Abandoned Maryland Gold Mine: John Smith

The streak of finding people that need help on my hikes continues. Today I took a walk on the Gold Mine Loop in the C&O Canal National Park. As I approached the placard that described the workings of the mine, my head started spinning. And of course I always know what that means. It means there is an active presence nearby. I read the information about the mine and then headed up the hill to check out the ruins. On my way, I paused to sit down and ask my guides about my purpose while I was there. They were remarkably silent. So I asked them for protection and opened myself up to receive whatever it was I was meant to receive. 

I explored the abandoned building where the ore was processed. In this case the ore was pulverized and then was mixed with mercury to extract the gold. This was a common method of mining gold throughout the world, but for obvious reasons has long been an abandoned practice here in the US. As I stood on the ground of this building, I kept getting the name "John." I was also informed that John was a miner who died of mercury poisoning at the age of 25. Getting no more information and sensing what I picked up was residual energy, I headed back down the hill toward the main trail. As I made my way down the hill, my friend pointed out a man walking his dog. The dog stopped short of the placard and refused to move. We both watched it for a minute as the man bribed his dog with a treat to get it to continue on the path. "I think you need to go back there," my friend said. I looked at her and said, "you think so?" "Yes, I do." I backtracked to the sign and got all swirly again. Turns out that is where John was hanging out. 

    I saw him there in his mining clothes. Very sickly looking, with dirty blonde hair. He stood about 5'10" inches tall. I asked him if he wanted help, and he said yes. He had been waiting a long time to go, and I knew that I had to help him out. He gave me a last name, "Smith," and told me he was betrothed to a woman named Sherry. "Well maybe she'll come to you when the portal opens," I said to him. I called on AA Michael for help, and a portal opened up. John was ready to go. Unfortunately no family members came through the portal from the other side - not even his beloved Sherry. But no soul travels alone, so AA Michael accompanied him through. The overall sense I got from John was that he was just so tired and ready to make the transition.  I never found out why he was stuck there, but I'm glad I was able to help him out. That crossing was probably one of the least emotional I've experienced, but it's always a great honor to be able to help these spirits out.