John’s Wash Arborglyphs
Most of the historical relics I find on my hikes are from the booming mining industries of the early 1900s, which dominated the Nevada landscape, but other activities were going on at the time. Ranching was just as important as mining to the early settlers, and sheepherding was a part
Mule Canyon Cave Tower Ruins
Circle Sun Ledge Pictographs
Hidden on a small, inconspicuous ledge deep in the Joshua Tree wilderness lies an intriguing pictograph site. When we discovered it after a lengthy bushwhack, the park archaeologist informed us that he believed it was a previously unrecorded site. Huzzah!
Corkscrew Borax Mine
A few years ago, I met up with some of the guys, and we hiked out to visit the ruins of the old Corkscrew Borax Mine. The mine was worked for colemanite (an ore of borax) in the 1950s by the US Borax Company. Surprisingly, for all of its development,
Moccasin Track Petroglyphs
Lost Pick Prospector's Camp
While hiking way out in the backcountry wilderness of Joshua Tree National Park, my friend JP and I stumbled upon an old prospector’s mining camp. Hardly anything is left at the camp: a few cans, wood debris, a rock-stacked wall, and a fireplace. Hidden nearby in a pile of