Old Mines East of Hayfield

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTY TWO

It is a good thing that I am near the end of my yearlong adventure. If I'd had any day like today earlier in my endeavor I doubt very seriously that I'd have gotten this far.

My hike started out well enough. I headed east of Interstate 10 and got off on the Red Cloud Mine exit. I went north and started exploring the mountains in the southeastern corner of Joshua Tree National Park. It wasn't until after the hike that things went downhill.

Driving along the road I see this sign. They don't ever put these where there's nothing to protect so this is a good indicator that something of interest is nearby.

I head up the wash west of the sign and see this large pile of tailings on the hill.

Hiking up to the top of the pile I see a tunnel going back quite a ways. I would follow it to the end but the only light I brought is a very small LED headlamp and it doesn't offer quite enough light for me to feel comfortable. Also, who'd call for help if this thing caves in?

I hike around for about another hour and don't find much to report until I come to this. It looks like this just might be some old Indian rock shelter.

A pottery sherd lying near the entrance makes this seem very promising.

There is a large amount of tarry pitch on the roof of the main room of the shelter.

This must have been in use for a long time because there are several rooms and each one is covered with pitch. This is Grandma's room.

And this room belonged to the kiddies.

After leaving the rock shelter and traversing along the hillside I come upon this tree that looks like someone cut off the end of all the branches.

I quickly discover why: someone lived here.

They also mined here. There are lots of tailings around this hillside.

This mine goes down rather than into the hill so I don't want to get too close.

There is a tunnel but I'm faced with the same not enough light problem so I won't be going in.

And this one is just a tad too small.

Up the hill there are lots more tailings so let's see what's up there.

There's a whole superstructure that was set up in order to tap a vein but I won't be doing any exploring here.

The whole mountaintop is being supported by a bunch of old timbers. Now that looks real safe. So I looked around a little more and hiked back to the Jeep. That's when the fun began.

I stopped to take a picture of this sunset and got a flat. Somehow the key that removes my spare got lost--I'm terrible with keys--and so I had to drive miles on a flat in order to get to a place where a tow truck could meet me. The wife drove out to Chiriaco Summit to rescue me but Russ, the tow truck guy, managed to get the lock off of the spare and I was able to drive home, getting there about four hours after finishing my hike.

Now I've got to get a new tire and these things aren't cheap. I just hope the rim's OK.

Pushawalla Plateau Joshua Tree National Park

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY FOUR

Joshua Tree National Park has a number of mining districts within its boundaries. There were several gold mines and some of those mines produced a significant amount of the precious metal, especially the Lost Horse Mine. None of the mines within the park are in operation but several can be visited for their historic value. The Pushawalla Plateau Mining District is one of the park's mining districts and that's where I went today.

The mining area is in the Pinyon Well area of the park, just off the Geology Tour Road. A road reached into the area from the Coachella Valley but our access point was from within the Park. I previously hiked into the area on August 8 but did not hike all the way up to the mining area. Now with the much cooler weather and my friend, Charlie, along in case I fell into a mine I decided to go all the way.

The last time into the Pinyon Well area I saw the recently deceased carcass of a Bighorn. There is nothing in the original site of the body but parts of the skeleton are now strewn around. The only thing close to the original site is this skull.

Cement tanks at the site of Pinyon Well.

We stopped by the Water Guzzler and fixed the pipe that was still broken.

Looking down from near the water guzzler I see this chair-like rock.

Further up the wash are the horns from a Bighorn. It is doubtful that they were carried up here from the original location by coyotes so either these are the horns of another Sheep or someone brought them to this location.

We make our way up an old road that is not on the map to a mine and some ruins. We look all around but cannot find the mine. I tromp around, frustrated, unable to find the tunnel I'm looking for. Charlie wonders what I've gotten him into. He figures I've taken him on yet another Hal hell hike to nowhere.

"I found it! It's down here! See I'm not crazy." OK, that last part is debatable but the tunnel is down here.

A small mine, very well disguised, in the middle of nowhere.

The tunnel is not very deep. It goes back only about 70 feet or so, if that.

Above the mine tunnel, we come upon some remains of an old cabin.

Exploring further up the hill I discover the kitchen with its well constructed chimney.

Since we don't have anything to make for lunch I utilize it as a lookout point.

There is a nice view from the kitchen but it's nothing compared what we'll be treated to later.

As we make our way across the hill to another road on the way to more mines, we see Mount San Gorgonio.

We make our way up another old road--this one is shown on the map--to an area with several mines. These rocks are the only remnant of any dwelling that we are able to find.

The first mine we come to is a shallow tunnel that only goes back about twenty feet. We don't even bother to go in.

Then we come to a mine that goes into the hill at about a 45º angle. Charlie wants to check it out but I demur. Not knowing what lies beyond the first few feet we decide not to explore this one without a rope.

The next mine is not an option. It is a deep vertical shaft and extremely dangerous. I do not want to get too close to the edge of this one.

This is as close as I can get without fearing falling in. Even then I hold the camera out to try to get a picture of this abyss.

Charlie loves these mines and wants to return with a rope to go and explore them. I, however, am more interested in the outdoors and, if I came up here with a rope, would be more interested in climbing this wonderful thirty foot spire.

Beyond the mines is a view unequaled in Joshua Tree National Park. To the south it looks out at the Coachella Valley and the Salton Sea. To the north is the Queen Valley and Malapai Hill. West lies the San Jacintos, Banning Pass and San Gorgonio and in the east lies the outer reaches of the Little San Bernardino Mountains. The view itself is worth the effort to get here.

There is so much interesting landscape here that I wish I could stay longer.

Even the old cans up here are interesting.

Click on this photo and you can see how far the views stretch. From the road down I catch a picture of the Geology Tour Road and you can even see my Jeep miles away and over a thousand feet below.

I love hiking in Joshua Tree and am planning on coming up to another part of the park on Saturday, October 3, to enjoy a hike in the full moon. If you'd like to come along, send me an email.

New Hemet Bell Mine

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY NINE

After reading about my hike on Saturday up to the Gold Hill area near Garner Valley, a friend of mine from work called me and said he wanted to go up and check out mines in the area. I really enjoyed my hike in the area so I didn't mind going back so soon.

Here's Charlie, fired up and ready to go.

We hike up past the boulder fields that I went through on Saturday.

On the other side of Gold Hill, I find an arrastra. This was used to grind ore into gravel so that gold could be extracted. It means we're on the right track.

There are so many boulders up here that I wonder if anyone's ever come up here climbing.

I quickly discover that the answer is yes. This bolt is placed in the rock to protect a climber. I spot another one higher on the boulder and I'm sure there are plenty more.

Old trucks and cars are left where they died, just like in the desert.

As we hike up the road/trail we can tell we are getting closer.

Mines always seem to accumulate lots of junk that is left behind once the gold runs out. This junk is known as historical litter and helps tell the story of the mine.

Here's our first mine! This one is not the Hemet Bell Mine. It is on the map but is not named.

Let's see what's inside.

A tunnel! The mine goes back a way but I don't go to the end. When I get a couple hundred feet back a bat starts dive bombing me. The ground is not really smooth and the ceiling is low overhead so I decide I can't keep my eyes on the bat and everything else so I bail out. There are lots of little frogs in here and I don't want to step on them, either.

I don't have to worry about stepping on this guy who's taken up residence in the door frame.

We head up to the next mine, which is the Hemet Bell.

This mine has been cleaned out a bit more than the first one and is easier to travel in. The floor looks almost like it's been swept out.

The tunnel goes back a few hundred yards and has a shaft coming down from the top. I'd hate to be walking above here and come upon this open shaft. A fall down here would probably mean certain death. The tunnel itself is fun to explore but this shaft should be sealed.

The temperature in the mine is wonderfully cool but it's time to get back to the light of day and then head on home.

There's a lot of mining paraphernalia like this rock crusher around. You can see that a lot of work went into these two mines.

On the way back we are going to explore one more mine but we see an interesting area of the trail and decide to explore just a bit more.

It's another mine; this one is not on the map. It doesn't go back very far so I guess not much was ever found in here. There are no bats, either, which is good.

We head over to look at one last mine before we move on. There's this nice foundation and fireplace left from the miner's cabin and we both think this would be a great place to live or at least camp for a couple of days.

The mine here is the shallowest of the lot. It probably only goes back into the hillside about thirty feet. There's a bat inside but he's just hanging on the wall. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a good picture of him. I guess I'll just have to come back sometime.

On our hike out we come upon another old homesite. There's a spring nearby and ample water but living out this far is not for everyone and obviously not for the people who left all this stuff here.

This was also left behind. If anyone knows how to get a hold of Tom Hanks, tell him we found Wilson.

They did leave one thing we were very happy to see, though: an apple tree. The apples are pretty ripe and mighty tasty. I'd imagine in a few weeks they'll be ever better. I wonder if I can wait that long to come back.