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.

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. :popcorn:

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

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.

Is this the one your are thinking of on Pole Creek?

Yeah, I have 'Treasure Hunted" before.

Look here
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache...9-d521ea14273d

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.

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.

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.

Yo MtnMan - whats up with that scroll you found? Do you still have it?

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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Originally Posted by Mtnman1830

Yeah, I have 'Treasure Hunted" before.

Look here
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache...9-d521ea14273d

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Are you kidding me dude? That scroll is amazing. I wouldn't turn it in either. What an awesome find.

Are you claiming that scroll to be real MtMan?

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.

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!

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?

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Originally Posted by rockgremlin

Yo MtnMan - whats up with that scroll you found? Do you still have it?

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Originally Posted by bigrockman

Are you claiming that scroll to be real MtMan?

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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.

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.

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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!

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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.

Interesting Topic

@ Mntman next time you might fool em more if you put it on the ground like
Yes i know my photoshopping skills stink but it's an example.
http://static1.bareka.com/photos/medium/22471588.jpg

I found some gold plates a while back--up near Notch Pass.

Okay, I'm just kidding. I've seen the same image cut in the tree up near Fish Lake. I've even got a picture of it. From what I understand, the sword is supposedly pointed at the mine, and when you look at this one, you can see a short distance away what appears to be a caved in mine. there is also supposedly an old Spanish mine which is now beneath the waters of Moon Lake, and also some other mining activity east of Moon Lake. I tried to find the site east of the lake but was unsuccessful and that is some of the most rugged country I've ever tried to negotiate--boulders, blowdowns, thorns, wasps, and steepness make this an attempt not for the faint of heart.

I only know of one mine south east of Moon Lake, but nothing directly east of it. Very rugged country. I spend a week up there every year and explore. I would like to check out the are you believe that mine to be in. How did you hear about it?

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Originally Posted by bigrockman

I only know of one mine south east of Moon Lake, but nothing directly east of it. Very rugged country. I spend a week up there every year and explore. I would like to check out the are you believe that mine to be in. How did you hear about it?

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It was in a book I read, with the GPS coordinates. I can't remember the name of the book. Actually I think this was a little south east, but since our GPS was set up in a different system than the one in the book (I found out later) we could've been off substantially. But where we began hiking up was a little south of the dam. I'll try to find that book again and see exactly what it says.

Ah, that is Dale Bascoms book. I know him really well. He actually got the location of that sink hole east of the dam from a story that was told to me that I related to him. I found out last year that it was created from the pump room for the Dam which is directly below it. You can see the pictures on my treasure blog. http://utahtreasure.blogspot.com/sea...el/Moon%20Lake

Have any of you heard about a hide out in the san rafael swell that butch and th wild bunch used to use? I have had many leads, and have spent many years searching to find a lot of dead ends..anybody have any information?

I have been treasure hunting and ghost towning since the early 80s.
Between my expenditures, and my dads when I was a kid, I would have to find the lost rhodes mine to break even.
Always a good excuse to spend time with my dad when I was younger. do some fishing and camping along with it, many wonderful weekends spent in the field with him and now making some of those with my own kids.

My dad moved to washingtona few years back. Hes making a trip back to utah this month, or maybe early july. His only goal of his trip?
back to the uintas to take a walk up the trail head form christmas meadows and do some fishing.
Hes in no shape to do the miles with a pack to ryder lake again, but that wilderness boundary a few miles in and the stillwater river seem an attainable goal for him at this point.
Hes 74, still riding a big ass motorcycle around dressed in leathers and ready to hit a river instead of sitting in a lawn chair on a lake.
How about some directions to the spanish stuff in Christmas meadows? Id love to show him that while we are there for a day or two.

I have direction on how to get there. I will have to dig it out of my archives. Email me and I will see what I can dig up. Takes a long time to get out to it. You will need at least two spare tires, tons of water and extra gas. Hope your up for a trip!

I do not know of anything right in Christmas Meadows. There is some stuff up on Gold Hill across from Christmas Meadows, but I don't have coords to that stuff. There are a few old miners cabins in the basin before McPheters lake, but very difficult to locate. Anyone else have some info for the Christmas Meadows area?

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Originally Posted by bigrockman

Ah, that is Dale Bascoms book. I know him really well. He actually got the location of that sink hole east of the dam from a story that was told to me that I related to him. I found out last year that it was created from the pump room for the Dam which is directly below it. You can see the pictures on my treasure blog. http://utahtreasure.blogspot.com/sea...el/Moon%20Lake

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I have seen the book. Very interesting...

My family is from the area, and we have had family reunions at Moon Lake for as long as I can remember. My mom's uncle worked at the dam, I believe as water master or something of the sort, and spent lots of time in the area, and he knew the natives on the nearby reservation.

He is long since passed, but I guess I will have to talk to his son and see if his dad told him any stories.

I will be up there in a few weeks. Hopefully he comes.

Sound like you may be related to the Taylor family. They are friends of mine. They have a lot of good stories about the Uintah's. I would love to hear some more if you come up with some.

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Originally Posted by bigrockman

Ah, that is Dale Bascoms book. I know him really well. He actually got the location of that sink hole east of the dam from a story that was told to me that I related to him. I found out last year that it was created from the pump room for the Dam which is directly below it. You can see the pictures on my treasure blog. http://utahtreasure.blogspot.com/sea...el/Moon%20Lake

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Wow, and we were hiking way up on the mountain above the dam looking for some hole with bones in it that is described in the book. That's for sure the book as I looked up Dale Bascom on goodreads.com and that was it.


And on a related note, here's a photo I took of the tree map at Fish Lake.

Well, I spent the weekend at Moon Lake. I hiked quite a few miles, but didn't find the mine.....

But I did get a few cool pictures.

Love the pic of the "Bonsai Tree"! Where was the picture #851 taken from? Looks like you were up near the Paint Mine.

Yeah, kinda near the paint mine. I was going to go up there, but ran out of time.

I think that the mine is still in the family. We went up there years ago...

Attachment 35176 ever sean this before ?

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Originally Posted by Wasatch Rebel

Wow, and we were hiking way up on the mountain above the dam looking for some hole with bones in it that is described in the book. That's for sure the book as I looked up Dale Bascom on goodreads.com and that was it.


And on a related note, here's a photo I took of the tree map at Fish Lake.

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Sorry to dig up an old thread but...

Wasatch Rebel, is that the tree that is right in front of the mine near Fish Lake? I was up there this last fall and remember seeing a cross on a tree directly in front of the collapsed mine. We found one of the old cabins up there. Supposedly there are 2. One from the Spanish and one from the guys that built the dam. I believe the one we found is from the guys that built the dam. We were unable to locate any other signs/symbols.