THE STORY
Reported Haunting
An isolated property near Poncha Pass containing an old dugout cabin, corral, and mine has been associated with reports of unexplained paranormal activity. Visitors have described strange noises, apparitions, and an unsettling presence around the remote historic structures.
Poncha Pass has a tract of land with a dugout cabin, corral and little gold mine. It’s owned by the Boy Scouts and is used for their Rocky Mountain High Adventure base. The dugout is said to be haunted, as moans and murmurs are heard coming from it in the night. Legend has it that back in the 1600s, some gold was buried around here by De Anza. But a miner found the old Spanish gold, and shortly thereafter, he told folks about lights and voices that had ordered him to relinquish the gold and leave town. But he didn’t heed the warnings: He was found scared literally to death, locked in the dugout, without a single mark on his body. The area is also said to be haunted by another ghost, an old man in tattered gray Civil War duds who either salutes passersby or asks them for help–then disappears.