(mm 2629.1) You've passed the SW ridge of Little Buffalo Mountain and now you can gaze into the Bonita Creek valley as you walk toward Windy Pass. From this part of the trail you can see the trails, roads, structures, and equiptment for mines that started in the 1880's and continue to be worked (to some degree) today. Barron, New Light, and Chancelor (further down the valley) are the reason the road over Harts Pass was built.

You may also see the green yurt with a which belongs to North Cascades Heli Skiing and is rented out for backcountry skiing tours

Just a few steps uphill from the yurt are the ruins of the Gourlie family cabin. They built it in 1936 and lived there year-round with their son until 1941.

The Gourlie Family

In 1936, the Gourlie family built a cabin at 6200 feet near Windy Pass, on the southeast slopes of Tamarack Mountain. Leon and Florence lived here year-round with their son Melvin until 1941. Mel had completed the 10th grade when his family moved to Windy Pass and he never finished high school. In summer they high-graded gold out of an abandoned prospect hole. In winter they trapped pine marten, weasel and fox. The nearest plowed road in winter was 18 miles away at Lost River near Mazama. There was no food to be had in the winter so they had to pack in stores in the fall. Once a month, during the full moon, Mel skied out to Lost River and caught a ride with the mailman to Winthrop.

The Gourlies made their own equipment and taught themselves to ski. For skis, they scrounged floorboards from the mine buildings, steamed them in a tub, and bent the tips over a rafter in their cabin. Mel said they had to re-bend them a couple times a winter because the skis gradually lost their shape. For bindings they took belts from old mine equipment and tacked them on the side of the skis. They didn't have "ski boots," just work boots. They made half-length climbers out of deer skin. The climbers extended from under the foot to the tail of the ski. The long hairs on the deer hides were trimmed to grip the snow while climbing. Mel said they used a single pole made of tamarack and sat on it to control their speed on steep slopes. (see photo). For turns in the soft snow they did telemarks. They never read any books about how to ski.

In February 1940, Florence had to make an emergency trip to Wenatchee for gallstone surgery. Her son Mel skied out to break trail and summon a dog sled. As Mel was returning with sled driver Ed Kikendall, they came upon Florence a few miles up the road, skiing out under her own power. The Wenatchee World headline on February 3 said, "She Skis to Scalpel." Another story titled "Courage out-skis death" was in the February 10th paper. Doctors believed that she would not have survived if her operation had been delayed another 24 hours.

Mel occasionally worked for the New Light Mining Company in summers. In 1941, Mel enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He served in the South Pacific and was aboard the U.S.S. Yorktown aircraft carrier when it was sunk during the Battle of Midway. He later fought in the Battles of the Peleliu Islands and Okinawa. Following the war he took a job with Montgomery Ward in Wenatchee.

The yurt

Mines

There are a number of mining propects in this area. Its fairly easy to spot the ones that were worked by the pink quartz tallus piles directly beneath the opening to any shafts that were dug. These piles are visible from accross the valley. Also, the old trails to these mines are not yet fully erased by nature.

Spafford Gold Prospect

One of the smaller abandoned gold and silver mines is extremely close to the PCT, only 528 feet away, due west of the Windy Pass crossroad. (48°46'18.55"N, 120°42'53.23"W). The mine was discovered in 1956. It produced only a small amount of gold and is now officialy closed. Records say a 50 foot inclinde shaft was dug.

New Light Mine

High in the upper basin is the New Light Mine

New Light in the early 1900's

Barron

Down in the valley is Barron, easy to spot by the abundance of ruins and abandoned machinery. You cannot drive to Barron from Harts Pass only because the road is gated.

Barron in the late 1890's

The rails of lower Barron mine point directly west. This mine is on the opposite side of Bonita Creek from New Light.

Chancelor

Much further down river, where Slate Creak pours into Canyon Creek was the largest of these mining towns, Chancelor. This was a full-fledged town with a post office and a power plant.

Homestake

The Homestake mine is on the opposite side of the ridge from New Light. If you continue on the road past New Light and over the ridge, it will take you to Homestake.