Starbuck's Exploring

Sign in Subscribe

Directions

These trips have detailed directions on how to reach a site. Directions are limited to paid subscribers. Be sure to scroll down to load posts.

99 posts

John's Camp and the Boulder Cabin

John's Camp and the Boulder Cabin

In 1929, the Gold Hill Mine, comprised of five claims about a mile west of the Pinto Wye Arrastra in Joshua Tree National Park, was owned by C.H. Wiser and Anvil B. Johns of Rialto, California, and J.A. Johns of San Bernardino. To support their mining endeavors, they

Porcupine Wash and Ruby Lee Millsite

Porcupine Wash and Ruby Lee Millsite

Down in the southern reaches of Joshua Tree National Park are Porcupine Wash and the Ruby Lee Millsite. The Park Service says the mill dates back to the 1870s. They probably know something I don't. I could only find evidence that the mill site dates from the Depression

El Dorado Mine

El Dorado Mine

James “Chuckwalla Jim” Wilson discovered a rich gold-bearing outcrop of rock in this canyon of the Hexie Mountains in 1901. He called it the "El Dorado" (also spelled Eldorado) and transported small batches of ore on burros to the mill at Pinyon Well or all the way to

Silver Bell and Golden Bell Mines

Silver Bell and Golden Bell Mines

Unlike many of Joshua Tree's more remote mining sites, the Silver Bell and Golden Bell Mines can be reached via a relatively easy 2-mile loop hike. This makes them ideal for visitors who want to see mining sites with limited time or who prefer shorter trails. Silver Bell

Hess Mine

Hess Mine

Not far from the Tioga Pass entrance station to Yosemite National Park lie the remains of the Hess Mine, one of the more accessible 1940s-era tungsten mines in the High Sierra. Three widely-separated claims comprised the mine: the main claim at the north end of Steelhead Lake; a small middle

Chuckawalla Bill's

Chuckawalla Bill's

Anthony William Simmons, also known as Simon but more famously as "Chuckawalla Bill," fixed up this little cabin and lived here from around 1932 to 1936. From what I could piece together, he was born on August 2nd, 1875, in Pennsylvania. He served in the U.S. Army

Lucky Turkey Arrastra and Blind Mule Placer Cabin

Lucky Turkey Arrastra and Blind Mule Placer Cabin

These mines are a bit of a mystery as very little is known about them. The hike visits a roofless stone cabin first, then heads over to the Lucky Turkey Mine with its arrastra, and finally out to a remote cabin at the Blind Mule Claim. The little bits of