in central Colorado. Far from any roads or trails. didn't have time to hike higher up the mountain. Looks quite old from the condition,appears to at one time been a sled or sledge for ore. Notice in the upper left quadrant possibly a skid rail? All of the iron pieces are extremely rusted maybe only 1/32 inch thick anymore. Notice the long spikes bent over "dead-nail" style. Also see the square head lag bolt, looked cast but hard to tell through the rust. Anyway if anyone has any idea what this is it would be greatly appreciated.

QUICKSILVER (appletree) · Sep 16, 2012

all i can say is wow!!! lol! sorry but really good luck with finding your answer

old digger · Sep 16, 2012

Not enough to identify! Is there any wooden spokes or pieces of wood with a long strap of metal that would have bolted onto one side, which would have been a runner on a sled?

killakane · Sep 17, 2012

actually there are two long pieces of steel one is still fastened to the right piece of wood the other is visible if you zoom just to the left of the cart has somewhat of a ski shape. didn't notice anything that looks like spokes or wheels. If it is a sled how would it be used?

old digger · Sep 17, 2012

I am assuming that your object of interest is located in Colorado? If it was a sled it was either used to haul timber, coal, ore, or used as transportation.

killakane · Sep 17, 2012

yes, it was found near swissvale/badger creek area in central colorado. really steep rocky terrain. we also found a good number of old stumps higher up that appeared to be cut with hand saws, they appeared to be about in the same state of decay as the wood in the photo. really just trying to find the time period its from. I recall also seeing perhaps a trail further up that seemed to be crushed up slate about 4 feet wide, could be natural but it kinda looked odd. anyway, thanks for the input.

killakane · Sep 20, 2012

hiked back up there again took more pictures of the cart and hardware, there is for sure iron skis, also found an old retaining wall in the gully bottom I'm assuming it was for the skidder trail. also found some rocks deliberately stood on edge straight up on the ridge from the cart. if anybodys got any clues let me know. thanks