Donner Ski Ranch

After leaving Tunnel No.6,we made our way to the Donner Ski Ranch. There were many stories of paranormal activity. We were introduced to the caretaker and taken on a tour. The tour began in the basement. While interesting, there was no "feel" to it. The steady hum of machinery created doubt of any possibilities of EVPs. We were taken to the ski instructors room, then a dining area and back to the bar. This is a pretty good sized building. We were given free run of the place, chose our tools, then made our way back to the bottom floor. All three of us had a feeling about the ski instructors room. The room had a warming machine in the center, creating a horseshoe. We placed ourselves, so as to see both sides. It didn't take long before we each experienced a sense of movement. The inner side of the room seemed to get darker, then not so dark(if that makes sense to you). Rebecca and Mona switched seats to see if the other one would have the same experience. I was sitting in the outer area, with my camcorder on a shelf facing the center. I held the EMF meter so that it was in the frame of the camera. I experienced what felt like a breath on my hand. It was very subtle. I asked if anyone was with us in the room and could they do that again. I had the same sensation again. I changed seats with Rebecca to see if she would have the same experience. I gave her the EMF meter and asked her to keep it frame. As I asked for the same experience for Rebecca, the EMF meter lit up! It was great!. The room changed in atmosphere so we moved to the next area.
We moved to the middle floor, which had a sitting area with a fireplace, two dining areas as well as the kitchen and restrooms. I seized the moment. As I headed in that direction, Mona said she was going to place a voice recorder in the side dining room. Upon returning to the dining area, I saw Rebecca in the sitting area and a shadow move in the side dining area. I assumed it was Mona and went in to see what she was doing. The room was empty. I called for Mona, no answer. I went back into the main dining room and told Rebecca that I had seen a shadow. Mona was coming down the stairs from the top floor and I relayed my story to her. I strap my voice recorder on my arm and let it run. In reviewing later, I caught an EVP at this time. To me, it sounds like "Can't wait" or "I can't wait". This was the only EVP that I have confidence in. Next we went to the employee break room on the third floor. I set up the camcorder on a table, with the EMF meter and the KII meter in frame. We caught a few light anomalies and a KII hit. Rebecca will tell you they are "bugs" while I am on the fence about them. I'm not sure what to think of the lights that move around. They don't fall like dust and I guess they could be bugs but I'm just not sure. We plan to return to this location at a later date and hopefully, will have a more controlled environment. The caretaker remained in the bar area watching television. I cannot be sure of the captured audio, therefore I can't use it. We had a couple of screams that were on my recorder and Mona's. We just can't be sure.
Video clips of the EMF and KII hits are on the myspace page.

For more W.I.G.S. Go to:

www.myspace.com/w_i_g_s

and

hauntedwest.blogspot.com

Donner Summit

Mona, our newest member, invited us to investigate a ski lodge in Donner Summit. Think we were excited? You know it! Mona grew up in Truckee, Ca. and is has a wealth of knowledge of the area. On the drive up to the Summit, Mona told us about Summit Tunnel No. 6, an old railroad tunnel that was built in the 1800's. How the contractor had used Chinese immigrants to dig the tunnel. To expedite the process, he had a team of workers at each end of the tunnel, digging and blasting towards the center. This proved to be too slow for him so he decided to blast a hole in the center, then lower the workers down to work their way towards the outside. He, then, felt that the process of lifting the workers out in order to blast took too long and forwent that process all together. As you can imagine, many lives were lost in the construction of Summit Tunnel No. 6. Mona had taken some interesting photos during a previous trip that showed "aura" type anomalies. We opted to visit the tunnel before we went to the ski lodge to see if we could recreate those anomalies. The tunnel was very damp and much longer than I had envisioned. With cameras and voice recorders in hand, we worked our way towards the center. I ran my voice recorder, hoping to pick up EVP's of the Chinese workers who had lost their lives. The acoustics were incredible once we were deep inside. I made a mental note to return with my flutes and do a little recording. As I reached the center of the tunnel, I tried to take a photo of the opening to the top of the mountain. My batteries were drained. I started to go back to the car to get new batteries, my camera came on again. Each time I tried to take a picture of the opening my battery would die.

I decided to do some EVP work to avoid further frustration. In reviewing the data, I did pick up a whisper and also dogs barking. Neither Rebecca nor Mona remember hearing dogs and didn't pick them up on their recorders. Rebecca and Mona walked to the far end of the tunnel while I went back the other way. Needed a little nicotine. Again I tried to photograph the opening. This time my camera worked.









The sun was starting to go down and the temperature was dropping pretty quickly, so we left the tunnel and made our way to the ski lodge. We plan to return to this location for further investigation.
Mona it's great to have you on our team! Looking forward to the next investigation.

For more W.I.G.S. Go to:

hauntedwest.blogspot.com
and
www.myspace.com/w_i_g_s