Stanley B Mine and Springs - 6/21/14

Old Lead Mine at Stanley B Springs

Stanley B Spring

 Our Saturday hikes are well attended and today was no different! We had twenty-eight hikers on the Stanley B Mine & Springs Trail today. We had driven up Kyle Canyon Road to the trailhead that is found on the right approximately 1 mile past the site of the old visitor center. It is a large dirt turnout with large boulders placed at the mouth of the wash. The trail starts climbing into the wash by using the left side. Today, there was a downed tree right at the beginning of the trail as seen in the photo to the left.

Climbing the Wash

 The leisurely pace of the hike made the easy scrambling up the wash trail feasible for everyone. Be aware, there appears to be a large beehive under the overhanging wall to the left about half way up the wash.

Small Shortcut Trail

 We junctioned with the old access road that looks more like a trail now. Not too far from this junction (about a third of a mile into the hike), there is a small shortcut trail that takes a very sharp turn to the left. We used this trail on the way up. There was spotty shade during the hike and it was a warm day. We could hear the breeze in the tops of the trees above us but little of the wind reached us until we got out onto Kyle Canyon Road in the end of the hike.

Part of the Mine Air System

We junctioned with the access road again and completed our climb up to the Leroy Mining Claim sign. To the left of the sign, we crawled over another downed tree and saw that the spring was flowing very well from the pipe.

Climbing to the Mine

 The last leg of the ascent took us to the right of the sign. This wash was a little steep with a mushy water flow element to deal with. Carefully, we climbed the slippery path up to the mine entrance and had a nice break in the shade. Afterwards, we ... carefully ... descended back down to the sign area. Then, all together again, we proceeded down the old access road trail.

Descending the Old Access Road

 We stayed on the old road for the complete downhill hike. No shortcut trail and no scrambling wash.

Peering Through Trees to the Other Side of Kyle Canyon

 The road gave beautiful views of the opposite side of Kyle Canyon and the sun shining through the trees made intricate patterns of shade on the dirt trail. The road leads all the way down to Kyle Canyon Road. It is gated there. Finally, we turned left on the pavement and hiked a quarter of a mile back to the cars. Great morning!

Less than 3 miles; and less than 900 feet elevation gain

Finishing Descent on the Old Access Road

Hiking Down the Road to the Cars