Well, it's the end of the year and I haven't gone out this year nearly as much as I would have hoped but I guess that is to be expected. I always want to be out more than I am! I have however done a lot of work on this site. It has been a busy and productive year!
Anyway, here are new trips and updates since the last newsletter in September.
New Guest Author
I'm happy to announce that we have another guest author with GC who wants to remain anonymous, which is fine. I know they have extensive knowledge of mines in the backcountry. If you would like to contribute reports to this site, let me know.
New trips
Quartz Butte Pictographs
Back in early 2022, I met up with a fellow rock art enthusiast to do a little scouting expedition in the backcountry of Joshua Tree National Park. There is a small pictograph and petroglyph site there that he knew about and we wanted to see if there were any more
Guy Starbuck
Hackberry Springs Pictographs
Late in 2021, I met up with my hiking buddy Wayne and we went out to find a pictograph site in the Mormon Mountains Wilderness of Southern Nevada. Hidden in a limestone canyon are two alcoves with pictographs (and a faint petroglyph or two) on their walls. Some of the
Guy Starbuck
Porcupine Wash and Ruby Lee Millsite
Down in the southern end of Joshua Tree National Park, the park service has made a trailhead with an open invite to find your own way out to the old mining site of Ruby Lee Mill site and beyond. The Park Service says the mill dates back to the 1870s.
Guy Starbuck
Golden Age Mine
The Golden Age Mine has several names including Callahan, Deer Horn, and Pataloma. It was really a group of mines, located around 1910. In 1921 the mine was located as the Golden Age and went into production under the Callahan Gold Mining company (unrelated to the great Callahan Mining co
GC
John’s Camp and the Boulder Cabin
In 1929 the Gold Hill Mine, comprising five claims about a mile west of the Pinto Wye Arrastra in Joshua Tree National Park, was owned by C.H. Wiser and Anvil B. Johns of Rialto, California, and J.A. Johns of San Bernardino. They set up John’s Camp nearby to
Guy Starbuck
Oro Cache Mine
The Oro Cache Mine was a small gold producer in the Beaverhead Mountains near Salmon. It is at the head of Freeman Creek, and was the largest mine in the tiny Carmen Creek Mining District. The mine was supposedly discovered in 1897, and was developed rapidly. It operated intermittently until
GC
Outlaw Mine
The Outlaw Mine is one of those places I wanted to go to because it was so remote. I knew there wasn’t going to be much left at the site but I still wanted to go and see it. The area is so remote, so desolate. It is one of
Guy Starbuck
Halloran Spring Petroglyphs
Surprisingly, just off the I-15 freeway northeast of Baker in the Mojave Desert of California are four or five groups of rock art scattered across small basalt hills and along a sandy wash. The main site is right next to the freeway. Thousands of people drive by the site every
Guy Starbuck
Gold Butte Mine (Mojave)
Recently, I had a request to post my photos of this mine and camp out near Goffs in the Mojave Desert. I had forgotten all about it. I originally went out and visited the site in 2014. I found a few empty cabins and old cars in camp - not
Guy Starbuck
Bill Young Mine
The Bill Young was a small silver mine above the townsite of Animas Forks. The mine never amounted to much, but it still has some interesting remnants. The mine was located in 1873 and was developed by a 250’ deep shaft. Levels were driven at irregular intervals, with a total
GC
Hensen Well and the Pinyon Mine
This hike is an adventurous cross-country ramble exploring a few historic mining ruins of the seldomly-visited Pinyon Mesa country down the dirt Geology Tour Road in Joshua Tree. Not a lot of people venture out here which is a shame as it is a neat area. History The mines below
Guy Starbuck
Updated trips
I added photos from a recent return trip to this site
Cow Cove Petroglyphs
Back in 2008, Alysia and I went out for a day trip to check out the petroglyphs at Cow Cove in the Mojave National Preserve. This is Chemehuevi and Mojave country and reminds me of Grapevine Canyon in Southern Nevada. The site was larger than I first expected and is
Guy Starbuck
Top 10 trips of 2022
These are the most visited trips for 2022
Hanging Valley and Tungstar Mines
In the late 1930s and early 1940s, surging worldwide demand for tungsten led to the opening of several tungsten mines in the High Sierra above Bishop. Two small but relatively high-grade ore bodies were discovered on the west side of Mt. Tom, which would become the Hanging Valley Mine and
Hugh M. Smith
Sauerkraut Trail Petroglyphs
Early in 2021, we were on a trip into the wilds of Death Valley to hunt down some lesser-known petroglyph sites in the area. This site is a mile-long set of ancient petroglyphs along an old Native American trail. It is a fascinating site. We were really surprised at just
Guy Starbuck
Morning Glory Mine (Death Valley)
The Morning Glory Mine is a neat little mine high up in the pinyon pines of Trail Canyon. It’s not easy to reach, so it doesn’t get as much visitation as other places in Death Valley. You really have to want to go there. And despite the long hike and
Guy Starbuck
Outlaw Mine
The Outlaw Mine is one of those places I wanted to go to because it was so remote. I knew there wasn’t going to be much left at the site but I still wanted to go and see it. The area is so remote, so desolate. It is one of
Guy StarbuckPorcupine Wash and Ruby Lee Millsite
Down in the southern end of Joshua Tree National Park, the park service has made a trailhead with an open invite to find your own way out to the old mining site of Ruby Lee Mill site and beyond. The Park Service says the mill dates back to the 1870s.
Guy StarbuckJohn’s Camp and the Boulder Cabin
In 1929 the Gold Hill Mine, comprising five claims about a mile west of the Pinto Wye Arrastra in Joshua Tree National Park, was owned by C.H. Wiser and Anvil B. Johns of Rialto, California, and J.A. Johns of San Bernardino. They set up John’s Camp nearby to
Guy StarbuckMartin Crossing Cabin
I’ve been to this cabin in the backcountry of Death Valley National Park a couple of times over the years. The first time I visited was in 2006 with Dan. More recently, I made a return trip in 2022. It is a moderate hike but getting close to it with
Guy Starbuck
Riggs Cabin
Out near Baker, is the Riggs Cabin at the old Riggs Mine. We first went out there on a chilly January day in 2004. I’ve been back many times over the years. It makes a nice place to camp. The oldest mine in the Silurian Hills, the Riggs Mine was
Guy Starbuck
El Dorado Mine
James “Chuckwalla Jim” Wilson discovered a rich gold-bearing outcrop of rock in this canyon in 1901. He called it the El Dorado (also spelled Eldorado). Wilson loaded small batches of ore on burros to be processed over at the mill at Pinyon Well, and all the way to an arrastra
Guy Starbuck
The Blueprint Petroglyph
The desert has gone silent. Where once it was inhabited by homesteaders, miners, and even ranchers, now it’s a checkerboard of wilderness areas delineated by long, lonely roads. Surely many interesting and historic sites remain, but how accessible are they now that most of the roads have been closed…
Jonathan Pusey
December was the busiest month of the year for the site.
Thanks again for your support! Happy New Year!
