10-stamp Mill at Quartz Creek Traditional Cache
10-stamp Mill at Quartz Creek
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Take CR-76 from Highway 50 to Pitkin. At mile marker 12, park at the pullout which provides access to a fisherman's trail.
Since you are so close, start with the Roosevelt mine (The Hidden Roosevelt Mine (GC14FHK)). From the mine, continue out the "door" and make your way NW to an old road bed. Following the road, you will soon arrive at the 10-stamp mill that once supported the Roosevelt mine.
As background, a stamp mill consists of a set of heavy steel stamps, loosely held vertically in a frame, in which the stamps can slide up and down. They are lifted by cams on a horizontal rotating shaft. As the cam moves from under the stamp, the stamp falls onto ore below, crushing the rock, and the lifting process is repeated at the next pass of the cam.
Each frame and stamp set is sometimes called a "battery." Mills were categorized by how many stamps they had, i.e., a "10 stamp mill" has 10 stamps. This particular mill had 10 stamps arranged into two, 5-stamp batteries. This mill used water to drive the mill so exploring the area reveals the various man-made paths used to deliver water from nearby Quartz Creek.
The Roosevelt mine was opened in 1907. Accordingly, this structure has stood approximately 100 years and is in pretty good shape and provides a good educational experience. Care should be taken, however, because the structure is in a state of decay.
Note: We have already lost one cache at this location. Please conceal the cache as you found it.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Orarngu gur zvyy lbh jvyy svaq n ynetr qvnzrgre, zrgny cvcr. Ng gur raq bs gur cvcr (pybfrfg gb gur Ebbfriryg Zvar), ybbx gb n pbeare qrsvarq ol gur zvyy naq n pbapergr ergnvavat jnyy.
Treasures
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