Starbuck's Exploring

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Guy Starbuck

Guy has explored the deserts and mountains of the southwestern US for more than thirty-five years. In that time, he has found a couple of hidden and remote locations that don't see many visitors.

503 posts

Sulphur Dog Mine

Sulphur Dog Mine

Not it's real name, we read about an old mine deep in the forests of Idaho with the remains of a 10-stamp mill and, more interestingly, a "portable" smelter. Smelters are rare, and it's even rarer to find one deep in the backcountry. And

Cave of the White Orbs

Cave of the White Orbs

Hidden in the rocks of Joshua Tree is a small pictograph rock shelter called the Cave of the White Orbs. I was asked not to give directions to this location.

Railroad Tie Cabin (Old Womans)

Railroad Tie Cabin (Old Womans)

Back in the winter of 2019, my friend JP and I took a hike to a forgotten cabin on the northern end of the Old Woman Mountains out in the Mojave Desert of California. The cabin is inside the Old Woman Wilderness, but isn't a hard hike. It

Royal Beefeater Mine

Royal Beefeater Mine

Stuck on Soda Lake

Stuck on Soda Lake

Oh, so one day, way back in the beginning of 1991, when I was just a young pup, my friend Jim and I were out off-roading in the sand dunes of the Devil’s Playground area out near Baker, California. We had been roaming around the desert all weekend, but

Culverwell Mine

Culverwell Mine

Back in 2017, I had a fun time poking around this old cabin and mine out in Nevada’s Great Basin. The Culverwell was also called “History Repeats.” It shipped some gold and silver ore in 1933. The cabin appears to have been lived in as recently as the 1980s

Confidence Mine and Dugout

Confidence Mine and Dugout

Early in 2021, I hiked out to some mines in the Upper Confidence Wash of Death Valley, but I still hadn’t been to the Confidence Mine itself. I needed to fix that. The mine is one of the oldest in Death Valley, being first worked in 1895. One story