Indian Pass
From
our base camp near the sand dunes of Glamis, we set off on a
clear October morning for some exploring. Our first stop
was a location in the Palo Verde Mountains that was written up
by Delmer Ross in the November, 2002 issue of Rockhound
Notes. The
goal here was a small hill of pastelite, a fine grained type
of jasper. The Indians of the area used it for arrow and
spear points. We traveled north on Highway 78 to the Milpitas
Wash crossing and then turned northeast into the Palo Verdes
on M0661, Old Palo Verde Road, which winds its way along a wash
through the access corridor in the Palo Verde Mountains Wilderness. Several
natural arches can be seen from the road and this turned out
to be a scenic and enjoyable drive. It could probably be
done by a sturdy high clearance two wheel drive vehicle, but
we felt more secure in our trusty Jeep Liberty with its four
wheel drive. As you exit the mountains to the north
look for the small knob of Pastelite Hill at 33*21.148N and 114*46.493W. There
is still some nice material there and we did some collecting.
Before
heading south to Indian Pass we explored a four wheel drive road
that led to an old manganese prospect. We found a deep
trench and a very poignant memorial to Karen Hyduke. Any
information that you might have on this memorial would
be appreciated. We then retraced our tracks on Highway
78, turned south on Ogilby Road, and just before Gold
Rock Ranch turned east on A272, Indian Pass Road. This is a wide,
well graded road all the way to the pass itself. Along
the way there are some good collecting areas for petrified palm
as well as for dumortierite, a rock that looks much like lapis
lazuli. On a previous trip we had stopped
here and done some collecting. This time we were going
all the way to the pass before we stopped. It is at the
very top of the pass that prehistoric Indian trails can be found,
along with an unexplained type of petroglyph that consists of
scratches through the varnish on hundreds of volcanic rocks. These
scratches take the form of lines, squares, diamonds and oblongs. To
view this area stop at the turn out to the right of the pass
where the BLM interpretive panel is. You will then walk
into the field of lava rocks to the north to find the trails
and scratched rocks. Harold Weight wrote a nice article
on this area in the February, 1949 issue of Desert Magazine.
After
exploring this area and walking on the old Indian trail and seeing
the incised rocks, we found ourselves yearning for a time machine
so that we could find out what was going on here! It's
a beautiful area with sweeping vistas and jagged peaks. From
the top of the pass we dropped down into Gavilan Wash that would
eventually lead to the Colorado River. This section should
only be attempted in a four wheel drive vehicle. The eroded
road drops swiftly into a sandy wash and then twists its way
to the magical, life giving blue and green environs of the river
itself. There is a nice campground at 4-S Beach. It
was completely deserted when we passed through. The juxtaposition
of the arid, forbidding hills we had just passed through and
this watery paradise we were now viewing was quite a shock. As
the sun dropped low we headed back toward it on the Indian Pass
Road. Our day was over, but if you'd like to relive it
then click on the photo link below!