So... This was my trip to franklin, wa.
This wasn't really a hike. About a mile walk is all. However, this trip provided me a mystery to solve. Not a great or world changing mystery, but a project for me to work on. I'm planning on a follow-up trip in the near future - more on that at the bottom of this post.
Let's start off with a little history. Franklin is called a ghost town. It is an abandoned coal mining town from last century.
There isn't much left... a cemetary, some foundation remnants and some mineshaft entrances. Here are some old pictures I found online.
The Area
We spent a little time walking around. From what I found online, we missed a lot of stuff. I plan on returning soon.
Anyway - here's some pics from our walk through.
The Mineshaft
The mineshaft on display is covered with old mine cart track and a rebar grate. The sign says it goes down 1300ft.
There is an opening around 6" wide, cut out of the middle. What I would like to do is send a camera and light down into the shaft to see the entire thing all the way down.
I found this diagram of the shaft.
My Plan to Return
I have been working on a descending camera rig that can lower lighting and my 360 camera down the entire 1/4 mile to the bottom and record the journey. I will do a full recording of the entire journey with several posts covering it over the next few weeks.
Here is a preview of the descender and camera rig.
