Spring Creek
The Spring Creek Mine is located just off the Copper Haul Road (but across McIntyre Creek) and southwest of Copper Ridge. It was never a very active mine but it is an interesting place to visit due to the excavations and old buildings on the site.
Chronology
- 1904: surveyed as Lot 162 Group 5 by Henry G. Dickson for Frank Duke and H.J. Miller
- 1905: purchased by Henry G. Dickson (who had surveyed it in 1904) and his brother Thomas A. Dickson; more about the Dickson brothers
- 1907: several holes and one shaft at least 20 ft (6 m) and possibly 43 ft (13 m) deep; promise of more
- 1915: Dickson brothers had crew working on the mine and did $9500 of work
- 1939: Thomas Dickson died; a share of Spring Creek was part of his estate
- 1941: Henry Dickson died; his 3/5 ownership of Spring Creek had no value
- 1970: geochemical soil sampling conducted for New Imperial Mines in the area astride the Copper Haul Road west of the Spring Creek area
- 1980: diamond drilling by Whitehorse Copper in the area
Access
There are three ways of getting to Spring Creek.
- From the Copper Haul Road, park at POI 1 (details below) and take the trail down to the valley floor.
- As part of a visit to the adjacent Empress of India area, wander north along the valley to Spring Creek.
- Take the Hawk Ridge Trail either hiking or cycling. It goes right by POIs 2 and 3. You'll probably have to research the Porcupine Ridge and Porcupine to Copper Ridge Connector trails too for access; the preceding Hawk Ridge link has links to info on those other trails. Also see Hawk Ridge on Whitehorse Walks. That map shows "old cabins" in the area of POIs 2 and 3, and it also shows the trail from POI 1.
Points of interest
The map below shows some points of interest (POIs) in the Spring Creek area. The table that follows gives more info for each POI.
| POI | Description | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | possible access point | 60.67572 -135.12730 493045 6726675 |
In this gravel area just off the Copper Haul Road, there is a burned-out car wreck. From here, a wide trail heads down into the McIntyre Creek valley. The trail soon narrows and becomes overgrown but it goes all the way down to the floor of the valley ending across the creek floodplain from POI 2. If you continue down the west side of the valley to the point where it narrows, you may be able to find an easy route across the creek, which can be very narrow here. Continue around the base of the cliff to POI 2. |
| 2 | old cabins | 60.67860 -135.12850 492980 6726996 |
This is a group of old cabins here, maybe only the walls for canvas tops like wall tents. There are many tin cans in this area too. This is probably where the miners lived. At least they had a nice view over the creek! |
| 3 | cabin and mine portal | 60.67847 -135.12686 493070 6726982 |
There is another cabin here adjacent to a shallow pit leading to a portal. This was probably the scene of most of the activity at Spring Creek. WARNING: Do not enter the mine portal. |
| 4 | shallow adit 1 | 60.67819 -135.12653 493087 6726950 |
This is a hole in the cliff face with a trail of mine waste in front. Few visitors take the time to see this and POI 5. WARNING: Do not enter the adit. |
| 5 | shallow adit 2 | 60.67815 -135.12583 493126 6726946 |
This is another hole in the cliff face with a trail of mine waste in front. POIs 3, 4, and 5 are not very far apart although you'll have to scramble down a steep slope if you're going from POI 3 to POIs 4 and 5. If you are approaching from the valley floor, don't be fooled by the "cliff island" directly to the south of POIs 4 and 5. POIs 4 and 5 are in the south-facing cliff in the north wall of dry channel between the main cliff line and the cliff island. WARNING: Do not enter the adit. |
Downloads
| POIs for GPS | map for GPS |
|---|---|
| file of POIs in GPS format for this project and all others in the Whitehorse Copper Belt that you can download | GPS map for this project that you can download |
Photos and more info
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The cliffs of Spring Creek seen across the valley from the trail that heads down from POI 1. Don't be discouraged by these heights. Access is quite easy if you walk around the north end of the floodplain to POI 2. |
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Looking west across the floodplain from POI 2. The trail from POI 1 reaches the valley floor somewhere on the other side, and there's a trail down to the floodplain on this side. The great mystery of Spring Creek: how did the original miners get themselves and equipment in and out? Was there a road across the floodplain and the creek 110 years ago? |
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Old cabin walls in the area of POI 2. These may have been to support a canvas top like a wall tent. Another mystery of Spring Creek: Why were there so many cabins here? The mine must have employed a relatively large workforce (for how long?)... but produced nothing. |
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Cabins (wall tent frames) at POI 2. This video © 2020 Elizabeth MacDonald. |
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There are many old tin cans in the area of POI 2, many with lead plugs in one end indicating they are from the early 1900s, probably before 1905. |
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Cabins (wall tent frames) at POI 2. At the end of this video, it pans west across the McIntyre Creek Valley. You can clearly see the road coming down the west bank of the creek into what is now a beaver swamp. This video © 2020 Elizabeth MacDonald. |
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Adit at POI 3. The remains of a cabin are close by. This was probably the site of the major work at Spring Creek. |
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Cabin and adit at POI 3. This video © 2020 Elizabeth MacDonald. |
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Shallow adit at POI 4 |
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Yes, there is definitely copper in the area near POI 4. |
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Shallow adit 1 at POI 4. This video © 2020 Elizabeth MacDonald. |
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Shallow adit at POI 5 |
TimmiT History Exploration Notebook