{"id":7345,"date":"2021-01-17T10:15:35","date_gmt":"2021-01-17T15:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=7345"},"modified":"2021-01-17T10:20:39","modified_gmt":"2021-01-17T15:20:39","slug":"episode-228-yukon-diary-permafrost-in-an-old-mining-adit-in-yukon-in-1962","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=7345","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 228 YUKON DIARY PERMAFROST IN AN OLD MINING ADIT IN YUKON IN 1962"},"content":{"rendered":"
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EPISODE 228   YUKON DIARY   PERMAFROST IN AN OLD MINING ADIT IN YUKON (summer of 1962)<\/p>\n


<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Jan. 2021<\/div>\n

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The  early placer miners took risks when excavating holes in the frozen gravel of the Yukon.  As did<\/div>\n
the hard rock miners.   Safety precautions were good to fair but not  perfect. Whether they<\/div>\n
dug vertically (shafts) or horizontally (adits) there was always the danger the permafrost that locked the<\/div>\n
gravel would melt and the holes they dug  would collapse.  To keep these excavations safe  there had<\/div>\n
to be a lot of timbering inside.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Surprisingly the old mines that were allowed to flood  once abandoned are even now quite safe once<\/div>\n
drained while the mines that did not fill with water are dangerous because the timbers are prone to<\/div>\n
dry rot which means they lose their strength.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Moses Lord, Dinky and  I found one adit which we  were able to explore.  The adit was frozen.   Ice <\/div>\n
crystals made it stunningly beautiful as  you will see below.  Permafrost had  its grip  on the<\/div>\n
passageway so we felt quite safe.  Whether this  safety was an  illusion or not.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Jan. 2021<\/div>\n

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Two young miners excavating an adit.   The walls would have to be timbered fast.<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n
Imagine trying to hand drill a hole for explosives.   Imagine working in a mine where standing  straight was  impossible.<\/div>\n
Would you put your trust in that post and  wedge that is holding up the ceiling?   Miners in Dublin Gulch, Keno Hill, Wernecke Camp, Elsa, <\/div>\n
Calumet, Silver King, Peso Silver took  lots of risks.  Some died in mine accidents.   Many more were crippled by silicosis and poisons<\/div>\n
in the water they drank.  To this day\u2026January 17, 2021\u2026drinking water in Keno City has to be trucked in by the Yukon government.<\/div>\n

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Pictures taken in August 1962.   How long would it take to clothe this mine adit in these crystals? <\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n
Both of these fellows were great teammates on our jobs.  Both were members of the local First Nations people in Mayo Landing.<\/div>\n
I would never have found this adit were it not for Moses Lord.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Jan. 17 2021<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
NOTE:  LOTS MORE TO COME FROM THE SUMMER OF  1962\u2026BUT IT TAKES  TIME TO TRANSCRIBE.<\/div>\n
I HOPE MOST OF YOU  ENJOY READING THE RESULT.   THIS WOULD NEVER HAVE  BEEN DONE WERE<\/div>\n
IT NOT FOR THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC AND SUBSEQUENT LOCKDOWN.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EPISODE 228   YUKON DIARY   PERMAFROST IN AN OLD MINING ADIT IN YUKON (summer of 1962) alan skeoch Jan. 2021 The  early placer miners took risks when excavating holes in the frozen gravel of the Yukon.  As did the hard rock miners.   Safety precautions were good to fair but not  perfect. Whether they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7345\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}