Dry Canyon Treasure

Both maps, the Antonio de Reinaldo and the Guanda de Meyo, describe the course of the San Pedro Trail. This trail is very visible even to this day as it meanders down the mountain from the old mines and through the rough breaks and heavy timber of Dry Canyon. The trail is very definite where it leaves lower Dry Canyon and crosses over to the head of Pigeon Water. From this point, it follows Pigeon Water Creek to the southeast past Gooseberry Spring (the Ojo de Agua of the Reinaldo map) and can be seen plainly as it crosses over a small ridge, east of Chief Mountain Sheep's old cabin site, and then runs down through Tawanta Flat (Paramo de las Fantasmo). It was the major Spanish trail in that area for many, many years.

I followed the course of this trail by helicopter and in so doing made a few interesting discoveries of my own worth mentioning. Beginning from the northern end and working south, I located at the lower end of Dry Canyon, above the trail and on a steep slope to the east, two old mine shafts in slide rock surrounded by a grove of quakenasps, one still open and the other Bluffed in. Lower and further to the south, where Dry Canyon comes out of the narrow breaks, and up on a high barren ridge to the east, I spotted another shaft which appeared to be open but upon closer examination found that it had been purposely filled in. This shaft is about three to four feet in diameter and had been filled with large rocks and boulders. We cleaned about four feet of rubble from this old mine but needed a tripod and winch to complete the task. Running the length of this ridge was a long line of hand-placed rocks which ran down the lip of the ridge to the site of the mine, whereupon the string of rocks make a fork and encircled the mine.--Lost Gold of the Uintah, pg. 118