Our Investigation Of Tragedy Springs & Iron Mountains Ski Lodge and Resort!!!

It was nice to get back into exploring and investigating after having a few weeks time off. Even old wounds need to heal and I couldn't wait to get back out into the sierras. With Spring here allot of the snow is beginning to thaw up in the mountains which means allot of mud great for Sasquatching.

We would investigate two locations one being Tragedy Springs an area I have repeatedly read about and passed by the other is the Iron Mountain Ski Lodge and Resort. Two very unique locations and of course wonderful additions to our website eventually.

I was just happy to get up into the mountains the sierras are a world away from another world however the real thrill is knowing that something may be lurking in these forest. So we packed up our gear, food, blankets etc and headed out to some unknown new territory. Despite the warmer weather at over 9000' it does get a bit chilly.

These two investigations are a two phase project which would require us to do a day exploration and later in the future the nightfall portions of them. I look forward to visiting these places at night they both have a very eerie feeling I mean if you like ski lodges in the middle of nowhere and murder scenes your going to like these locations.

Anyhow I started off my day making a big breakfast with some Kona coffee. Whenever I go offroading or into the sierras I bring coffee drink it while hiking its a great way to start the day. I think every paranormal investigator should have a cup of coffee in there hand and a cigar or hell a blunt lol. But anyway's you get the idea and so our investigation would began here.

Tragedy Springs

I am fairly convinced that the Indians did not kill the three men found buried and mutilated here back in the 1800's. I know that the tribes in the sierras were rather peaceful but it made me wonder if something else did such as Bigfoot being territorial since back in the day Bigfoot had more range in the Carson Pass then it does today due to so many people moving on into the area.

When I arrived here I seen a truck with a few people chilling out at the trail entrance. There was a guy I talked with about the area for a bit he was so drink and stoned it was kind of funny really. But he did give me some information about some of the sites here and told me its all buried under the snow.

He was right we had gotten on the road that goes through the springs area and there was a wall about five to six feet in height. Some years that wall can get up to twenty feet and your nearly hiking along the tops of the trees according to what some locals told me but this year was a mild winter.

We passed by an igloo or rather a giant hole dug out into the ground. The snow was not to bad to walk in actually rather solid of course then again between snowmobiles, cross country skiers and hikers they helped in compacting it.

We traversed across a giant field where their was an old house and barn. The snow drifts were up to the roofs on both of them. The house was locked down its possible someone still uses it as a summer home hard to say. The barn however was deplorable missing wood slats and filled with a bunch of pipes.

I had slipped on some ice had a giant piece of wood fall on me yeah it hurt it hurt pretty bad between getting it on both ends. Otherwise I was okay and searching for the springs which were behind the houses and buried under snow. I could see holes in the woods where the creek ran which probably dumps out into the springs or leads from the springs to the river nearby.

The one thing I couldn't really find is tracks although their were allot of rabbit tracks their was nothing out of the ordinary here. I did find giant tracks only later studying them revealed they were snow shoes not Bigfoot which seemed to cross the road and head up into the woods. They didn't have any pattern they just came from the other end of the road out of nowhere then faded into the tree line so who knows.

I ended up finding the Californian trail so I decided to go back into the woods for a mere half of mile. It was hard to stay on the trail the snow was deep and the foliage was thick. Anything could hide back here although the trees were bare so my chance of seeing something may be better when everything buds in later spring.

I was on the trail to find tracks or anything unusual maybe mutilations instead what I found is some weaker snow where my leg slipped all the way down into. On my way down a tree root wrapped around my ankle while a log slipped under my knee cap then I fell forward nearly breaking my leg it was pretty painful but I am okay. If I did not catch my balance as I went forward id be walking on crutches The snow is not always stable out in the sierras hell two men died a few weeks ago in an avalanche seriously!

Tammy and I hiked around awhile here including up a hill where signs were buried which tell the history to the area. Their was also a cairn nearby which protected the graves of men who were murdered here. The memorials and stones were buried under snow so will have to wait a few months till we can come out here again to get some more photos and do some major hiking in the woods.

We did end up revisiting the homestead I even climbed this giant hill overlooking the pass below. I seen a hill told Tammy this would be a great spot to take the kids sledding. After having wet cold feet for a couple hours and diving in the snow with my bunny ears on I would return the next day to conquer tragedy springs on Easter with my kids as we sledded.

I didn't find anything strange about the area their was a branch broken in an odd manner at a fairly tall height along the tree line. But other then that the area is probably to close to the main road to get any sort of activity unless you hike up into the woods deeper or you wait till at night when their is less people around.

I did take EVP's in hopes to track down some ghostly voices of the men who were found murdered here. Its a rather strange situation but I am willing to bet the men camped or stopped at the springs for a drink and it was there last. So on one end of the spectrum you may have their ghost roaming the woods on the other end of it their is allot of thick woods leading up into the mountains behind this place where the possibility of Bigfoot being here is rather high.

We will return for a much more in depth investigation where it will include a hike on the Californian Trail.....and some night time exploring of the springs area. I am looking forward to it and we hope you are to. Our next stop would take us up to the Iron Mountain Ski Lodge and Resort a favorite spot for winter sports for some of the locals.

Iron Mountain Ski Lodge and Resort

We would end up taking a trail into the woods as the wall of snow block the road was about as tall as me if not higher here. As we went through the woods we came out to a clearing where multiple buildings stood some had snow drifts practically burying them.

When we arrived their were a few snowmobiles in the area it sure looks like fun that ill admit lol. We would immediately make our way to the ski lodge which looked like a giant hotel. The snow ran so high that it was obvious snowmobiles were riding all the way up to the roof top and down as the front side had collapsed and probably wasn't very stable.

It was pretty obvious that the place had not been in use for many years due to a park being located here in the high sierras people come here for one thing to partay! So going inside really isn't a problem since we are there to investigate unfortunately its sad to see how much its been vandalize by others.

The lodge has two floors the upper has fairly large suits with two rooms and a bathroom. However the lower floor is this massive long hall with rooms on both sides. There are no bathrooms in any of the rooms on the lower floor snow is snow high that it has buried the entire lower floor so it was pretty dark inside.

Tammy and I noticed allot of broken glass, ripped insulation, holes in the walls, and graffiti. The downstairs was very damp and cool hard to get temp readings. I did take EVP's here however and every room strangely had bunk beds. There was even a shower room, public restrooms and a kitchen of some kind. I found a few rooms downstairs that served some other use and even an eerie crawl space.

I went upstairs to look around the rooms all had this old time wallpaper different in every room it appeared. Every room was nearly gutted wallpaper peeled off the walls and shag carpets. It kind of reminded me of a scene from the 70's to be honest with you.

We decided to head on out through the snow to another building probably the resorts main office which had public restrooms, an office then a giant lobby. The windows were all missing out of the building some kid on a snowmobile kept circling the building staring at me. At first I thought it was some guy wanting to pick a fight so I looked back and this little boy on a snowmobile said hi to me. Hell even told me where to go to get good photos so we know he probably has explored this place before I ever did lol.

The place was scattered with light fixtures, doors and office equipment broken on the ground it was not a pretty site. When I exited out a window their was a water tank rusting away next door.

My next stop at the resort was some sort of wood structure perhaps a maintenance building not sure. Tammy went around the front while I climbed on in. I actually went up this wood stairwell missing half of its stairs talk about an unstable experience before I even made it up the stairs I fell on black ice while filming inside ouch. Upstairs their was a small room with cubby holes maybe a place for the resort workers to store their personal belongings.

When I made my way back down their was another building that connected to this one buried in snow. I had to climb through this small entrance through the snow which took me into a room with a giant water tank and a bunch of electrical boxes. I assume this was the power room for the resort along with maybe a tank for hot water maybe even drinking water not sure since there are three tanks on the property all different sizes. Maybe different water tanks supplied different buildings I honestly am not sure though but the tanks are fairly old and covered in snow so I am sure the pipes at the resort froze at times.

I ended up heading on over to the ski lifts there was a few of them each one had a ladder going up about 25' with cables attached, gears and benches that were blowing in the wind as I looked down the mountain. I did end up climbing one of the ladders so I could get a nice view of the valley below. I had to be very careful the flooring was gone their were only a few wooden planks so I had to balance myself cautiously or fall 25' possibly to my death. I actually made a film of myself crossing the wood planks Tammy waited for me below it was fun ill admit.

The next building was some sort of cabin maybe a storage shed not sure I had to slide down a snowy hill to get to it. There was four guys in front of it with snowmobiles and four pit bulls. The pits were sweethearts but one of them kept growling at me but I understand I was talking to his owner and he didn't know me. The guys told me the resort has been abandoned for about 15 years that was about all they knew about the place. Its amazing how the entire place looked like a hell storm hit it being that this at one time was a major resort in the Carson pass. I am sure the guys thought I was a fruit or a fairy hiking in a pair of rabbit ears walking up to them. Its like yo whats up man I am lord Rick and today I am pretending to be the freaking Easter Bunny with a giant hunting knife attached to me no wonder why the dog was growling it probably was like WTF lol.

There were also two small cabins or cottages not to far from the lifts one of them had a children's brush and blanket inside. Their was a mattress honestly I hate seeing that type of stuff because chances are either someone squatted here with a kid or someone took a kid here to do something illegal. The blanket here and brush were not as old as the rest of things inside the house you could tell including the mattress which had shit stains on it why lie. This house also had an old television in the living room and the kitchen had holes in all the cupboards. The futon was tipped over its obvious kids used this place as there own club house.

Their was also enough structure on site made of wood but it was collapsed I couldn't get on in just as their was trailer that was gutted. I went in the trailer stuck my head through the window stuck my tongue out at Tammy. The trailer probably was left by some camper who ended up not hauling it away you could tell it was a nice camper at one time even though it was buried under 10' of snow lol.

Their was a house on the property we also visited maybe the caretakers not sure but it had an upstairs along with a kitchen, living room and small bedroom with low ceilings. Just like the other structures it was a mess you could tell someone went in with a sledge hammer trying to destroy wood support beams or break anything they could find.

It was getting later so it was time for us to head on out both our feet were wet and cold plus we were getting tired. Hiking through the snow meant allot of falls and dealing with ice. It was a fairly nice day out but still much cooler in the sierras and at the elevations we were at the air was thin. Imagine hiking at 9000' for over six hours. It was really great that we had a lunch packed so we could eat inside the truck.

I finished off the day with a trip to Bear Lake and Reservoir it was not an investigation just an area I wanted to scope on out. Its a secluded place surrounded by wilderness, lakes, streams and ancient trees. We were not able to get in to close so we had to park and hike on down to the lake. I heard about quite a few Bigfoot sightings up here so it may be an area to camp, hike and eventually investigate but for now I just decided to sit on a rock in the lake....smoke a cigar with my rabbit ears on day dreaming of being under the stars here someday.

I have always wanted to go down into Bear Valley in the distance the dam, granite rocks, rocky shoreline and snowy hills really was picturesque. I never enjoyed a cigar so much in my life I took my time hiking on back to the truck. There was a pub and store on the lake shore where they had a replica bear that I stood next to. I guess they call this bear valley for a reason due to its massive bear population. Which makes me wonder if people are seeing bears walking on their hind legs not Bigfoot!

All in all it was a fine day it allowed me to scope out some new areas to explore and investigate. I did not find much paranormal evidence then again as always the photos, videos and audio will have to be reviewed. I enjoyed the scenic beauty and unlike allot of paranormal groups hiking in the snow has many advantages such as tracking cryptids. My thought is that its possible that Bigfoot may have murdered those men in the 1800's at Tragedy Springs while at the same time it might use the resort up the road as a place to seek shelter in massive snow storms which blow over the sierras. Snow can get to 20' deep easily in these mountains to a degree that humans cant even get up in here so it makes you wonder so during investigations I look for all different sorts of signs of this possibility.

What I can tell you is that when the snow melts Tammy and I will return to do a night investigation at Tragedy Springs and the Iron Mountain Resort. That will then finalize both of the cases for now some of you will get to see day videos and photos of the region which came out pretty nicely with all the snow. We want to give our viewers a taste of the sierras throughout the year winter and summer.

I can see both areas being quite creepy afterall the resort has many abandoned buildings with long dark halls while the woods around Tragedy Springs are overgrown where three men were found mutilated. They were not just killed their bodies were *ucked up! With that in mind that is another two explorations under my belt with more history, mystery and adventure. Which puts us one away from our 1000th investigation and into the history books!

With that in mind I bid everyone a fair well tomorrow is my flight out of town ill be working with a film crew for a few days. The network wants to interview me then take photography of a paranormal hotspot for them. Ill also be assisting the investigators aside from the filming if they have questions or need my help etc. Ill be traveling with them so ill get to see some sites, drink some brews and meet a bunch of new folks. My flight leaves in the morning so I will be gone however I will be available later on at night from my hotel on the lap top or cell phone during the day. These are great milestones for our society as interest in growing worldwide for all the hard work and commitment we have made towards the paranormal. I look forward to what the future brings and all the upcoming investigations as well as projects we have going on here in 2012! Peace,
Lord Rick
Founder