Best Easy Day Hikes Joshua Tree National Park by Bill Cunningham & Bill Cunningham

Author:Bill Cunningham & Bill Cunningham
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781493039913
Publisher: Falcon Guides

The Hike

This multifaceted hike offers a pleasant out-and-back journey to a large mining complex, with an optional side trip to a high panoramic point above the mine.

The clear, wide, but somewhat rocky trail was once a wagon road. It climbs moderately, gaining 300 feet after 1 mile across high desert swales of juniper, yucca, a few stunted Joshua trees, and nolina (commonly called bear grass), a member of the agave family often mistaken for yucca because of its long spear-like leaves.

At 2 miles the doubletrack trail reaches the lower end of Lost Horse Mine. This is the largest essentially intact historic mining site in the park, and you could easily spend several hours studying rock buildings. The largest mine shaft, some 500 feet deep, is covered. However, other smaller ones remain unsecured on the hillsides, so you should be extremely cautious when wandering around this site. The pinyon pines and Joshua trees that once adorned the area were removed to fuel the mine and have yet to grow back.

This was one of the most profitable mines in the park. A German miner named Frank Diebold made the first strike. He was later bought out by prospector Johnny Lang, who happened onto the strike in 1893 while searching for a lost horse. He and his partners began developing the mine two years later. They processed several thousand ounces of gold during the following decade. Their process involved crushing the ore at the mill and then mixing it with “quicksilver” (mercury), which bonded with the gold so that it could be separated from the ore rock. Lang was later forced to sell his share of the mine to Jep Ryan. The end came in 1924 when the elderly Lang died of starvation while walking out from his remote cabin.

After visiting the mine, double back the way you came for an enjoyable round-trip.

Option: For a bird’s-eye view of the mine and its surroundings, hike north 0.2 mile on the doubletrack that climbs above the fenced-off stamp mill. A short use trail continues up to Lost Horse Point (5,188 feet), which affords a magnificent panorama of surrounding basins and peaks, including the Wonderland of Rocks to the north (there is a full 6.5 mile loop nearby for hikers interested in a more strenuous excursion).

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