Chaparrosa Peak
There is nothing historical here, but this is a nice hike to a peak with great views just outside of Joshua Tree.
Directions
Directions
These trips have detailed directions (and maps) on how to reach the site. Directions are limited to paid subscribers.
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118 posts
Paymaster Mine
The Paymaster Mine, also known as the Black Warrior Mine, was a good producer in the Gold Park district. It had a 140-foot shaft with two levels of drifts and cross-cuts.
Information on ownership and production is scarce. Bill Keys believed it was discovered before 1900 by Bill McHaney. Keys
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
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
I had 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.
History
The mine is one of the oldest in Death Valley, being first worked in 1895. One story goes
Confidence Wash Upper Mines
The Confidence Wash area of southern Death Valley has always interested me. I’m not sure why. There isn’t much out there. It is a wildly desolate and forsaken stretch of desert and can only be visited in the coldest of winter months as the rest of the time
Contact Mine
Information on these gold mines is sparse. Phil Sullivan, an early pioneer of Twentynine Palms, located the Contact claims by at least 1921. He filed a homestead there in 1897. (Also see the Silver Bell Mine.)
Along with Bill McHaney (see the Desert Queen Mine), Sullivan reportedly built an arrastra