Old Dale Mining District (Near Joshua Tree National Park, CA)

[theksmith]

Cross posting this from OffroadPassport.com
The original thread can be found here...

Friday, February 22

This is a tale of exploration, mines, barren landscapes, and dwindling numbers. We originally had 8 rigs signed up, but as the date drew near, only 4 could make it. I usually avoid caravaning, so all the attendees were on their own till the meeting spot in Joshua Tree National Park, CA.

Aimee and I left Brady with the grandparents and set out from Phoenix around 8 AM. The trip out was about 4 hours and uneventful other than passing GearHead on the freeway at some point. I tend to go about 5 over, and Gear's YJ is much happier at 65 or under, so he was only a brief red blur

Everyone made it to the Visitor Center by Noon CA time as we had planned. I want to give props to Dave (Hurricane) for being well prepared. He had recently fixed some issues with his yellow TJ, and to make sure that it wasn't going to cause any more problems, he left a day early. I appreciate the consideration that shows for everyone else's time. We all break down sometimes, but there's nothing more frustrating that hearing someone say "oh yeah, I knew that might break soon..." in the middle of trip.

We hit dirt within a few minutes and stopped to air-down and disconnect. Our 4th rig was Bob (Lazarus) and Sharon's silver TJ.

Mission Well & Mission Mill

The first off-highway stop was that of the Mission Well. Drilling nearly 450 feet deep in the desert had to be no quick job in 1934, but the well was an essential water source for many of the area's early mines and mills. A large valve marked "PEERLESS" sat rusting away on top of a concrete foundation.

A few other small foundations remain near the well:

Here Aimee captures me inspecting the early pioneer's masonry skills:

Just past the well sits a hill with more ruins marked Mission Mill on some maps and Sunrise Mill on others.

This sediment deposit remains even after most of a tank has vanished:

I'm not sure what the large rock base at the top of the hill was, perhaps just a foundation for another tank. It appeared to have a compass-rose painted on it currently.

Looking back into the Joshua Tree area:

Our small group of explorers:

On to Old Dale

We moved on North-East towards BLM land. There were several old paths now closed to traffic. I've never seen "No Vehicles" cement curbs in the middle of the desert before, so I asked Aimee to snap a pic:

Soon after passing the National Park boundary line, the road became a bit rougher:

We took it fairly slow as we had plenty of time to make it to camp, and were still loaded with all our camping supplies.

As we entered the valley near camp, we saw our first few mine ruins.

We would also see plenty of junk on this trip. Usually referred to as trash by standard definition, it's all now "mining relics" due simply to the passage of time.

We came across so many old mattress springs that Dave decided he should go into business selling them. There may be no demand, but with such an abundant supply, how could you go wrong?

continued...

 

[theksmith]

Secret Camp

Early in the afternoon we arrived at the "secret camp". Not a really a secret by any stretch of the word, but just a really neat set of ruins that a few people have taken the time to improve for other campers to enjoy.

We'll start the tour with the main building - no roof, but there are 4 walls which provide some wind relief. It also features a rustic corner fireplace.

Out back sits a small cave with miscellaneous supplies for working on the area and camping items such as wood, water, tables, and a grill. The logbook says to take what you need and leave something if you can. We left a couple bundles of firewood and straightened the place up a bit, as some things had been left out.

On our previous visit an American flag hung on the main building, with a solar light directed at it. The light remains, but it appears the flag pole holder has come loose, so the flag is in the cave for now.

The south window sill has a little museum collection going. I added a small green rock found nearby.

Finally, like much of the Old Dale, there's also the "just plain wierd/creepy" items:

A nice patio and a couple more foundations and walls make nice areas to set a tent. The final selling feature is the cactus Zen garden, including a solar-powered "Gopher Chaser" (images of Bill Murray in Caddyshack come to mind).

The only negative to the area is if you need to stake down your tent, you had better bring good stakes - we're blasting into solid rock here!

Brooklyn Mine Loop

After setting up, some of us did a quick loop to visit a couple nearby mines and cabins. Looking back at camp from the Los Angeles Mine, you can just make out Lazarus' Jeep in the wash (they stayed behind to take it easy setting up):

Gear and I walked to several of the shafts of the Los Angeles Mine. Here he is tempting fate over a deep vertical shaft:

Plenty of head-frames and other wooden ruins were still intact.

Here's Dave surveying the remains of a concrete tank, and no doubt taking in the view:

We found a large chunk of bright greenish-blue rock in the tailings. I assume a copper ore of some sort?

As the sun began to leave the valley, we continued off the mountain down into a canyon were we stopped at creepy-cabin #1...

The stone walled cabin has no roof, except the porch. It's a random-junk-super-salad inside. My favorite item this time was the new box of wine glasses.

We also passed by several more mine ruins, including the Brooklyin Mine. The remains of a very old dump-trunk sat perched near some tailings in one area:

Exiting the canyon is a fun 4-LO crawl, nothing difficult, just a very bumpy ride and some careful tire placement.

Back at Camp

We arrived back at camp just before the sun disappeared completely. Hot burritos with melted cheese were on the menu for Aimee and I, thanks to the engine oven. The wind picked up a bit and it was around 40* when we first gathered at the fire. The wind died down soon though, making for a mild winter night.

All of us stayed up for a bit gabbing around the small blaze. I had a couple glasses of wine, so it didn't take long for the sleepy-bug to bite. Once the fire died down to just a small bit of one log, we said our goodnights and headed to our tents.

continued...

 

[theksmith]

Saturday, February 23 (Morning)

We awoke to pretty chilly weather, probably around 38*. After breakfast I tooled around taking pictures near camp for a bit while everyone else finished getting ready.

Gear was also ready early, so he rode just down the valley to check out a mine.

And Then There Were 3

Bob and Sharon were having some health concerns due to the cold, so they elected to go home early. I made sure Bob knew the route to get out and was comfortable finding his way. The rest of us left camp, headed South to begin a giant loop I had planned.

I told everyone we had to at least stop by Moose Mine to get a pic for ScottL. There was a nice view from near the mine entrance.

The mine actually turned out to be one of the few with horizontal adits that we could explore. (Warning: You should never enter mines yourself, text while driving, or go outside with wet hair. Seriously, just because you see us do something stupid doesn't mean you can assume it's safe.)

Half way back in the 200 or so foot shaft, the ceiling opened up where a vien had been followed. Parts of the "crack" went all the way to the top of the mountain. It seemed like only the old 6x6 beams were keeping the mountain from collapsing back together.

Just after the "crack", half of the floor opened up to a vertical shaft... hope you aren't still looking up when you get here:

The vertical shaft extended both below and straight up, letting sunlight in from the mountaintop opening.

There were a few patches of a thin crystals at the end of the tunnel, you can see them shimmering in this pic:

Continuing on a Mission

Our next stop was the Mission Mine. Apparently in use during the early 80's (based on the date in a foundation), this seemed to be one of the more recent ruins we visited.

The massive elevator support structure above the main shaft won't last much longer. Significant erosion has exposed most of the foundation while widening the shaft opening. There was fresh fencing and keep-out/danger signage around this entire area.

The other news since the last time we visited is the disappearance of "The Crane". I can only assume it was stolen for scrap. Several storage containers were also cut up and removed with only the floors remaining. The majority of the processing equipment is still intact.

The area also had some surface mining, and a smaller shaft just down the road behind the main area (perhaps a vent shaft).

Just below the main shaft is a flat area with mostly trash and some miscellaneous junk.

It did make for a few neat photos though.

This large tank was begging me to try and run inside it down a hill. I was pretty sure that would end with a femur poking out - or maybe a rib, so I left it alone.

I thought of Virgil when I ran across this old transceiver, so I grabbed a pic for him. Not sure if it's a CB or what frequencies it operated on, the brand is "konel". There was also a large antenna still standing nearby on the southmost hill.

continued...

 

[theksmith]

Good Morning Sunset

After leaving the Mission Mine, we did a short trail requiring 4-LO to reach the Sunset Mine.

Beside the main vertical shaft is a structure that I deemed "The Bomb Shelter", a peculiarly rugged little building. It has thick cement walls, and the windows have swing out doors made of 1/4"+ thick metal. The roof is a curved thick metal as well. In contrast to it's utilitarian architecture, one side has an extremely bright American Flag painted on it.

Everyone took their turn inspecting the area:

The date in the sill of the door appears to be 10-22-1936:

The Golden Egg Mine

Our final stop before lunch was the Golden Egg Mine. Dave and Aimee both stayed with the Jeeps at the last available turn-around spot while Gear and I ventured down the rest of the worn road to the mine and mill.

The mine itself consisted primarily of a vertical shaft with a collapsed head-frame.

Gear dove right into the mess of the mill area:

These look sturdy:

An interesting processing device:

Above the mine was a hacked together tower made of pipe, perhaps a small tram for getting processed ore back to the top of the hill.

There was also evidence of some minor surface mining and a couple very short horizontal shafts nearby:

Having checked off another mine, we hiked back up the rough road to the Jeeps. Continuing on for just a few miles, we soon stopped on top of a hill with more vertical shafts for lunch. At about 74* and with a slight breeze, the weather was perfect for a desert area with no shade.

continued...

 

[theksmith]

Saturday, February 23 (Afternoon)

After lunch, we headed to another mine. I know, so unexpected!

This time it was the Gold Crown mine... here's Aimee on the wrong side of the fence around the giant vertical shaft:

There are a lot of foundations near the mine. It must have been a pretty decent size operation.

Past the mine and below the mill is a large tailings area that spills over into a wash where it has eroded in an interesting way.

The tailings material looked like concrete, but with a slight iridescence. However, it easily turned to a fine powder as you walked on it. I bet it would be slicker than baby snot when wet.

Some areas had hidden channels eroded underneath the top layers:

We parked near the start at the upper end of the wash. I'm glad we didn't drive all over it and cave in one of those channels!

We backtracked a little to take a spur to the top of the hill where we could look down on the remains of the mill that produced all these tailings.

I was eager to check out this site because from satellite view you could see several circles made up of straight lines, but I had no idea what they could be - vents maybe? Turns out they are cement, and I'm guessing were foundations for water or processing tanks:

Sandy Supply

Next up was a short break from the mines. We headed north on a longer straight desert road where you could just get up to a good pace and then suddenly a whoop or ditch would sneak up and rattle your brains a bit.

We were headed for a tiny sand dune nestled in a valley that I'd seen in Google Earth. It looked like there were plenty of tracks on it so I was hoping we might get to play for a minute... and that we did!

Here's Dave on his final try, coming up just a little short:

The WJ's V8 came in handy, even if it does suck the gas. I blasted up the hill full speed a couple times, which was a nice momentary change of pace from all the reserved historical exploration. Gear's little-engine-that-could just couldn't this time, he gave it one try and came up short as well.



Just above this dune, the remains of the Supply Mine sit perched on a steep hillside. The tailings from this mine were also eroded in neat patterns.

We did a respectable 4-LO climb up to the mine. There was nothing much to see close to the Jeeps, and I think we were all getting tired of walking around, so after a couple photos we piled back in and descended the small mountain.

Several areas that we visited had can dumps. To quote Gear, "That's a lot of pork-n-beans!"

continued...

 

[theksmith]

Bunkers & Shacks

Heading back South towards the OK Mine, we began to wrap up our loop, expecting a quick return to camp.

We stopped for just a moment at a little bunker built into the side of a hill. A photo online labeled it the "explosives bunker". That seems to be a reasonable purpose for it, as it was far from any other buildings or mines and built into nearly solid rock.

"Z rock" sits above the bunker:

We didn't have time to visit the OK Mine itself, but did stop at the shacks nearby. There was another can dump on the way in:

This place has a few shacks and a ton of junk. It's great for testing out your tetanus vaccine, or picking up some fresh Hantavirus.

Now is a good time to mention the creepy factor. All this abandoned stuff can sometimes just seem a little weird. Before we left for the trip, Aimee's boss had asked her where we were headed and then told her "Isn't that where they filmed The Hills Have Eyes?" Now I saw part of the 2006 remake of that movie and it's some creepy disturbing stuff! So that added to the spooky feel of some areas on this trip.

Can't you just imagine some imbred freak watching you through the holes in this building? Hear the heavy breathing? You walked right by him, he could have almost touched you, maybe he did?

The Long Short Road Back

Having all survived "the shacks", we had no more stops planned and were ready for that short road back to camp. This was a shelf road about 8 feet wide, nothing too bad.

Then suddenly the 8 foot wide road was washed out and narrowed to more like 4 feet for a section as long as my Grand Cherokee. People had stacked some rocks on the edge, but they were precarious at best.

We didn't think to hike up the hill and get a good shot of the area, so you'll just have to trust me that it was a major pucker spot. Just in front of my feet, the road is simply missing outside those large rocks that you see:

We all got out and looked it over. Everyone agreed that I could go first and if the rocks gave way, I'd probably still be able to back out.

I had to re-stack rocks after each vehicle went, as they slid down the hill each time. Dave took an off camber line, staying further from the edge. Here's Gear taking the "damn close to the edge" line:

After that, the shelf road continued what seemed like forever. Aimee and I kept worrying about finding a worse washout, meaning we might have to back up over the previous spot (there was no room to turn around).

Fortunately we made it back to camp without further challenge, where everyone could clean their shorts!



They are Still Watching You

At camp the wind was kicking up and so it actually seemed a little colder than the night before. We didn't last too long around the campfire after dinner. I think everyone was feeling the long day.

In the middle of the night, Aimee had to get up for a restroom break. Now, let me set the mood... The nearly full moon is casting eerie shadows. The wind is so strong that there's no way you could hear anyone walking around even right next to you. That "Hills Have Eyes" comment is still in the back of your mind...

Meanwhile, I got up to turn on the heater. When she opened the tent door, I was right there just standing up. Having left the tent with me asleep, she wasn't expecting to see anyone standing right in front of her. Well anyway, fortunately she doesn't scream too loud!

I went out and tried to take some long exposure photos, but the wind was absolutely freezing and even blowing my tripod around.



Sunday, February 24

Sunday morning the wind was still in full force. On the way home I checked the weather and it had been 45 MPH gusts that we were feeling! Packing up a tent with those sort of winds is no fun, but everyone managed.

We hit the exit trail pretty early, probably around 8. Once we got to pavement, Gear and I decided to take a really quick trip down Black Eagle Mine road to see the famous boulder. Dave just couldn't possibly handle any more fun in one weekend, so he headed home.

On the way down the road Aimee noticed this rock, looks like a Rhino, or something horny anyway:

So where were we going? Well the road heads into the backside of the infamous Eagle Mountain mine and modern ghost town... but not all the way. One map from the Joshua Tree visitor center just shows a gate or blocked symbol. Other maps just show the road to the edge of the JT land and don't even have it going onto the BLM land. I had also seen reports online that there was a giant boulder blocking the road.

You can even see the boulder from the satellite view: https://maps.google.com/maps?q=eagl...ountain,+Riverside,+California&gl=us&t=k&z=20

Once we got there, we found the boulder to be on a shelf road. It was clearly put there by man as it doesn't match any of the surrounding rock on the hill above. It looks like some people have made it by, but we didn't see any way Lafawnduh was going to squeeze by.

Gear and I hiked up the road a bit further where we found that it had also been blocked by a large dirt pile. Maybe that was the first attempt since it had clearly been driven over many times. A little further up, we reached a hill top and could see the massive tailings pile from the Eagle Mountain mine in the distance.

There aren't any "no trespassing" signs near these blockades, though they could have just been stolen. However, from my own review of maps, this appears to still be BLM land. The Eagle Mountain private land does start a few miles later, and there may be gates or signs there, but I'm really not sure what the official deal is with this boulder.

There is, perhaps, another way around the boulder, and so I will be back to explore again, as we were running short on time. After backing down the shelf road away from the boulder, we did a fast paced run back to pavement.



I hope everyone that couldn't make it enjoyed the story and the pics!

And thank you to everyone that did come out for this trip, it was good too see you all!

...

 

[theksmith]

this was a fun trip even though it turned out to be a small group. the Old Dale area is a neat and often overlooked place to explore. like any BLM land, the availability to vehicle-based explorers is subject to change - and the state of the old mine ruins is of course in constant decay. anyway, just wanted to share this with the expo portal crowd.

 

[BOHICA]

Enjoyed the trip report and pictures!

 

[Willman]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[no-pistons]

Wow! Cool pictures and report. Looks like I missed alot of stuff on my last trip out there. Looking forward to going back and doing some more exploring.

 

[BorregoWrangler]

Great report and photos!

 

[REDROVER]

VERY COOL tnx for the pictures

 

[achampagne]

Thanks so much for taking the time to share.

 

[theksmith]

thanks for all the positive comments!

 

[nwoods]

awesome thread!