Sometimes, when plans go astray, it's actually an opportunity for something different to happen. Such was the case this past summer, when the plans I made with Brind to go to Northern Ontario in search of mines fell apart. Lacking the requisite off-road capabilities to do that trip myself, I instead turned my eyes to the older and much smaller mines of Eastern Ontario to see if I might get lucky in that direction. Turns out, I did.

I had a rough idea where the Swoop Bat Mine lay, but knew that some ground searching would be required to actually get into it. What I didn't know was that it was going to take me almost three hours to find the underground entrance, simply because of a bad assumption I made about the layout of the century-idled mine site. You would think I would know better given how many mine sites I've previously been to...

I knew there wasn't much to the underground workings, based on the data I had. There is a single adit that heads into the mountain, makes a 90 degree turn to the left, heads in some more with a few small stoped areas, and then ends with a larger stoped area and short drift. It certainly isn't the shortest mine I've been in, but it's certainly not the massive workings that I enjoy of the Northern Ontario mines. Although, given that I was solo on this trip, I don't think it would have been wise for me to be doing larger mines anyways.

Once I reached the end of the mine, a problem presented itself. I had failed to notice several bats that were roosting on the ceiling when I had made my way in, and they were now unhappy about my intrusion into their home. They started to swoop in close proximity to me, clearly trying to drive me out of the mine. Thankfully, no physical contact was ever made ... I certainly do not look forward to having to go through a post-exposure rabies treatment.

Keeping a watchful eye on the bats (and cursing them, since they were really throwing me off with their antics), I snapped a few pictures and then quickly made my way out of the dry portion of the mine; back towards the water-logged entrance. The bats seemed content with that, as they quickly ended their flights once I was back in the water and left me alone. A few more quick photos, and then I made my exit from the depths.

I'm glad I found this one so I could say that I got underground at least once in 2022, but this mine is certainly a one-and-done for me. I saw everything it had to offer, and I feel no need to subject myself to the swooping bats again.