Ranching in the High Country

On our way back from Bear Gulch yesterday, we spotted the ruins of some log cabins in the Borah Gulch Conservation Area … part of the non-fee section of Sylvan Lake State Park. Noting that there was a break in the barb wire fence line near the group camping area, we put a hike through the meadow to the cabins on our agenda for today.

According to the signage, there were periods of gold mining in the area. But it was agriculture that drove the valley’s economy from the late 1800s through the 1950s. The cabins we walked over to check out date back from when the land was acquired by the Dice Family … who ran cattle here. The ruins sit just off the banks of West Brush Creek. Not sure exactly how old they are, but the buildings are visible in a photo of the meadow from the 1930s.Läs mer