Wonders of the Western Slope

"The Mica Mine was discovered about 1895 by Benton Cannon who was a mover and shaker in the town of Grand Junction," explained BLM volunteer Joyce Frost.  "The first claim was filed in 1907 by Sam Grady."At the mine, you can still find mica (or muscovite), a flaky, shiny mineral both on the walls of the mine and strewn on the ground. "The mica was in a vein and when they first came in the 1900s, the mica was in a streak across the face of the cliff," said Frost.She went on to explain the history of the mine and the difficulties that the early miners faced.The trail to the mine follows an old road the miners used."This road out of Rough Canyon to the plateau above is the road they used to take their minerals from the Mica Mine to haul to Grand Junction and when they first started, they were using a horse and wagon."The mine remained active into the 1980s, but it wasn't only mica that was mined there. "From about 1977 to about 1987, the Montoya brothers and some other family members have claim to the Mica Mine and they mined it for decorative quartz, so they put a quartz crusher here."

Piles of crushed quartz can still be found beside the trail where the crusher once stood.  Frost speculates that miners originally were looking for gold, but mica and quartz were the main lodes. After mining ended in 1987, the mine eventually became part of the Bureau of Land Management's Bangs Canyon Special Recreation Area. "The Mica Mine Trail we consider one of our treasures here," said Chris Joyner, public affairs for the BLM.Now the Mica Mine Trail is a popular destination for area hikers. "This is what we call a quiet user recreation area," Joyner said, "where people are going to use it for hiking and non-mechanized, non-motorized traffic on this particular trail system."The trail takes you down into and up Rough Canyon and then up into Ladder Canyon to the mine.  There is plenty of wildlife and depending on the season, you may encounter some cool water running or pooled in the wash. Pets are allowed on the trail as long as they do not harass the wildlife.  "The biggest rule is there to respect this area and understand that many other people are going to use the same areas for different types of enjoyment and leave it the way you found it," said Joyner.Along the trail, you may also encounter graffiti on the sandstone walls and Joyner reminded me that it is against the law. "Someone may think that they're not really causing that much damage if they take a piece of charcoal and carve their name on the rocks, but they may inadvertently be covering a historical artifact."