Not once in my mine exploring career have I attempted or completed a trip as challenging as this mine. The Perseverance Mine had been on my list for years, but I continued to push it off until next year because I dreaded the inevitable suffering that I expected this trip to induce. In order to complete this in one day, hours of recon and planning were completed prior to the day of the trip. Our first obstacle was the lake. We had two options; go through the lake or go around the lake. By going through the lake, I mean rafting on the lake to the other side. This decision was like being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Going around the lake meant possible hours of heavy bushwhacking while rafting meant carrying an additional 30 pounds of weight 5 miles each way. To resolve our indecision, I scouted out the route around the lake, and to my surprise, it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it might be.

With the first obstacle out of the way, we began thinking about what else could impede our journey. We knew there was some sort of established route to the lofty cliffs where the adit is located, but we weren't sure exactly how sporty these cliffs were. The weather was another factor in our planning. This trip simply would not have been possible with rainy or even hot weather.

With our best plan in hand, the day had finally come to give it a shot. We woke up around 4:00am and drove just under two hours to the trailhead where we began hiking at around 7:00am. We quickly plodded along the well-traveled trail to the lake before diverging off-trail to begin my second journey around the lake. After enduring thick vine maple with our heavy packs, we descended back down to the far edge of the lake and began an even brushier journey up the basin. I expected this part to be much easier than it was. But the combination of thick brush and car sized boulders was unrelenting. It took hours to get up the basin - only 1-2 miles of hiking. Finally, we emerged from the final brush patch to open scree fields. Our objective was in sight. The final obstacle was a series of slab cliffs standing between us and the mine. With some route-finding, we were able to make a smooth ascent up the cliffs and to the mine.

I have to say the view from this mine's portal is second to none; overlooking a crystal-clear lake and soaring ragged mountain peaks. We quickly admired the view, ate some lunch and entered the flooded adit. It took us several hours to explore the extensive workings and we began worrying about daylight when we finally made it back to the portal. We started down as the sun was falling over the nearby hills. Just an hour or two later, the sun had set and we were forced to rely on our headlamps as we made our way through the brush. The final 5 mile trudge along the trail was just about the hardest part of the day. After 14+ hours of hiking, we were hurting. I almost couldn't believe my eyes when I first spotted the parking lot. Luckily, I still had enough energy to drive us home, where we were able to get to sleep around 1:00am.

Was it worth it? Yes. But maybe not for the reason you're thinking of. This was worth doing to say that I've done it. We knew it wasn't going to be the most interesting mine, but it may be the most interesting journey I've experienced.

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