Franklin Ghost Town Hike 4-16-2016

Every spring I try to do the Franklin Ghost Town hike while the daffodils are blooming.  I missed last year entirely, and this year the daffodils were gone, but it was a very worthy outing!  The weather was absolutely perfect- sunshine and blue skies.

Once Cedar and I got up to the top of the hill we were dazzled by Mount Rainier, like a huge crystal mountain against the sky.

There is not much left of a mining town that thrived here above the Green River Gorge in the late 1800's.  Just a few foundations and some rusting relics. 

 

The shaft of the mine (I assume there were other shafts, but this is the only one I know of that is open and findable) bores down 1300 feet from the top of the hill to 500 feet below sea level.  Working in this place would not have been the most pleasant of occupations.

Once you pass the mine shaft, you end up on a pleasant trail through the woods, with wildflowers and bird song.  Today there were bald eagles circling the hill too. 

Along this trail to the right, you can view what remains of the rails that once held the water pipe that supplied Franklin with water. 

Where the trees are covered with ivy as wide as your arm, and blue, white and yellow flowers nod sleepily below visiting butterflies, you will find the Franklin cemetery.  This is what really brings me.. the mine shaft and the cemetery.  There is something that feels right about making that connection between the warmth and new life of spring with the long-silent lives of those who have passed on before.  Some of the graves here mark the resting places of miners who were killed in one of the worst mining tragedies in the U.S.  On August 24, 1894 a fire was deliberately set in this mine, and 37 miners suffocated when another shaft was opened by a father attempting to rescue his son.  This is a history that shouldn't be forgotten.
There are also the graves of children.  A very real reminder of just how hard life was back then; when the temperature of your latte was not the most pressing matter. 

And again on a bright note, this is a great hike for wildlife. Not necessarily great big hairy animals that you'd want to frame a photo of, but lots of great little critters that are fun to watch.  Butterflies, garter snakes, snails, millipedes, robins, woodpeckers, and the songs of other birds I couldn't quite glimpse. 

Lovely day for a lovely step back in history.