Field notes from exploring backcountry locations of the Western United States

Starbuck's Exploring

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Directions

Directions

These trips have longer detailed directions on how to reach the site. I will add more as I have time.

64 posts

Tramway Mine

Tramway Mine

This gold mine lives up to its name. The inclined wooden tramway is the most interesting thing here and makes this old mine worth visiting. Don't be confused though, it is not an aerial tramway, but a railed inclined tram used to lower ore down from the mine to the

Tungstar Mine Tram

Tungstar Mine Tram

This very adventurous hike follows an old mining trail which led to the Tungstar Mine, a 1940s tungsten mine high on the western slope of Mt. Tom, the prominent 13,658-foot peak just west of Bishop. The trail was used in the early days of the mine to build a

Sagamore Mine Camp

Sagamore Mine Camp

The Sagamore mine, also known as the New York mine, was a silver, lead, copper, zinc, and gold mine. It was first discovered in the 1870s by Mormons who found rich silver veins in the foothills of the New York Mountains. It is one of the oldest mines in the

Hensen Well and the Pinyon Mine

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

Outlaw Mine

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

John's Camp and the Boulder Cabin

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

Porcupine Wash and Ruby Lee Millsite

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.