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After a nice nap it
was time to filter water - highly acidic water, but
still thirst
quenching.
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 Not far from our Rausch Creek lunch
spot is an old power shovel called "The General." I guess the
first time Jeff and I came through here, we hadn't
done our homework, didn't realize what
it was, and skipped it.
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It's a
shame we didn't see it back then. It would have made some good
picture comparisons from ten years ago till today. Not that
the machinery would have changed all that
much,
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but the tree growing around the shovel would have
been
different.
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From the link on the first page, it's
believed this was used for a gravel pit, since all the minable
coal was long gone before gas engines were around.
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Speaking of
engines, here's the side of
it.
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Hence
the name "The General". I think the company that made it was called
General Excavator Company
GPS Coordinates: N40 29.295 W76
38.550
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It
boggles my mind to think of what the area
looked like when they drove this thing up onto the ridge. It
was probably brought in on the railroad, then driven up through Rausch
Gap to the area between Stony Mountain and Sharp
Mountain. Of course now there are only footpaths, but back
then there probably wasn't a tree
in sight for
miles.
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A beautiful example of Acid Mine Drainage. This was
coming from a small spring that ran under the trail. My guess
is there was an old mine access somewhere (watch where you
step!) close mixing with the spring. What's weird is the
water is clear. This is what the limestone well at
Rausch Gap is
cleansing.
Clicking on the link above, I just
learned the orange stuff is called Yellow boy. Though the
Yellow boy is nasty looking and obviously unhealthy for
the
immediate
area, it's the acidity in the water that causes more damage
in the long
run.
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What
turned out to be our final destination
for the night was the ruins of Yellow Springs village.
Wonder how they got that name?
It's pretty cool, but
like Rausch Gap not as obvious as I would have liked. There are
stone piles, obviously man-made, and what appear to be
foundations, but nothing distinct enough for photos (unlike
Jay's beard). You just have to hike up there yourself
and see
it.
GPS
Coordinates: N40
28.335 W76
40.212
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- More
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