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Thread: Spanish Treasure Symbols and Spanish Mission in Utah

  1. #1

    Spanish Treasure Symbols and Spanish Mission in Utah

    I did not see a category where I could post this so I thought I would try here and see if there are any fellow treasure hunters out there.

    A few years ago I was able to locate the entrance to the fabled "Water Trap", a place where the Spanish Conquistadores supposedly stored their gold and silver while mining in the High Uintahs. This tunnell was built next to the river and to gain entrance you would have to dive down through two water traps to get into where the ore was stored. I did not swim through it, but I am curious if anyone else has ever attempted it or know what I am talking about. There is also supposed to be the old spanish mission accross the river from the water trap entrance, but I did not get a chance to explore enough to locate it. Has anyone found any remnants of the mission? Here are a few pictures of the water trap and some spanish symbols carved nearby.
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    Aspiring Trail Bum Bad Karma's Avatar
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    I have not attempted it or even looked for remnants of it but I'll be interested to see if anyone else has. I just finished reading Footprints in the Wilderness not too far back and enjoyed it. It's covers quite a bit about the Uinta spanish gold & silver mines.

  5. #3

    Footprints in the Wilderness

    That is probably my favorite book on the topic, although it is still not very accurate as far as locations go.

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  7. #4
    I've read Footprints and a few others along the same vein. I have also found Spanish crosses in trees around the Fish Lake/Round Lake area of the Uintahs, on private land up Weber Canyon, and have also located an old adit on Christmas Meadows, and another in the Pole Creek sink area of the Uintahs - one of the tributaries of Rock Creek if I remember correctly.

    My take is -- I definitely believe that there were Spanish miners in the Uintahs long before the Father Escalante mission through Spanish Fork canyon in 1776. However, the Spanish miner's methods were primitive and their exploration methods were even worse. They prospected using "witching sticks" which was exactly how Inigo Montoya located the entrance to the King's underground torture chamber where Westley was being held in The Princess Bride if you recall. In other words, extremely inaccurate. I have seen adits that were supposedly made by Spanish miners, but from a perspective of a mining engineer, I can tell you there is no precious metals to be found anywhere near that location. The witching stick led them astray at times methinks.
    It's only "science" if it supports the narrative.

  8. #5

    Pole Creek Sink

    Is this the one your are thinking of on Pole Creek?
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  10. #6
    Yeah, I have 'Treasure Hunted" before.

    Look here
    http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache...9-d521ea14273d
    Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, as vital to our lives and water and good bread
    - Edward Abbey

  11. #7
    BigRockman - Yup, that is the mine I found up Pole Creek. Supposedly, there's an old ore cart sunk in the bottom of that sinkhole where the mountain swallows the river. As I was poking around the tailings outside the mine, I located some good sulfides and quartz in the waste rock that would suggest that there is probably some ore there. I also ventured inside of that main adit, but it only went back for about 30 feet at which point it was too flooded to continue.

    I also hiked upstream from that mine about a half mile and located some more crosses, AND the name Gale Rhodes scratched into a cedar tree. Gale Rhoades is the great, great grandson of the famed Caleb Rhoades, and an avid seeker of the wealth his great, great grandfather supposedly was a steward of.
    It's only "science" if it supports the narrative.

  12. #8

    Pole Creek

    Ya. That tunnel is flooded most of the year. If you go late fall you can get back to where it turns left and heads into the mountain, but even then it was flooded 15 feet back from the shute off. There is also a smelter downstream and a small cave just uphill form the sink. You can check out the pics here. http://utahtreasure.blogspot.com/sea...l/Pole%20Creek
    I have never heard about the mine cart though. Gale unfortunately died poor. He lost most of his savings on this pole creek mine which never developed anything worth the investment.

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  14. #9
    That's a really cool blogsite!! I checked out more than half of the locations you have posted.

    Where did that gold horse come from?

    Lots of legends surround the Uintahs, all of which are based in fact, but have been embellished some. Precious metals definitely exist in that mtn range, although they occur as small veins that are difficult to locate and even harder to access. Large lode deposits (like those in Park City or Tintic) are virtually non-existant. This is one reason why mining companies have had a difficult time in the past exploiting metals deposits in the Uintahs.
    It's only "science" if it supports the narrative.

  15. #10
    Yo MtnMan - whats up with that scroll you found? Do you still have it?
    It's only "science" if it supports the narrative.

  16. #11

    utah treasure

    Thanks! It took a lot of time getting that all put together, scanning in old pics etc. But it has been fun!
    I am unsure where the horse was found. The guy who sent me the photo was very hush hush about it. Supposedly in the Uintahs.
    I agree with your statement about the deposits in the Uintahs. All the old mines I have found were played out and not very extensive. I have found traces of Gold here and there, but finding a good vein is near impossible.

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  18. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Mtnman1830
    Yeah, I have 'Treasure Hunted" before.

    Look here
    http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache...9-d521ea14273d
    Are you kidding me dude? That scroll is amazing. I wouldn't turn it in either. What an awesome find.
    Your safety is not my responsibility.

  19. #13

  20. #14
    I've deciphered the code. I will of course want a share of the treasure for my translation skillz.

    http://www.buriedmirror.com/images/mayan-font.jpg

    Edit: I admit I thought it was real. Should have recognized the font, hard to miss that. I've actually found urns/pots hiking in the middle of no where. They were totally emtpy though and in ideal spots to catch rainwater. But I know they are out there if you look hard enough.
    Your safety is not my responsibility.

  21. #15
    I've been fascinated with the "Lost Treasures" of Utah since my parents bought me a collection of books (Footprints in the Wilderness, Some Dreams Die, etc) when I was 14'ish. Its morphed into my fascination with Utah's history. I've since collected dozens of books (including some rare older versions) on the subject, old maps, etc. Nothing too revealing but neat to toy with in the cold months.

    I haven't had the chance to spend much time in the Uintas searching... yet. I do have some associates that have done quite a bit, they each have their stories and beliefs.

    There is another "river passage" in the Smith & Morehouse area. I first visited the site ~5 years ago with a gentleman that was spending his summers searching for the Rhoades treasures. At the time the river which was running pretty fast literally disappeared into the mountain side at this spot. He told me that you can climb down there in the fall. I though he was full of it and off we went searching for some Spanish markers he believed were in the area.

    I've since visited the area a half-dozen times... sure enough in the fall there are climbing anchors near the top of the passage and someone had cleaned out the river debris.

    This stuff just gets me so anxious to get out and explore!

  22. #16
    PS, bigrockman...

    Do you own hutahtreasure.blogspot? Great site!

    I have a special project I would like to hit you up about, mind if I email you?

  23. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by rockgremlin
    Yo MtnMan - whats up with that scroll you found? Do you still have it?
    Quote Originally Posted by bigrockman
    Are you claiming that scroll to be real MtMan?
    It is a geocache. You have to solve the puzzle to find the coordinates. Took me a bit to put together, and then I packed in a few miles up the Indian Trail.

    The pic of the rock art is on the Shoreline Trail near the 22nd Street Trailhead, The pics of the jar I stole from the internet, I had the pic of the rocky hole for some strange reason, and the scroll is a bit of photoshopage.

    So I guess, Yeah, I do claim that it is a real treasure. I spent about $30 worth of goodies to put in the container.
    Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, as vital to our lives and water and good bread
    - Edward Abbey

  24. #18

    Utah Treasure

    Thanks ExpUT. It is my site and it has taken a lot of work and time exploring to put together, but very fun! Glad you enjoy it! Email me anytime.

  25. #19

    Re: Utah Treasure

    Quote Originally Posted by bigrockman
    It is my site and it has taken a lot of work and time exploring to put together, but very fun!
    Great site, I have spent quite a bit of time looking it over. I already plan on checking out a few of those places when the snow melts.

  26. #20

    Re: Utah Treasure

    Interesting Topic

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