Beginning the trip, we drove over to Butte Valley via Goler Canyon from Searles Valley. We stopped at the Newman Cabin, Gold Spur cableway, Keystone Mine camp, and Mengel Pass. Once in Butte Valley, we hit all the cabins; starting with Stella's (also called Mengel's, Anderson's, and Greater View Cabin), then we went to Russel Camp. Unfortunately people were setting up camp there and we didn't lurk around and invade their space. Finally we went to Geologist Cabin at Anvil Spring. I was amazed at how rutted the road and parking at Geologist was; it suffered heavily from overuse and subsequent erosion. Anyway, the new and controversial outhouse is far enough away that it didn't impede views of the cabin and butte together, so we were able to enjoy the solitude of the lonesome stone cabin.
We set up camp at a large boulder pile a short distance up the road from Geologist, and ate dinner under the rocks in a large dinner theater, having our wonderful lunchables and chips and dip. We propped up the iPad and enjoyed Charlie Wilson's War long into the eve.
The next morning, we poked around the boulders a bit and I found the ground was littered with indian knapping flakes. We left them there. Once camp was broken, we went up some of the spur roads that went off the main road, up to the Butte Valley Stamp Mill, Hatchet Spring, and one other mine and cave house. Then we went to the famous and magnificent Redlands Canyon with intentions of enjoying lunch at Emmet Harder's cabin. After turning up the wrong canyon and looking at some burros (the first I'd ever seen), we turned around, less than a mile away from our destination. Yet, it is always good to air on the side of caution. On the way out we stopped at a cableway, the name of which is long since forgotten, and the base of Striped Butte, where I did some macrophotography and we found some fossils. On to Warm Springs Camp, we departed through fields of blooming flowers and a stunning lack of anybody. At Warm Springs we explored the camp and Gold Hill Mill, but neglected to inspect the Grantham Talc mine.
The next day, after spending the night at Stovepipe, we ventured up the wonderful Hunter Mountain for a hunt for native art. Saw some cows, some unexpected petroglyphs, and lunch at Hunter's Cabin. Later, we set out for a pictograph cave, painted onto solid marble. The amazing site and easy hiking was the highlight of the trip. In the area there were scattered petroglyphs, flakes, and arrowhead, along with historical trash.
After another night at Stovepipe Wells, we embarked for Mosaic Canyon, as it had been many years since my previous visit. I was disappointed to find much gravel in the narrows, for last time they were much deeper. After a hearty lunch at Panamint Springs, we headed for the Ruth Mine up Homewood Canyon in Searles Valley. It was a nice site, with several cabins and buildings, although the mill had been bulldozed. It was designated a CERCLA cleanup site several years ago, and the contaminated tailings and mill were neutralized.
Overall, this was a phenomenal trip even though I now have wheel wobble on the front left. =)
