Gilpin Adventure

It was well overdue for an outing with Rob and Sherrie.  We normally do this monthly, but it’s probably been 6 months or longer.  And as we often do, we set off to places none of us had been before to discover the mining history of the area.  But if anyone had asked, we were hunting for wild mushrooms and raspberries (which we found and ate).

We headed up towards Mammouth (or Mammoth, depending which sign or map we were looking at) Gulch in Gilpin County.  As we bounced and jostled up the 4×4 road, Rob kept an eye on the maps.  There was a “Y” symbol next to the road, which in U.S.G.S. symbology means an adit or tunnel.  So we stopped to explore what we couldn’t see.

 

Follow the rails

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Suicide Spike

A few days after the guy open fire in the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, there was a seeming spike in suicides of young males in nearby locations.

The image on the left was captured this morning from the Boulder Daily Camera’s (newspaper) website.

  1. This guy was depressed and despondent.  As stated, he hung himself from a bridge near where he lived.  His girlfriend discovered him the following morning.
  2. This guy slit his wrists beside the creek, at the mouth of the canyon, just off the bike trail.
  3. This guy went out the night before to a sporting goods store, bought a rifle and ammunition, and drove up Lefthand Canyon.  He left a suicide note in the car, then hiked up a ways and shot himself.

The guy in the movie theater killings obviously didn’t have anything left to lose.  He may as well have committed suicide, especially since he’s probably going to get the death penalty.

It’s interesting that they are all young males between 20 and 24.   The burning question in my mind, which will never be answered is why? Was it just a coincidence the three suicides occurred withing a few days of the movie theater incident?  Or was it a trigger?

It seems like a shame.   Living in this world is getting more difficult for a lot of people.

It’s been interesting living up here in the beautiful mountains.  A lot of people come up from the city to die here.