One of the best experiences I've had in Death Valley was when I first discovered Big Bell Mine. What was amazing, was that I discovered it by accident. It was long before the time when I had used the internet, guidebooks, and other resources to plan out hikes in Death Valley. I had been hiking the full length of the Keane Wonder Mine trail, when I reached the end of that trail. I noticed that to the east a trail continued, even though my basic park map didn't show anything past Keane Wonder Mine. Exploring the trail further, I hiked for almost an hour around some scary cliffs and through a dry creek bed. Suddenly I came out upon a vast field of old west ruins, even more extensive than what's at Keane Wonder. I did some research later and found out that this was Big Bell Mine. On other trips since then, I've returned to Big Bell and even continued the hike to the Chloride Cliffs and Chloride City via the old cable road. For those of you (and there are many) that have done this hike with me, I researched the mileage and elevation. The trail starts at the Keane Wonder Mill parking area at 1,320 feet and it is a little over 3 miles to Big Bell Mine, which is at 3,620 feet. The trail continues another 2 miles to the Chloride Cliff at 4,840 feet. So the total is 5 miles with an elevation gain of 3,520 feet. I must say that I do not recommend taking the hiking route between Keane Wonder Mine and Big Bell Mine. The hiking trail passes by a dangerous cliff area that would result in death if somebody were to slip while walking through there. I think it would be a lot safer to come into Big Bell Mine via one of the Chloride City routes, but still, be careful.
This photo shows Silva walking around the dangerous cliff part on the trail from Big Bell Mine back to Keane Wonder Mine. You can't see everything, but trust me, the cliff drops off next to where he is walking and that's why I don't recommend this route:
These twin huge water tanks greet you when you enter the Big Bell Mine area (coming in from Keane Wonder):
Cables are still in place which were used for transport up to Chloride City:
These huge tanks have been left at Big Bell, possibly used for either water or cyanide:
This photo is kind of dark, but it gives you a glimpse of some of the mining ruins left over:
The next two photos reveal what was used for transportation of mining equipment and resources here:
Another dark picture, but you can get a decent idea of what the old tramway looks like:
Railroad tracks still enter into Big Bell Mine. There are some other interesting artifacts inside the very front of the tunnel, as well. But don't go in very far, as it's dangerous:
Overview of Big Bell Mine from the Big Bell residential district:
The roof of this house in the residential area has caved in:
The stone walls making up the foundation are still in place after all of these years:
More of the impressive ruins at Big Bell Mine:
Robert getting a picture in front of the outhouse in the residential area:
A look inside the machine shop which is in the center of Big Bell Mine. There are still lots of unused parts inside of here: