Wayne's Reflections

Early Mining on Mackay Peak Mackay Peak (10273 ft ) Ore was first discovered in what is called the Alder Creek mining district in 1879.   However the prospectors who discovered the ore were too poor to develop their claims.    In 1884, additional discoveries,  including  one in the area of what would become the Darlington Shaft of the Empire mine, created a boom in the area.   NOTE:  The Darlington Shaft (700 feet in depth) is located at the top of the the current open pit mine. . A 50-ton smelter was built at Cliff City on Cliff Creek  This smelter was build by Wayne Darlington as an experiment to see if it would be economically feasible to recover copper from the ore by smelting.  Wayne Darlington NOTE:  I t could be said that Wayne Darlington was the visionary who saw the potential for the mining of copper in the Alder Creek Mining District.   The Office of State Engineer was established by the Idaho legislature in 1895.  The State Engineer was respo

Mackay, Top of Idaho I f you're from Mackay you know that Mount Borah is the highest peak in Idaho at 12,662 feet.    But did you know that Idaho has 9 peaks that are over 12,000 feet (12ers); and that 7 of them are between Mount Borah and the Mackay Dam?    The City of Mackay is truly located in the top of Idaho.    The question now is, can you name them?    Can you locate them when driving up and down the valley? Mount Borah Let me help.    Coming down the valley from Mount Borah is Mount Idaho at 12,200 feet (number 7).    Mount Idaho is easy to locate.   It's the highest peak to the right of Borah.   When coming up Trail Creek Road to highway 93, stop at the stop sign and look straight up the canyon across the highway.    The highest peak at the end of the canyon is Mount Idaho. Mount Borah on Left - Mount Idaho on Right Mount Idaho is just peaking from the left side of the highest peak on the right It appears smaller due to the distance behi