If I remember correctly we had to climb a ways up the pit wall & jump out to the ladder to get back up out of there. Leap of faith sort of jump, crazy stuff.
We would go back down there from time to time. There was a huge cave at the bottom on the west end.
We never explored out too far out from that area because we knew we could be spotted by a park ranger if we went too far out from the bottom of that ladder area. It was the only part of the mine pit that couldn't be seen from any side of the top.
In the middle of summer there would be snow inside that cave at the bottom. It never got any direct sunlight.
