Starbuck's Exploring

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99 posts

Duct Peak

Duct Peak

You will need to dust off your peak-bagging boots for the trek up the 3,137-foot Duct Peak. This small peak is in the eastern part of Joshua Tree in what I call the "Empty Quarter" of the park. This section of the park is completely undeveloped, and

Fortynine Palms Oasis

Fortynine Palms Oasis

The Fortynine Palms Oasis is a popular and well-traveled hike to a shady palm oasis just outside the town of Twentynine Palms. The trail was once part of an old Indian trail. The Serrano and Chemehuevi Indians knew this oasis well, ate fruit from the palms, and used the fronds

Golden Bee Mine

Golden Bee Mine

Most people who visit the Cholla Cactus Garden don't know is an old mine with an interesting history is just a few miles away, gazing down on them. There are a few minor prospects scattered along this side of the Hexie Mountains, but two gold veins were discovered

Hanging Valley and Tungstar Mines

Hanging Valley and Tungstar Mines

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, surging worldwide demand for tungsten led to the opening of several tungsten mines in the High Sierra above Bishop. Two small but relatively high-grade ore bodies were discovered on the west side of Mt. Tom, which would become the Hanging Valley Mine and

Morning Glory Mine (Death Valley)

Morning Glory Mine (Death Valley)

The Morning Glory Mine is a neat little mine high up in the pinyon pines of Trail Canyon. It's not easy to reach, so it doesn't get as much visitation as other places in Death Valley. You really have to want to go there. And despite

Rattlesnake Canyon Smelter and the Heartbreak Ridge Arrastra

Rattlesnake Canyon Smelter and the Heartbreak Ridge Arrastra

Most people interested in the old mines of Southern California know about the old "Spanish" smelter on the eastern edge of the San Bernardino Mountains. It is just off Burns Canyon Road in Rattlesnake Canyon and is well-visited. The smelter is old. One report states that it was

Hexahedron Mine

Hexahedron Mine

Sometime before 1894, Al Tingman ("The Father of Indio") and Ed Holland (of Lost Horse Mine fame) staked claims on some rich gold ore outcrops high above Pleasant Valley. They sold the mine to Bill and John Garrison, who formed the Hexahedron Mining Company. The Company dug a