The account of Solon Spiro, after which the trail was named, is
perhaps the most heart-breaking of all rags-to-riches-to-rags stories. The nephew of a pioneer merchant, Solon labored away in his uncle’s store, saving his meager wages and buying stock in other mines. By the early 1900s, he amassed respectable wealth,
bought claims bordering the goliath Silver King Mine, and
incorporated his own company-- Silver King Consolidated. But his
workings produced little ore and the mine’s main shaft was constantly flooded with icy waters. Pumping the water out was too expensive, so Spiro drove a tunnel nearly 3 miles long, and so
straight you could see daylight from its end, to drain the water.
He continued burrowing his mine until it was 5 miles into the
mountain. But with little ore to show for his effort and with funds
depleted, Spiro succumbed to defeat and sold his claim to his
competitor, the Silver King, at a bargain price. Adding the greatest
insult to injury, the Silver King tunneled just 40 feet farther in
Spiro’s old mine and struck a giant body of ore, one that Solon predicted was there all along.
(source: http://www.cyclingutah.com/august/August2004Issue.pdf )
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