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Went out Saturday with a small group to do a little Jeeping and Exploring. We met the Valero, gassed up and headed to Camp Rock Road to say HI to the group that Curtis was leading on CAKE.
Scott and Lesa (AVjeepfreek), Dave (Flatpoint) and friends Brett and Amber, John and a friend, Jesse and Charles (Kodiak Spirit) and Julie (Desert Jewel), and I (great88) headed up Camp Rock Road for an all day tour.
First stop was at an old mining camp nick named Camp Skee. We had a few in the group that not seen this spot before so it was a nice revisit for the rest of us. Charles (Jesse's son) seemed to really enjoy checking out the mine tunnel.
Next we headed north/east to the Rodman Petroglyphs. We did the 1/2 mile hike into the Wilderness area and checked out the lava canyon and the Glyphs. A very cool spot.
I laughed at this Garter Snake. I stopped to take it's picture and when I went to move it out of the road with my foot it did a "Rattlesnake" imitation and shook it's tail, coiled up, and struck at me. Too funny.
Next we headed east and then north to a new area called Box Canyon. This trail travels 10 miles or so north towards the 40 Fwy. Awesome colors and textures in this remote sandy canyon.
At the north end of Box Canyon we had a great view of the Mojave lava fields as we headed east a couple of miles and then doublebacked south to a different canyon. First stop in this canyon was a large abandoned mining camp and the Silver Bell Mine. In true form, Lesa sniffed out an a hidden adit (tunnel), and with John (retired Fire Chief) in tow, they dissapeared under ground. John's partner had a pack with all of the exploring gear including a "black light". John found traces of the gold and silver bearing ores while he and Lesa explored. When Lesa came out, she guess that they were back in 200 feet. Then Jesse and Charles went in and found a different section and went an additional 200 feet, finding old ladders that went down to different levels. We will have to come back for further exploring (Kirk and Silvia???).
Next we headed a couple of miles east to the Silver Cliff Mine. There appears to be only a couple of deep shafts here. So no underground exploring here. But on the surface there are lots of remains including a huge wood ore hopper hanging over the cliff. Quite the scenic spot. We all explored different sections of this once thriving silver mine camp. Just north of the mine via a little rock crawl canyon is a series of water falls that drop over 200 feet to the desert floor when it rains. Must be a spectacular sight when it is flowing.
It was getting late so we headed back to CAmp Rock to air up and split for home. We ran out of time for some of the other planned stops but that just means another trip. We finished the day with over 80 miles of dirt roads and trails!
Thanks everyone for the fantastic day.
Mitch
Scott and Lesa (AVjeepfreek), Dave (Flatpoint) and friends Brett and Amber, John and a friend, Jesse and Charles (Kodiak Spirit) and Julie (Desert Jewel), and I (great88) headed up Camp Rock Road for an all day tour.
First stop was at an old mining camp nick named Camp Skee. We had a few in the group that not seen this spot before so it was a nice revisit for the rest of us. Charles (Jesse's son) seemed to really enjoy checking out the mine tunnel.
Next we headed north/east to the Rodman Petroglyphs. We did the 1/2 mile hike into the Wilderness area and checked out the lava canyon and the Glyphs. A very cool spot.
I laughed at this Garter Snake. I stopped to take it's picture and when I went to move it out of the road with my foot it did a "Rattlesnake" imitation and shook it's tail, coiled up, and struck at me. Too funny.
Next we headed east and then north to a new area called Box Canyon. This trail travels 10 miles or so north towards the 40 Fwy. Awesome colors and textures in this remote sandy canyon.
At the north end of Box Canyon we had a great view of the Mojave lava fields as we headed east a couple of miles and then doublebacked south to a different canyon. First stop in this canyon was a large abandoned mining camp and the Silver Bell Mine. In true form, Lesa sniffed out an a hidden adit (tunnel), and with John (retired Fire Chief) in tow, they dissapeared under ground. John's partner had a pack with all of the exploring gear including a "black light". John found traces of the gold and silver bearing ores while he and Lesa explored. When Lesa came out, she guess that they were back in 200 feet. Then Jesse and Charles went in and found a different section and went an additional 200 feet, finding old ladders that went down to different levels. We will have to come back for further exploring (Kirk and Silvia???).
Next we headed a couple of miles east to the Silver Cliff Mine. There appears to be only a couple of deep shafts here. So no underground exploring here. But on the surface there are lots of remains including a huge wood ore hopper hanging over the cliff. Quite the scenic spot. We all explored different sections of this once thriving silver mine camp. Just north of the mine via a little rock crawl canyon is a series of water falls that drop over 200 feet to the desert floor when it rains. Must be a spectacular sight when it is flowing.
It was getting late so we headed back to CAmp Rock to air up and split for home. We ran out of time for some of the other planned stops but that just means another trip. We finished the day with over 80 miles of dirt roads and trails!
Thanks everyone for the fantastic day.
Mitch
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