August 2025 News

Summer is almost over. My travels have taken me to some amazing places—Yellowstone, Northern Michigan, and the Central California Coast, among others. While I've posted a few photos on Instagram, I wanted to share some here too.

Click on any photo to enlarge.

Also, we did some code work on the back end of this site. Besides the code fixes, I added a tag at the top of all the posts for the type of directions the trip has: Directions, GPS Only, or No Directions. Now you can see at the top of the page whether a trip has directions or not.

New Trips

New trips added to the site since the last newsletter:

War Eagle Mine (Gospel Hump)

Field notes from forgotten corners of the Western backcountry

Starbuck's ExploringGC

Burham Canyon Pictographs

Two things make Burham Canyon remarkable: the vibrant pictographs painted in red, white, black, orange, and traces of blue, and the fact that women from three different tribes traveled here specifically for childbirth. The Kitanemuk considered it home territory, but Kawaiisu women came from the northeast and Tataviam from the

Starbuck's ExploringGuy Starbuck

Chemung Mine

The Chemung Mine tells two stories, and neither one ends well. The first is about phenomenally rich gold ore that someone discovered in 1909 – ore so valuable it ran “several hundred dollars per ton” in an era when that meant real money. The second story is about a mining operation

Starbuck's ExploringGuy Starbuck

Pine City Overlook

Pine City was never a city. Instead, it’s a peaceful collection of pinyon pines and junipers scattered among granite boulder formations at 4,200 feet elevation in Joshua Tree National Park. This unusual concentration of drought-resistant conifers in the otherwise sparse desert landscape likely inspired early miners to name it.

Starbuck's ExploringGuy Starbuck

Greene Denner Drake Mill

Tucked away in a small canyon just off of Emigrant Canyon/Wildrose Road, on the slopes of the northern Panamint Mountains at 5,020 feet elevation, sits the Greene-Denner-Drake Mill. Forever in the shadow of its more famous neighbor, Skidoo, this quiet spot sees few visitors. This little camp contains

Starbuck's ExploringGuy Starbuck

May Lundy Mine

Just northwest of Mono Lake lies Lundy Canyon, home to a Mono County campground, a large lake, and a small resort with a few cabins and campsites. Most visitors today come for the fishing, hiking, and fall color, probably unaware that this quiet area was once home to a booming

Starbuck's ExploringHugh M. Smith

Updated Trips

I updated these trips with history, directions, and/or new photos:

Waucoba Line Cabin

In May of 2012, Micah and I took some time to go hiking and try and find a suspected cabin site high in the mountains. I wasn’t sure what we were going to find up there. I thought the only remains we would find of the old cabin site

Starbuck's ExploringGuy Starbuck

I hear that this cabin will be torn down by October. You should go soon if you want to see it!

Emerson Mine (Lincoln, Tempiute)

This is quite a place! This is a massive and strange mine with the sound of underground rivers far below, 4-foot boreholes going hundreds of feet through the mountain into the unknown, elevators, hoists, slushers, rusty ladders, pipes, stalactites, underground offices, workrooms, explosive lockers, and strange experimental testing equipment, all

Starbuck's ExploringGuy Starbuck

Mayflower Mill

The Mayflower Mill (also known as the Shenandoah-Dives Mill) is the only intact and functional flotation mill remaining in Colorado. Every belt, crusher, and flotation cell that was processing ore when the mill closed in 1991 still occupies its original position. While hundreds of precious metal mills across the American

Starbuck's ExploringGuy Starbuck

Mount Irish Petroglyphs

“Pahranagat Man” haunts this lonely valley. This distinctive anthropomorphic figure appears only in the Pahranagat Valley region, showing up at Mount Irish and a handful of other nearby sites but nowhere else in the American West. It’s a fun challenge hunting him down among the volcanic rocks, and Mount Irish

Starbuck's ExploringGuy Starbuck

New Books

I've picked up a few books since the last update:

• Abandoned Mines of Western Idaho - Howard Frisk

This well-researched book on the history of six Western Idaho's abandoned mines combines historical documentation with stunning photography by the author. It even includes some of my photos! Highly recommended.

• Exploring Montana's Pioneer Mountains -  Leroy Friel
• Ghosts and Gold - Scott Fetchenhier

Some links are Amazon affiliate links. Purchases through these links support this site at no extra cost to you.

Exploring Joshua Tree Book

And don't forget to check out my Exploring Joshua Tree book. It features unique locations you won't find in any other book. It's like having a little piece of Joshua Tree with you on the trail.

Happy exploring!