Teakettle Junction - The conversation probably went something like this - "Whacha up to, Slim?" "Eh, just workin' a claim up north a piece, runnin' low on dynamite, though. It's gonna take me 3 trips with this worn out old mule to get enough supplies up there to get me through the winter" "How's the claim workin' up?" "I s'pect I'll be retired and livin' in Hollywood by this time next year. This vein has more gold in it than my dog has fleas" "Wow! Anythin' else look promisin' up that way?" "Well, I seen a outcroppin' along a ridge just the other side of the valley across from my claim that looks pretty good." "How would I find it?" "Well, take that track down into the valley past the well that ol' Frenchie marked with a stovepipe last winter. Take a left at that junction. Go north until you come to the end of the valley and the big crater. Turn left and come on up that valley to the southwest until you come to the second or third junction. hmmm... dag nab if my tired old brain can't remember... Tell you what. I got this old pot in the wagon. I'll just sit it by the trail at the spot. Go to the left. It looks like you're headed right into the mountain, but there's an opening into this hidden valley..."

Or, somebody camped there for the night, their teakettle got a whole in the bottom and it was abandoned there. In any case, a tradition was born...