The Ghost of Armbruster Pike
By Brian Iverson
Nestled within the rugged expanse of Nevada’s Ruby Mountains, a landscape of stark beauty and unforgiving terrain, lies a tale as chilling as the winter winds that sweep across its peaks. This is the story of the Ghost of Armbruster Pike, a legend whispered among miners, ranchers, and travelers, a spectral figure forever bound to the tragic history of the American West.
The year was 1846, a year etched in infamy by the harrowing ordeal of the Donner Party. As the Donner Party struggled across the Sierra Nevada, a smaller, lesser-known group followed in their wake. This party, led by Armbruster Pike, unknowingly trailed behind, their journey mirroring the Donners’ in its ill-fated trajectory. Unbeknownst to them, the same relentless blizzard that trapped the Donner Party in a frozen nightmare was barreling towards them. The Pike party, having missed the crucial cutoff at Overland Pass, found themselves stranded near the desolate Mooney Basin, a location that would forever be associated with their suffering and the legend of The Ghost of Armbruster Pike.
Historical accounts, meticulously documented in the annals of White Pine County’s history, paint a grim picture of the Pike party’s demise. Like the Donners, they were besieged by starvation. As food supplies dwindled and livestock disappeared, desperation took hold. The documented history recounts the descent into unthinkable acts of survival. The specifics surrounding Armbruster Pike’s fate remain shrouded in uncertainty. Was he murdered, his body cannibalized in a desperate attempt to survive? Or did he succumb to the ravages of frostbite, losing both of his legs to the unforgiving cold? The truth is lost to time, but the enduring legacy is the chilling tale of The Ghost of Armbruster Pike.
What is known, or rather, what is believed, is that ever since that brutal winter, a spectral figure has haunted the region. Sightings of The Ghost of Armbruster Pike have been reported sporadically over the years. The descriptions remain remarkably consistent: a hunchbacked figure, burdened by an unseen weight, with long, scraggly white hair and a beard that seems to absorb the moonlight. The most unsettling detail, the one that chills the blood of those who hear the tale, is the absence of legs. He is a torso, a spectral upper body, forever searching, forever lost in the desolate landscape.
The area surrounding Mooney Basin and Bald Mountain, where Pike’s party met their tragic end, has long been a hive of human activity, primarily driven by the allure of mineral wealth. Mining operations have scarred the landscape since the late 19th century, leaving behind remnants of boom and bust – ghost towns like "Joy" in Water Canyon and Bald City in Mahoney Canyon, silent testaments to dreams pursued and often shattered. Within the shadows of these abandoned settlements, whispers of unexplained disappearances and gruesome discoveries persist. Miners vanished without a trace, swallowed by the unforgiving mountains. One chilling tale speaks of a miner whose body was found headless, the severed head discovered some distance away, adding a macabre layer to the already unsettling atmosphere, perhaps linked to The Ghost of Armbruster Pike.
In 1957, a local rancher experienced a chilling encounter that further cemented the legend of The Ghost of Armbruster Pike. While rounding up stray calves in the Mooney Basin, near the ominous Horseshoe pit, the rancher spotted a hunched figure lurking in the bushes. Approaching cautiously, he was confronted with a horrifying sight: a man matching the description of Armbruster Pike’s ghost – hunchbacked, with long, stringy white hair and beard, covered in blood, and seemingly devouring a dead calf. The rancher was struck with terror at the sight that the man was without legs. The encounter left an indelible mark, adding another chapter to the growing lore surrounding the spectral figure.
The late 1980s witnessed a resurgence of mining activity in the Bald Mountain and Alligator Ridge areas. As modern machinery carved into the earth, unsettling events began to plague the night shift workers. Mechanics working the graveyard shift at the Alligator Ridge shop reported inexplicable occurrences. Haul trucks and bulldozers would mysteriously start on their own, roaring to life in the dead of night, seemingly possessed by unseen forces. Others claimed to have seen a lone figure, silhouetted against the darkness, walking across Long Valley, east of Alligator Ridge. In 1989, tragedy struck when a contractor hauling ore from the Top pit to the Alligator Ridge facilities lost control of his truck on the treacherous "S" curve near the Horseshoe pit in Mooney Basin. The truck rolled, killing the driver. Speculation ran rampant: had the driver swerved to avoid something – or someone? Was it a mechanical failure, or was it the influence of The Ghost of Armbruster Pike?
In the late 1990s, the Horseshoe pit was developed and mined out. During the mandatory archaeological survey of the area, a startling discovery was made: a gravesite containing a human skeleton. Local Native American tribes argued that the site was an ancient burial ground and demanded the return of the remains. However, a subsequent investigation by the County Sheriff’s office determined that the bones were relatively recent, dating back to the 1950s or 60s. The discovery fueled speculation and whispered theories, linking the remains to the legend of Armbruster Pike and the dark history of the region.
The development phase of the Horseshoe pit was fraught with strange occurrences. On one occasion, an exploration drill rig abruptly shut down, plunging the area into darkness. When the driller returned with assistance, the rig inexplicably started up again, as if nothing had happened. A similar incident befell a dozer operator, his machine inexplicably ceasing operation. No logical explanation could be found for these mechanical anomalies, leaving workers to wonder if something supernatural was at play.
One particularly memorable incident involved a lubeman driving back from Mooney Basin on a blizzardy winter night. As he approached the "S" curve, he narrowly avoided hitting a man standing in the road. He stopped to offer assistance, but the figure abruptly fled into the blizzard and the surrounding sagebrush. When the lubeman described the man to his colleagues at the shop, he recounted a figure with a long white beard and white hair, hunched over. Due to the heavy snow, he couldn’t see the man’s legs, only his upper body. The miners, upon hearing the description, immediately declared, "You just saw the Ghost of Armbruster Pike!" The lubeman, new to the mine site and unfamiliar with the local legends, was initially skeptical. However, he swore to the veracity of his sighting and claimed to have encountered the ghostly figure several more times in the same area near Horseshoe.
The legend of The Ghost of Armbruster Pike has also been fueled by more mischievous means. On one occasion, a few miners decided to play a prank on the "new guy" on the drill rig in the Horseshoe area. After discussing the legend of Armbruster Pike, they waited for the opportune moment. Under the cover of darkness, one of the miners donned a bright raincoat, covering only his upper torso, and darted through the bushes, just within the edges of the drill rig’s light. The "new guy," thoroughly spooked, swore that he had seen the Ghost of Armbruster Pike attempting to get him.
Another tale recounts a miner camping alone in the area during a January night, accompanied only by his two dogs. Late into the night, the dogs began to growl, their hackles raised. They suddenly bolted into the darkness, returning 20 minutes later, still agitated. Throughout the remainder of the night, the dogs continued to sniff and growl, unable to settle down. The next morning, the miner followed their tracks, hoping to discover what had disturbed them. The tracks led in a circle through the trees and back to the camp, but revealed no evidence of any other animal – no deer, no mountain lion, nothing but the dogs’ own tracks. The unexplained behavior of the dogs added another layer of mystery to the area, further fueling speculation about the presence of a supernatural entity.
Does the Ghost of Armbruster Pike truly exist? Is he a figment of overactive imaginations, fueled by isolation, hardship, and the harsh beauty of the Nevada landscape? Or is he a lingering echo of a tragic past, forever bound to the site of his suffering? The answer remains elusive, shrouded in mystery and whispered in the wind.
Brian Iverson, February 2005, updated March 2025.
(This is a compilation of stories and tales gathered from the men and women working at Bald Mountain Mine, Nevada. The names have been omitted to protect the innocent. No animals were harmed while writing this story. If you know of or have heard of any incidents involving Armbruster Pike, please let me know so they can be added to this historical document. Thanks to everyone who has helped, Brian.Iverson@Newmont.com
Brian Iverson
Newmont Mining Corporation
Regional Landman
555 Fifth Street
Elko, Nevada 89801
775-778-2552
Also See:
Ghost Stories From The Old West