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.

506 posts

J and J Cabin

J and J Cabin

In early autumn 2015, we hiked cross-country over a mountain to a seldom visited mine and cabin along a stream in central Nevada. It is a quiet and peaceful spot among the aspen trees. The mine is caved-in but once consisted of an open stope with an adit leading deeper

Swasey’s Cabin

Swasey’s Cabin

Swasey’s cabin was built in 1921 by the locally well-known Swasey brothers as a line cabin. They would stay out here to watch over their cattle. Out behind the cabin, in one of the canyons, they had an icebox setup where they would store meats and any other foodstuffs.

Lakeshore Mine

Lakeshore Mine

Cary's Castle

Cary's Castle

Tucked away in the backcountry wilderness of the southern part of Joshua Tree National Park is a hidden gem called Cary's Castle. In 1935, at the tender age of twenty-four, a young man named Arthur L. Cary (sometimes misspelled “Carey”) moved from Colorado to the Coachella Valley. In

Grand Wash Cliffs Colony

Grand Wash Cliffs Colony

I met up with legendary explorer Roger Mitchell to explore the Grand Wash Cliffs of Arizona. It was a surprise to both of us when we found an abandoned group of cabins tucked back in the woods. The cabins appear to have been built and then abandoned in the 1970s

Algonquin Mine

Algonquin Mine

The Algonquin is an old mine. It was one of the earliest mines in Montana’s Philipsburg district. By 1877, it was being worked by a 10-stamp mill for silver with minor amounts of gold. The mill proved inefficient, and a new 20-stamp mill was soon installed. Reportedly, there was

Peg Leg Smith’s Inscription

Peg Leg Smith’s Inscription

Sometimes, in the desert, you can find what you are looking for. It was already dark by the time we started our drive out into the desert. The sky was completely overcast, and the wind was howling. And after a few hours of driving on the highway, it started to