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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126398
area. On the hill to the north you'll see mounds of mine tailings and a few holes. On the flat there are some signs of building foundations scattered in the sagebrush. This was the site of Star City . Elevation here is 8,700 feet. Continue. and start up a long rocky pull . As you approach Little Frying Pan Canyon the view is fantastic. Take a minute to stop and drink in the scenery. It 's worth the time . Then, bearing right you start up a 1.5 mile, . steady uphill grind. For the last couple of miles the going had been slow due to the very rocky track. I had been running a gear lower than normal on the old 185. Both bikes started to run a little on the hot side. Now this 1.5 miles was almost too much for the old Suzy. About halfway up , it got too hot and just ran out of power. A IO-minute cooldown stop took care of most of the power loss. My partner and his 360 Yammie developed a super hot exhaust pipe and a very warm leg . To cure the hot leg , his riding style looked a little strange for a while. Cresting the top, you drop into Boulder Flat and its two remaining cabins. I wish I could have seen it 80 or 90 years ago. All signs of the mining equipment have been removed. We stopped to take photographs, down a few swigs of coffee and look 'a rou nd a bit. While my partner was snapping the pies, I poked around in an old dump area and came up with the top of a Lucky Strike cigarette can. Your grandpa will probably remember them. It was in very good condition. I could still read all of the printing. I also discovered one other interest ing thing. The miners and other inhabitants were big consumers of sardines. About 20 percent of all the rusty cans in the dump were the old oval-type tins. In one of the cabins, visitors have made notes of the dates they were here. Most are just dates , but some claim the number of deer seen or shot. A couple noted several types of problems encountered . Flat tires , dented oil pans and steaming radiators seemed improtant enough to be listed. One of the notes really caught my eye; a visitor claimed he had driven a new 1967 Olds Toronado up here to Boulder Flat. If he got it up, it would have needed an armor plated bottom, at least a foot of ground clearance. and it probably had very little paint left on its sidesl From the flat, we went left up a sharp pitch and through the trees for .6 miles to Belfort , 'The actual location of Belfort 'is a little hard to pin down. Some say it was in Boulder Flat and others claim it was here . I talked to an old timer in Bridgeport at the museum , and even he wasn't sure. I also got the feeling he d idn't like th e idea of us going up there. All we cou ld find here was on e fairly intact log hut snuggled against the hillside. The little lake just be yond was bone dry. I read, and also was told, that -it has always had water (it's been dry in 1977, even up here at 10,800). The "always" . present snow field also was gone . Since the heavy winter of 1977 78, the lake and snow field will likely be back. Leaving Belfort we backtracked to Boulder Flat and then went north two miles to the Frederick Mine. The road there was the best ~e'd been on since the start. It winds gradually up the mountain through several groves of Whitebark pines that struggle to exist in the harsh environment. After a short distance and around one last tum the road abruptly ends. The mine entrance is to the left and doesn't look too inviting. A step off the road here is a long 2000·footer into the call on bottom.. The view down Farris IAbove) It's a great view looking at the far off mountains. But don't try and get any closer. It's also 2.000 feet straight down, IBelow) Examining the last cabin in Belfort. -51