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Found big pipes running through the woods. What are they??

Johnny_Law

Johnny_Law

o.O
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I live deep in the forest in Northern California, about halfway between Sacramento and Tahoe.

In and around my property, I've found a few of these old pipes that seem long out of use.

This was gold mining territory, and hydraulicking was used around here back in the gold rush. But these pipes can't be that old ...

They run above ground, but occasionally disappear underground.

Any ideas?

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Are there lots of Maple Trees in the area? Maybe an old time Maple Syrup Farm? Otherwise the first thing that came to mind was the George Carlin skit about going Down the Tubes.
 
At this elevation (~3000+ feet) it's mostly pine and cedar, with the occasional oak. There are maples, but very few.

Boy that'd be cool if they were for maple. I'm originally from Vermont, so I know how good fresh maple syrup is!
 
Yeah I'm right on the edge of where the Caldor fire burned - grizzly flats. You can see the charring in my pics.

Could these pipes have been set up by the fire fighters maybe? That would have been 5 years ago. I moved in 2 years ago.

I have a ~1 acre pond on my property and from what I've been told the water helicopters used it to fill up during the fire. But these pipes aren't connected to it as far as I can tell.
 
No easement - which would have been an easy answer, unfortunately.

Gold mining is cool to think about. The landscape around my property is pretty obviously formed by blasting with water. I've been kind of hoping that's the answer. Better than poop anyway.
 
Johnny_Law said:
I live deep in the forest in Northern California, about halfway between Sacramento and Tahoe.

In and around my property, I've found a few of these old pipes that seem long out of use.

This was gold mining territory, and hydraulicking was used around here back in the gold rush. But these pipes can't be that old ...

They run above ground, but occasionally disappear underground.

Any ideas?

View attachment 3822911View attachment 3822912View attachment 3822913
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Leaded joints on probably cast iron pipe certainly isn't very recent.
There is no way forest fire fighters would have time to lay pipe, that's what hose is for.
Hydraulic mining makes sense unless you can find another use.
 
That first pic any idea how old that tree was when it got cut like can you approximate the number of growth rings
 
Does it go uphill/downhill or is it stretching out laterally? Looks like both maybe. It's got that 90 in it.

That 90 might suggest it provided for multiple places, not just from point A to point B.

Not quite sure what all that would tell you anyway, but it's interesting.
 
Were there any WPA / CCC sites in the area during the Great Depression (1930's to WWII)? I have seen these kind of pipes where old WPA work camps were once located, mostly in the mountains where they built barracks and kitchens, etc for the guys working in the forests.

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pxl_20250307_215816930-jpg.3822911

Remnant plumbing for an old sawmill? Or some other type of settlement.

:idea:
 
Johnny_Law said:
Yeah I'm right on the edge of where the Caldor fire burned - grizzly flats. You can see the charring in my pics.

Could these pipes have been set up by the fire fighters maybe? That would have been 5 years ago. I moved in 2 years ago.

I have a ~1 acre pond on my property and from what I've been told the water helicopters used it to fill up during the fire. But these pipes aren't connected to it as far as I can tell.
Click to expand...
Gold Country.....These could be old water pipes from some old mining operation - maybe even amateurs. #2 - Maybe they are just scrap junk that got thrown on your property?
Hmmmm?
 
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