Unknown to most people, there used to be a mining camp at the southeast corner of the Racetrack. A cabin and two enclosed yards belonging to the Sally Ann Mine, sitting on the alluvial fan a mile out across the playa. The Park Service removed the buildings, almost certainly because the only practical way to reach the camp by vehicle was to drive across the Racetrack itself. Little remains beyond a few rusted cans, artifacts, and rectangular rock borders where the buildings once stood.
It is not every day you get to hike across a dry lake to a mine; and the Racetrack to boot! This hike crosses the playa, visits the former camp, and zigzags up a steep, very loose trail past a series of prospect holes to the main adit. The view back is worth the climb.
Undated (probably late 1940s) photos of the Sally Ann Mine Camp. Only rock borders remain today. Photos courtesy of GM from the Ralph Welles Collection. Used with permission.
