Cany143 Loc: SE Utah

Cross-country it for a little while; follow the game trails to the first small wash. Follow that wash to where it empties into a larger wash, and follow that until it hits the main wash. Just before the first upthrust dike of stone, turn right into the small wash, and a hundred yards up.... The good part is that getting there is easy; its (mostly) all downhill.

Almost didn't go, even after getting to the best place to park. The breeze was kicking up, beginning to get a little raw up there out in the open, and the upwind sky was looking sorta iffy. But it was yesterday's destination du jour, and it was the ride's raison d'etre, and besides, what's a little cold? Just doing the hike and being less in the wind in the draws below'll warm me up, or so I figured. And with any luck, the sky might hold off juuuusst long enough....

This old stone cabin has become something of an obsession of late, and its not all photographic. Now knowing the where, I want to find out the who, when and why. Having found it on my own, now I want to see the NPS site report, and sift through County records, whatever I can find. But the offices I need to access are closed, and nobody's answering their phones. I assume everybody's working from home.

The hike back out is (mostly) all uphill. Its a little less than a mile, but crikey! that sky was looking bleaker by the second. Sleet began to fall moments after I got back to my Jeep, and under my jacket my back was wet with sweat. In all, a good day.

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Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Hope you find some information on it. It would be interesting to see what is available.
Have you tried "contact" emails for the websites?

Quixdraw Loc: x

Good shot! Not even having been there I share your interest. Be great to hear what you discover.

Cany143 Loc: SE Utah

The place to start is the NPS report. Having worked with the (current and three preceding) chief archaeologists and chiefs of Cultural Resources, I know I'll be given access to that report. Then, depending on what can be learned from that, I may need to dig deeper into County mining records. Past experience doing this sort of thing tells me that's best done on a face-to-face basis after learning exactly who the right person would be to contact. There's also a small but surprisingly good museum locally, and it caters heavily to the mining/ranching history of the area. The County and the Museum both have web sites, but neither could be regarded as material or research sources. Sure, I could whip off a few emails, but in this town --as I expect would be the case in most small towns-- who you know and who knows you will matter more than anything else, and there aren't personnel who are going to do the digging for you.

Quixdraw Loc: x

At least out here, the old timers of both sexes often have encyclopedic knowledge of things like this, even having a name to start with can lead places. Found out about folks who owned parts of my property long ago just that way.

Ourspolair

Another gorgeous capture of this interesting locale. The great work continues... Please stay safe.

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

Do you know what the water source for the Stone Cabin was, Cany? If it was a drilled well there might be records of that.

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Wonderful shot, Jim! Please keep us updated on what you find.

Cany143 Loc: SE Utah

Its the same down here, too, quix. Thing is, a whole lot of the 'old timers' are six feet under at this point, and that makes tapping that knowledge (and the word around town they knew and the gossip they heard) a little tricky. Twenty-five/thirty years ago I got to know an old timer. He was 95-ish at the time, and had been born, raised, lived, and ultimately died here. The guy was a genuine, certified (and published) 'Cowboy Poet' along with having been a cowboy, miner, and a dozen other things over the course of his life. Every now and then, he and I'd go and take a hike somewhere, and since I'd only been here a year or two at that point, the stories --the history, the gossip, the real, and probably some of the imaginary, too-- stuff he'd reminisce about were...... amazing.

One of the maintenance guys who worked at the Park when I did told me 'stories' about how, as a kid, his dad hauled him out to places not more than a mile or two from where this stone cabin sits to help with the cattle he grazed around there. I guess I'm maybe a year or three older than that old/ex-coworker, and he retired a couple years after I did, but he'd have been someone who might've had some of the story. Trouble is, the guy died a few years ago.

Cany143 Loc: SE Utah

I came across a capped well (which translates out to 'a rusted pipe sticking up out of the ground') during my first foray into the area, before I knew where anything much was out there. Could've been for water, could've been mining related (hell, for a short time, I worked for a drill rig outfit, and we did some drilling for the BLM to obtain drill cores that would tell what the underlaying geology was, nothing more), could've been for any number of reasons. In terms of reliable water sources out there, there are none. Closest seep or spring is miles away, and having hiked most all of that distance once, its not something I'd ever willingly choose to do again. There's a small wash immediately below the cabin --50' away-- that might have enough recoverable water in it to make a (gritty, sandy, not especially tasty) cup of coffee, oh, maybe two or three times a year, so I wouldn't want to call it reliable. But there is that thousand (or however much the thing holds) gallon water tank that got hauled in and dumped off --I don't know when, maybe some time in the 30's? the 50's? I dunno-- a half mile away, out along the main wash in the bottom of Salt Valley. Could've gotten water from that, I suppose, but it would've pissed off whatever scrawny cows there may have been that depended on it. And you do NOT want to piss off a cow. Especially a scrawny one.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

I hope you continue your sleuthing efforts and get to the bottom of the mystery. It's an interesting place, and I, too, would be intrigued. I found places like this in my travels here and made the effort to get history, but failed. I hope you have better luck.

J-SPEIGHT Loc: Akron, Ohio

jimvanells Loc: Augusta, GA

Very nice and thanks for taking all of us along on your journey.

FiddleMaker Loc: Merrimac, MA

Excellent. you have captured a real nice mood with this photo.

Susan yamakawa

😅👍😊