Pinnacol has covered a lot folks doing all sorts of work during our 100 years serving Colorado. Workers' Compensation insurance, as a social safety net, has made a difference in the lives of thousands of Colorado workers who have been injured on the job. Before 1915 the only real recourse available to injured workers was to sue their employer in court and just doing that was challenging enough to discourage many from exercising that right.
For those of you fortunate enough to spend this last weekend up in the high country you were treated to Fall weather at its best - warm temperatures, clear skies, and air finally clear of all the smoke from western fires. I took advantage of the exceptional weather to bike up to Columbine Mine just south of, and some 3,400 feet higher than, Twin Lakes, CO. I've ridden this route many times and have never been blessed with a day as nice as Saturday. No snow, no hail, no lightning, no wind, and a temperature that still allowed short sleeves at the top. It made the hike-a-bike sections almost fun.
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It was nice to ride this route just for fun and while I missed the thousand plus fellow cyclists keeping company on events like the Leadville 100, for once I got to truly take in the beauty of this extraordinary route. For those who have never been to the Columbine Mine there isn't much remaining. Remnants of a decaying log cabin bleaching in the high altitude sun kept company most of the time only by marmots and the sigh of the usually ever present wind. Get off the bike (or out of the jeep) and walk around and you are treated to some incredible above timberline views. To the south across the valley you see Mt. Belford and Mt. Oxford; to the west you gaze up at Quail Mtn. (13,461 ft.) which I've never been brave enough to challenge on two wheels. Closer to the Columbine Mine but probably overlooked by most one comes across something you wouldn't expect at 12,600 ft. What appears to be a grave ringed in small stones with white rocks laying out a cross on an east/west alignment. Flush with the sparse wind-blown grass it's hardly noticeable until you are upon it. From my first visit to the Columbine Mine years ago I've been aware of this grave and it's always raised a question as to who was buried there. There is no headstone, no monument, nothing but the grave itself. Usually I'm forced along on my journey by threatening weather or the pace of a race and my curiosity quickly evaporates as I make my way down to timberline.
Saturday was a once in a season kind of day weather-wise so I spent some extended time sitting at 12,000 feet taking in the scenery and imagining what it might have been like to live and work and ultimately die in this beautiful but desolate place. Most would perhaps not select this exposed mountain ridge to be their eternal resting place but on this day it was hard to imagine a more peaceful spot.
When I got back down to civilization I promised myself I'd try to find out who lies up at Columbine Mine. The only mention I could find spoke of a Theodore Knickerbocker who died in 1907 being "Buried by cabin near Columbine Mine". Pinnacol's creation was still 8 years in the future but I wondered if Mr. Knickerbocker had died in an industrial accident. Try as I might I could find no other information. So the answer of who was buried below the vast blue Colorado sky, closer to the heavens than most of us routinely visit, raised more questions than answers. If anyone out there knows more about the Columbine Mine and Mr. Theodore Knickerbocker I'd love to hear from you!
Wonderfully written David. I was on the top of Quail mountain just three weeks ago. Magnificent view and exhausting climb but energizing nonetheless. I have spent much time at Twin Lakes as a close HR peer of mine owns a cabin overlooking the lakes. Congratulations on having competed in the Leadville 100, at least previously.
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