Oregon Lost Mines, Legends &
Fieldwork
Explore Oregon's lost-mine legends through historical research, annotated maps, treasure-hunting adventures, field notes, and campfire humor.
Along the way, Jimmy and his sketchy raccoon companion turn fieldwork, folklore, and questionable decisions into stories worth telling.
Research
Oregon lost mines, treasure legends, folklore, and historical mysteries, researched source by source.
Research & Evidence
Deep dives into historical records, documented sources, maps, and the evidence behind Oregon legends.
Ground Truth
Treasure-hunting trips, field observations, route stories, and outdoor misadventures from the places behind the legends.
Articles
Beyond the South Fork Malheur, the emigrants crossed timbered hills into a valley so vast its boundaries were difficult to judge. Their diaries left distances, streams, and a mysterious Crooked River. Could the old McEwen country explain where they traveled?
Beyond the North Fork Malheur, the 1845 Meek Cutoff becomes harder to trace. Part II follows the diaries toward the South Fork and another possible route west.
Legend Files
A continuing look at the 1845 Meek Cutoff, Oregon Trail history, surviving diaries, old roads, and another possible route through eastern Oregon.
Was Eight Dollar Mountain named for a gold nugget or a ruined pair of boots? History offers both stories. Jimmy eventually tested one of them the hard way.
L. W. Musick’s 1896 work preserves early accounts connected with Oregon’s Lost Cabin Mine, including Hall and Thompson, the first searches, and a legend that spread across the Pacific Coast.
Campfire
Jimmy hits the backroads of the Pacific Northwest in a dark drill music adventure filled with forest mysteries, questionable clues, and one unruly raccoon.
Jimmy notices the underlined word “of” on a Table of Contents page and wonders if red marks may be telling him to stop, look, and notice what connects.
At eight, Jimmy found one impossible tree branch, a nearby teeter-totter, and a friend willing to help. Naturally, an experiment followed.
Field Humor
Everything led Jimmy to one spot. Then the trail disappeared, the bear mace was missing, something black moved, and Jimmy discovered trees have advantages.
The Sketchy Raccoon turns a simple situation into snack-related chaos in this Lost Cabin Mine comic.
Jimmy takes the treasure hunt indoors at a strange hotel in the woods, searching halls, rooms, and vending machines while a soggy raccoon keeps watch.
Adventures
Jimmy learned to drive a stick shift the sensible way: by pointing an old truck at a creek, saying “I got this,” and letting momentum handle the details.
Some treasures aren't found in the woods. Some are parked in your driveway... waiting for a bad idea and a full tank of denial.
Mabel and her search partner find shelter in a strange hotel where the woods seem determined to follow them inside.
