Adam Paul

Sunday, 26 April 2009 (continued from here):

After a light breakfast we drove into Joshua Tree National Park and headed to the trailhead for the Lost Horse Mine.  We hit the trail at 8:45 with only one other car in the parking area – sweet!

The trail angled through some Joshua Tree woodland before becoming more chaparral’y.  A pair of hikers, presumably from the other car in the lot, passed us the other way, and as far as we could tell we had the trail to ourselves.

Lost Horse Mine Trail

We were quickly taken by the towering yellow blooms of Parry’s Nolina, which looks like it might be a yucca, but in fact is in it’s own family.

Parry Nolina / Nolina parryi

Their huge blooms, some 7-8 feet tall were obvious all along the trail and hillsides, like giant yellow candles improbably planted in the rocky desert.

Mojave Mound Cactus / Echinocereus triglochidiatus

A patch of flaming red caught my eye (and how could it not?) and I saw my first of many Mojave Mound Cacti.  This crimson cactus grows in a dense cluster, and is quite beautiful.

Parry Nolina / Nolina parryi

Nolina stalks poked up as far as we could see, the nearby ones audibly buzzing with bees.

Joshua Trees / Yucca breviflora

Mount San Gorgonio’s snowy summit was visible on the horizon to our north, looking rather out of place as we hiked along the gravely, scrubby desert.

Parry Nolina / Nolina parryi

Along with the abundant Parry Nolina and scattered Joshua Trees, Mojave Yucca, with its wispy-haired spines, dotted the trailside.  Although we were clearly in the  peak of Nolina bloom season, both the Joshua Trees and Mojave Yucca had long since bloomed, leaving behind only dessicated hints as to their inflorescence.

Lost Horse Mine Trail

The trail rose and fell gently, and I stopped frequently to take photos of the various flora and scattered fauna.

Nolina spines

Sarah, admiring some Nolina

Although there were very few birds, I did see a few Black-throated Sparrows, a Western Scrub-Jay, and a lone White-crowned Sparrow.

Cactus Wren / Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus

A Cactus Wren posed long enough for me to get a photo, which I was pretty happy about, as wrens of any sort rarely hang around in the open long enough for me to photograph them.

Mojave Mound Cactus / Echinocereus triglochidiatus

Periodic patches of red gave away several dozen Mojave Mound Cacti as we neared the Lost Horse Mine.  I think of the many beautiful cacti, yucca, and nolina we saw on this trip, Mojave Mound Cactus is probably my favorite.  It’s brilliant color just seems so out of place in the otherwise dusty, low-contrast desert.

Desert Parsley /  Lomatium mohavense

I spotted another new bloom, which I recognized as some type of carrot, and a lookup back at our house showed it to be Desert Parsley.  Despite its name, I was not tempted to eat it – “Mojave Desert Wildflowers” says,

Although this plant bears the name of Desert Parsley, it is not considered edible.  Many plants in this family are poisonous.

Desert Paintbrush / Castilleja angustifolia

We soon came to the mine area, evidenced by several doubletrack roads and tailing piles, and we decided to first check out the upper part of the former settlement, enjoying some nice, wide open desert views as we climbed just a little bit toward the main mine shaft.

Old Wagon Road near Lost Horse Mine

At 10:00, we arrived at the ruins of Lost Horse Mine.  This once-sizeable mining community had a 10-stamp mill, a half dozen or so miner’s cabins, and sundry buildings.  Only the well-preserved stamp mill (behind ugly cyclone fencing) and the foundations of the cabins remained, and we enjoyed poking around.

Lost Horse Mine’s 10 Stamp Mill

Stamp mill machinery

It’s hard to imagine ekeing out an existence here, in the middle of the Mojave Desert, hoping to take out enough gold to get rich in this generally mother-lode-free area.  According to the very informative NPS page on the Lost Horse Mine,

An exception is the Lost Horse Mine, which produced 10,000 ounces of gold and 16,000 ounces of silver (worth approximately $5 million today) between 1894 and 1931. When the story of the Lost Horse Mine is told, it sounds like a western campfire tale: gun slinging cowboys, cattle rustlers, horse thieves, the lure of gold, and a sticky-fingered miner.

Tube to nowhere

A few interpretive signs briefly explained the history of the mine, and we walked towards a cluster of cabin foundations to have a snack.  As we did so, we were joined by a solo hiker, who didn’t stay too long, and left us with the mine to ourselves.

Rattlesnake Weed / Chamaesyce albomarginata

A dense mat of tiny flowers lined one section of trail – Rattlesnake Weed.  Not a very attractive name for a pretty little ground cover, perhaps it should be known by it’s less-evocative, but more accurate common name – Whitemargin Sandmat.

Miner’s cabin ruins

After about 45 minutes of enjoying the mine’s environs, we headed back the way we’d come in.  Although it’s possible to do this hike as a loop, its several miles longer, and we’d decided that we would prefer to do more shorter hikes rather than just a few long ones.

Mojave Aster / Xylorhiza tortifolia

On the walk back to the car we encountered quite a few more hikers, making us glad to have gotten an early start, not just for the solitude, but for the more pleasant lighting and temperature, although it wasn’t too warm at this point in the day.

I felt bad for one group of 4 adults and 3 children who asked us “how much farther is it?”  Unluckily for them, they had hike only about a quarter mile from their car, and had about 2 miles to go.  We predicted that they would not be making it to the mine if they were asking that question only 1/8 of the way there!

Lost Horse Mine Trail

At 11:40 we arrived back at the trailhead, and sure enough, the parking area was fairly full.  This was a wonderful hike (as are most in Joshua Tree), combining a lovely and mellow walk through the desert with an historical mine site.

Hike stats:
Distance: 4.55mi
Climbing: 700′ (according to my GPS, but that seems too high)
Moving tmie: 2hrs, 5min
Not-moving time: 55min

Trip index:

• Part I – Getting there, settling in
• Part II – Twentynine Palms Oasis
• Part III – Oasis of Mara, Noah Purifoy, Key’s View, Cap Rock
• Part IV – Lost Horse Mine <– You are here!
• Part V – Cholla Cactus Garden, Geology Tour Road
• Part VI – Split Rock, Hidden Valley
• Part VII – Barker Dam, Ocotillo Patch
• Part VIII – Mastodon Peak, Cholla Cactus Garden revisited
• Part IX – Big Morongo Canyon, AKA Birding Paradise
• Part X – Tahquitz Canyon
• Part XI – Living Desert, LA, and home