Fossil Trackways & the Kingston
Range
We set
off Friday morning with the Jeep Liberty loaded to its max for a three
day trip with the Desert
Explorers group from the Mojave
River Valley Museum. We would all meet Friday evening in Shoshone,
north of Baker. The itinerary sounded interesting and varied,
but since this was our first trip with this group we didn't know quite
what to expect. On our way to Shoshone we stopped at the little
cemetery at the site of Silver Lake. The local sheriff's deputy pulled
in behind us and proceeded to tell us about an 
old cabin near a mine
in the Silurian Hills. We took the bait instantly and set off
for a nice adventure. On our way we passed the site of Riggs,
a station on the old Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad. A large
can dump, a cement slab, a cistern, the mangled carcass of an
old car, and other poignant reminders of an earlier era surfaced as
we walked. As we approached the Silurian Hills, the tell tale
signs of a mine appeared, and rounding a ridge we found the cabin! Visitors
were welcome to spend the night or several days. All that was
asked was to sign the log and do what could be done to help preserve
this rare treat. The mine itself proved worthy of exploration
and some nice quartz crystals turned up. Since gold was mined
in that area we presumed that this was also a gold mine.
old cabin near a mine
in the Silurian Hills. We took the bait instantly and set off
for a nice adventure. On our way we passed the site of Riggs,
a station on the old Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad. A large
can dump, a cement slab, a cistern, the mangled carcass of an
old car, and other poignant reminders of an earlier era surfaced as
we walked. As we approached the Silurian Hills, the tell tale
signs of a mine appeared, and rounding a ridge we found the cabin! Visitors
were welcome to spend the night or several days. All that was
asked was to sign the log and do what could be done to help preserve
this rare treat. The mine itself proved worthy of exploration
and some nice quartz crystals turned up. Since gold was mined
in that area we presumed that this was also a gold mine.Back on the pavement, we rolled on up to Shoshone
and had an early dinner at the Crowbar. It was here that
we met Al, one of the members of the Desert Explorers. Although
an older gentleman, he was fit, funny, and up for anything. We
gave him the nickname of "Where am I Al" due to his
humorous lapses of memory, probably caused by having experienced
twice as much as most people! We found the campsite in the
picturesque Castles in Clay area and met the two Allans. Our
colorful and eminently qualified leaders were Dr. Allan Schoenherr,
author of A Natural History of California, and Alan Romspert
(henceforth known as Roms) of the California State University Desert
Studies Consortium. These two raconteurs were worth their
weight in gold! Also joining us around sunset were Sue, Bob
and Toby the desert dog. Our personal nickname for Bob
became "I've been there Bob" simply because he has literally
been everywhere! He and Sue continually provided great background
information on virtually any area that anyone mentioned. We
set up our tent, explored some of the dugouts, hunted along the
Amargosa for pupfish, and generally enjoyed the sunset. The
full moon and substantial campfire, coupled with an amazing amount
of wine, had everyone in a good mood and ready for tomorrow's adventures.
The
rattle of a Diesel truck with a license plate that read DTH
VLY woke us up on Saturday morning. It was Ken Lengner, a geologist
and author of a marvelous book titled Death Valley's Titus Canyon
Area. Ken lives in Shoshone and Allan and Roms had recruited
him to be our guide this morning. Adjacent to an old mining
area, Ken pointed out to us some amazing tracks. These fossil
footprints record the 
passage of mastodons, horses, camels, dogs,
and California lions. The low angle of the sun really helped
to bring out the prints. Casts have been taken and can be seen
at the museum in Shoshone. From the trackways it was a short
hop to the area where the Irish miners dug their homes under a tufa
cap and into the side of a wash. This area is now known as
Dublin City, and shows just how resourceful the old miners were. Some
of the "homes" are quite elaborate and fun to explore. Before
leaving us, Ken took us east on Highway 178 for a look at a very
complex geologic process that has resulted in a spectacular enigma. A
jet black seam bordered by browns and tans seared its way up the
road cut. From a distance it looks almost like coal, but it
isn't. Up close it almost looks like obsidian , but it isn't
quite that, either. What it really is is still open to conjecture. But
we all agreed that it was an amazing sight!
passage of mastodons, horses, camels, dogs,
and California lions. The low angle of the sun really helped
to bring out the prints. Casts have been taken and can be seen
at the museum in Shoshone. From the trackways it was a short
hop to the area where the Irish miners dug their homes under a tufa
cap and into the side of a wash. This area is now known as
Dublin City, and shows just how resourceful the old miners were. Some
of the "homes" are quite elaborate and fun to explore. Before
leaving us, Ken took us east on Highway 178 for a look at a very
complex geologic process that has resulted in a spectacular enigma. A
jet black seam bordered by browns and tans seared its way up the
road cut. From a distance it looks almost like coal, but it
isn't. Up close it almost looks like obsidian , but it isn't
quite that, either. What it really is is still open to conjecture. But
we all agreed that it was an amazing sight!As
Ken returned to Shoshone, the Desert Explorers headed to China Ranch
for a date shake before the trek to the southern Nopah Range and
its mines. Roms entertained us at China Ranch by walloping
the rather aggressive horse flies and then pointing out interesting
anatomical parts such as their proboscis. Our first mine in
the Nopahs was the War Eagle. The ore loading structure
was in great condition, but it was the tunnel, complete with tracks
and lots of machinery in the side tunnels, that captured our fancy. As
mine explorers we received low grades. Flashlights had been
forgotten, batteries went dead, and Allan complained about the poor
light output from his flashlight until he realized he still
had his sunglasses on! However, we all had a great time. The
Columbia Mine was noteworthy because of the huge old engine with
the enormous flywheel that still reigned supreme over the ruins. And
then it was on to my favorite, the 
Noonday Mine. The long ore
chute terminated at what was then the track way of the T&T Railroad. Of
course that is gone now, but period pictures show the scene as it
once was. There were plenty of ruins of timber and stone dwellings,
and can and bottle dumps littered the landscape. Several intact
bottles were discovered, admired, and returned so that others could
have the same experience of bringing history to life. As the
sun dropped lower in the sky we circled the mountain and ended up
at the backdoor to the War Eagle Mine. Apparently it's possible
to follow the tunnels completely through the mountain and come out
on the other side! As our group pulled up to the adit, we met
a group that had spent three and a half hours trying to find the
right combination of tunnels. They blamed their failure to
find the through route on the complicated multi-levels found inside
the mountain. We set up camp near the tunnel and relaxed with
a beautiful sunset, another full moon, a sumptuous meal around a
great fire, and, again, a surprising amount of wine! No wonder
everyone slept so well!
Noonday Mine. The long ore
chute terminated at what was then the track way of the T&T Railroad. Of
course that is gone now, but period pictures show the scene as it
once was. There were plenty of ruins of timber and stone dwellings,
and can and bottle dumps littered the landscape. Several intact
bottles were discovered, admired, and returned so that others could
have the same experience of bringing history to life. As the
sun dropped lower in the sky we circled the mountain and ended up
at the backdoor to the War Eagle Mine. Apparently it's possible
to follow the tunnels completely through the mountain and come out
on the other side! As our group pulled up to the adit, we met
a group that had spent three and a half hours trying to find the
right combination of tunnels. They blamed their failure to
find the through route on the complicated multi-levels found inside
the mountain. We set up camp near the tunnel and relaxed with
a beautiful sunset, another full moon, a sumptuous meal around a
great fire, and, again, a surprising amount of wine! No wonder
everyone slept so well!Sunday
morning found our little caravan crawling up toward Tecopa Pass. As
we gained elevation the plants became more varied. Yucca, barrel
cactus, stag horn cholla and the elusive nolina dotted the landscape. I
serenaded Niki with the hastily composed lyrics, "Nothing could be
fine-ah than to see a big nolina in the mor or orrr ning!" Thank
goodness the windows were up! At one of our stops Roms conducted an
olfactory trick or treat session by finding some very smelly plants. We
sampled turpentine broom and turpentine brush, both with strong citrus
overtones; followed by linear leafed golden bush, with its resinous
Christmas tree smell. The rabbitbush along the road was playing
host to bees, and Niki captured some nice shots of feral honeybees
and solitary carpenter bees loading up on pollen. Just over
the summit was Horsethief Springs, an oasis of plants, trees, quail
and just about everything else one could imagine. The water
was flowing freely as we explored the vandalized cabin and Allan
explained the relationship between the datura plant and the sphinx
moth. Wow! I sure learned a lot!
After
a short descent, we made a right turn onto the Heritage Trail, which
follows Kingston Wash back to Highway 127. After a lunch break
under the willows we were treated to a spectacular display of
dirt throwing by Allan's truck as he hit a patch of soft earth while
not in four wheel drive. As the dust settled, 
he backed up,
got the right levers pulled, and with all the wheels working
together this time made it through. We all signed the Heritage
Trail log. Roms said it all with, "We came, we stank, we left." Coyote Holes
seep had a nice flock of quail which took flight as we approached,
and Kingston Spring, now devoid of the old ranch house and bunk house
which burned down, was still verdant and the hangout of a dainty
dragonfly. The final stretch to the highway took us past the
can dump at the old T&T station of Valjean. And then it
was over.
he backed up,
got the right levers pulled, and with all the wheels working
together this time made it through. We all signed the Heritage
Trail log. Roms said it all with, "We came, we stank, we left." Coyote Holes
seep had a nice flock of quail which took flight as we approached,
and Kingston Spring, now devoid of the old ranch house and bunk house
which burned down, was still verdant and the hangout of a dainty
dragonfly. The final stretch to the highway took us past the
can dump at the old T&T station of Valjean. And then it
was over.We lingered
to say our goodbyes before switching from dirt to asphalt . The comradeship forged through
this adventure made it difficult to go our separate ways. We
hope that we can share a campfire again soon. Thanks
to all for a memorable experience!