Gold Mines in McGrath

[cub_driver]

I just returned home from visiting some friends at there gold mine in the McGrath area. It is a long and interesting flight in a cub the weather was great so I was able to fly over the Alaska range rather then fly through the pass. It is about a three hour flight oneway from Big Lake in my cub. Once on the other side of the Alaska range it gets pretty remote. The country around the McGrath area is really pretty its rolling hills and clear water streams the grayling where just coming into the clear water streams after the long winter in the main rivers. We did have fresh grayling one night for dinner I don't no if the fish are that good or if I was that hungry after hiking and mining all day.

I did get a chance to explore the area with the cub one morning. My friends had equipment up at another location that we needed to check on so I offered to fly my cub up there. They are new owners of the mine and have never been up to the prospecting area before. We had a uneventfull landing on the so called strip it was not very flat but worked. All there equipment seemed to be intacked so after a inventory we headed back to the main camp. On the flight back I noticed couple of other old landing areas I really wanted to check out but I didn't have the fuel to play around so we returned to main camp and loaded up for home.

It is really impressive to think that back in 1915 men where prospecting and moving gold mining equipment back to such remote areas. Those early miners where a rugged breed of men.

Cub_Driver

 

[Fortysix12]

Cub driver,

Three hours one way. How did you get back without refueling. Whats the range of your cub fuel quantity and such. About the gold miners,the frame of mind people were in back in those days is unbelievable.

 

[labdad32]

Mines

Not just men, women too. One gal that spent many, many years in the McGrath area, Maggie, used to tell me that when she came to Alaska by steamer in the 20's she headed for the mines. She said that there were two types of women that were at the mines, whores and school teachers. She added that she never taught school. Some of the equipment that they hauled across country to the hard rock and placer mines would boggle the mind of most kids today when you consider they pulled much of it using horses and manpower.

 

[AlaskaAV]

Re: Mines

Not just men, women too. One gal that spent many, many years in the McGrath area, Maggie, used to tell me that when she came to Alaska by steamer in the 20's she headed for the mines. She said that there were two types of women that were at the mines, whores and school teachers. She added that she never taught school. Some of the equipment that they hauled across country to the hard rock and placer mines would boggle the mind of most kids today when you consider they pulled much of it using horses and manpower.

Although not into that area for me, at the same time Wien would cut the side of an aircrarft to load a big piece of steel (boilers) and weld
the side back on and make the fligtht into a very remote gold location. Yes, there were some working ladies in those areas too and what ladies they were.

 

[cub_driver]

JAJ

I have a 32 gallon belly tank that gives me the extra range I need for those longer flights. If I run short on fuel I can divert into McGrath and top off.

Cub_Driver