San Juan Mountains Treasure Hunt

The San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado are riddled with old mines. Fortunately that seems to add to their charm despite the ripped apart hillsides and old equipment laying all around. It is fun to find an old tailings pile and pick through it to see if you can figure out what was being mined there at one time. It is also fun - but not recommended and very dangerous - to explore old mines in the mountains.

You won't have to go in a mine for this treasure hunt, although you will need to find one. It is a large one, and it's closed off by a large vertical metal grate. It is above the tree line and overlooks a beautiful valley. You might see bears here, as there are plenty of wild currants and other berries, and a stream runs through the valley bottom.

This is also one of the easiest treasure hunts if you have a high-clearance vehicle. Simply find the county road in Silverton that crosses the Animas River, and wraps around the backside of Mount Kendall. Follow this for a few miles and you'll come to a split in the road next to a large mine opening in the hillside. The mine is sealed, as mentioned, and has a government seal on it.

The brass seal says "ID Project" on it. Above that a single digit is stamped into it, and below there is a two-digit number stamped in it as well. Write down the digit above and the two below. Add a "4" if the seal is more than four feet off the ground, or a "0" if it is less than that, and a "3" if it is more than three feet from the side of the metal grating or a "0" if it is not. Insert the five digits that result in place of the question marks below to get to the solution page and claim a prize.

http://www.ColoradoTreasureHunting.com/s-???.html

Bonus Treasure

There is also a small container with some coins from two countries in it, hidden in the rocks up along the right side of the mine as you face it. Be careful. If the grass is wet it may be slippery.

Note

If you like to collect rocks look for the pieces of gold around the mine entrance and in the tailings down the hillside. They aren't gold, of course, but iron pyrite. There are also some red crystals, yellow ones, and many other interesting rocks.

If you want to summit a 13,000-foot mountain, you can take the road to the left at the mine. About a mile later it ends a few hundred feet from the top of Mount Kendall (13,066 feet). You'll have a great view of Silverton 4000 feet below, and of the San Juan Mountains in all directions. Watch out for lightning and thunderstorms on summer afternoons. In fact, this whole treasure hunt is better done early in the day.