Reader-supported field notes from backcountry explorations of the Western United States

Starbuck's Exploring

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Guy Starbuck

Guy Starbuck

Guy has explored the deserts and mountains of the southwestern U.S. since the early 1980s. In that time, he has found a couple of hidden and remote locations that don't see many visitors.

468 posts

Diamond Solstice Pictographs

Diamond Solstice Pictographs

Nestled in the Wonderland of Rocks and just around the corner from Alister's Cave in Joshua Tree National Park is another rock shelter with pictographs: the Diamond Solstice Pictographs. The main symbols here are a sunburst arc, diamonds, and diamond chains. Their meanings have been lost to time, but there

Aiken's Arch Pictographs

Aiken's Arch Pictographs

In 2017, we ventured out to the Eastern Mojave to finally visit Aiken's Arch and its pictographs and petroglyphs. The pictographs inside of this arch which formed from a collapsed lava tube are some of the oldest, if not the oldest, in the East Mojave, dated to 9,300 BP.

August 2023 News

August 2023 News

This summer has been an eventful one in the Mojave Desert. The York Fire began on July 28th and burned over 93,000 acres of the New York Mountains in the Mojave Preserve, reportedly destroying several mines and cabins, including the Sagamore. I plan to visit the area soon to

Indian Mine, Monarch Canyon

Indian Mine, Monarch Canyon

Over in eastern Death Valley just north of the Keane Wonder Mine is the Indian Mine. It is a small mine worked for gold with only minor workings and was never profitable. What makes it a worthwhile visit is the mill and its remaining single Nissen stamp mill. The Indian

Lanfair Buttes Petroglyphs

Lanfair Buttes Petroglyphs

The Lanfair Buttes Petroglyphs (also known as Indian Wells Petroglyphs) are one of the more extensive sets of petroglyphs in the Mojave National Preserve. There are hundreds of petroglyphs here on desert-varnished rhyolite boulders. Almost one whole hillside is covered with them. The Mojave and Chemehuevi probably camped here for

June 2023 News

June 2023 News

I've been doing a lot of work on the site since the last newsletter in March. I've brought back the Maps (for paid readers), and I've been going through, updating, and adding many old trips to the maps. It has been a big undertaking. Not all trips have directions or

Barnwell Petroglyphs

Barnwell Petroglyphs

In March of 2023, fellow explorers JP, Darthjenni, and W9JIM invited me on a trip to the Mojave National Preserve. The Mojave Preserve (and the East Mojave in general) is such a great place to off-road, camp, and explore. The park is crisscrossed by graded and 4WD dirt roads that