Hiking the Big Bell Extension | Blacks #4

Just out of the park.

Setup on an old mining road just east of Furnace Creek, our flight home was a little later than usual, so we planned to get a hike in before heading back to Las Vegas. This meant a third morning in a row of awake-before-sunrise, but with early sunsets and bedtimes around 7:30pm, we were still getting more sleep we generally get at home!

It'd been a windy night, but our spot - between a hillside and a road berm - had been chosen carefully to reduce wind noise on the tent, and as we shoveled spoonfuls of Wheat Chex into our mouths, we remarked on how well we'd slept. Best night of the trip, it seemed!

While technically our 7 - or more probably 8, by the time switchbacks and side trips were taken into account - mile hike to the Big Bell Extension Mine was the major plan for the day, I'd also been in communication with Steve Hall - who was in town for the Death Valley Dark Sky Festival - and having availed myself of many of the resources he's shared for exploring my favorite National Park, I was hopeful that we'd be able to meet up for a few minutes to say hello.

And that meant we needed to get going!

View from the trailhead.

The hike to the Big Bell Extension Mine starts from the same parking lot as much more popular - for good reason - Keane Wonder Mine in the northern Funeral Mountains. We'd hiked the Keane Wonder in 2021 - after it reopened from years of stabilization and restoration work - but at the time we either hadn't known about, or had confused the Big Bell Extension with another similarly named mine in the area. At any rate, we were glad to be back, and it was the perfect morning to set out across the alluvial fan.

On our way, with the sun in the perfect place - our backs!

Following a web of old mining trails and roads, the walk across the alluvial fan was far easier than other cross-fan treks we've suffered through in the desert. Disjoint pipe along the way - remains of the pipeline that delivered water from Keane Wonder Springs to the Kean Wonder Mill - was a constant reminder of how hard it must have been to mine in a place like this, where a necessity such as water is so hard to find.

The springs - consisting of two small creeks and quite a few smaller seeps - flow out of a ravine just uphill of the trail. Trickling through shallow flows, colorful algae and carpets of salt grass crowd the wet ground before it fans out onto the travertine bench below the trail to disappear over an abrupt edge. At one time this spring was considerably larger, its grand staircase of travertine terraces climbing several hundred feet up the side of the Funeral Mountains before spilling out onto the alluvial fan for more than a mile. If it ever was all active simultaneously, it might have looked like Yellowstone's Mammoth Hot Springs, on much a grander scale.

Death Valley floor from the Keane Wonder Spring.

A few wells - still open and surprisingly clear - had been sunk to consolidate water for the mining operations in the area.

Cyty's Cabin and Mill, conveniently located next to the spring. Never mind the water is poisonous.

History: Johnnie-Behind-the-Gun

The intertwined stories of the Big Bell and Big Bell Extension mines revolve around Johnnie Cyty, an eccentric, trigger-happy character nicknamed "Johnnie-Behind-the-Gun." Cyty had been prospecting and mining in the California desert for several years when he arrived in the Funeral Mountains in 1904, drawn by the Keane Wonder strike. In June, he and a partner, Mike Sullivan, found gold above the Keane Wonder and located the ten claims that became the Big Bell Mine. Cyty also filed nearby claims that he called the Big Bell Extension. He optioned the Big Bell property to two successive parties. The first one essentially did not touch it. The second party went through the customary steps of incorporating a company, selling stock to raise cash, bringing in equipment, and exposing some good ore. Encouraged by these results, Cyty and another partner, L. D. Porter, started to work on the Big Bell Extension. Over the next few months, they exposed some valuable ore too. But when the deadline came around in 1906, the Big Bell management and Cyty failed to reach an agreement, and the claims returned to their owners.

Cyty temporarily left the Big Bell Extension to become involved in the Big Bell's new management. Work continued through 1907, but by the beginning of 1908 funds had run out and work slowed down to a crawl. The fate of the Big Bell took a Hollywood twist in April, when Cyty lost his 250,000 shares in the company in a night-long roulette game in Rhyolite. The property was purchased in the fall as additional ore reserves by Homer Wilson, superintendent of the Keane Wonder Mine, although for some reason he never exploited it.

Soon after losing the Big Bell Mine, Cyty returned to the Big Bell Extension. In the interim, Kyle Smith, recorder of the South Bullfrog Mining District, had filed claims on some of Cyty's sites, thinking Cyty had relinquished them. In the fall, after several months of dispute, Smith found Cyty working on the contested site. The two men resorted to their guns, and Smith was shot dead. Cyty was convicted of manslaughter in April 1909, and sentenced to 10 years in San Quentin. The California court overturned this conviction and ordered a new trial. Cyty went to court again in March 1910. This time he was acquitted, on the grounds that he was defending his property, and that Smith may have fired first.

A year later, Cyty returned again to the Big Bell Extension. After a few weeks, enough valuable ore was in sight that he purchased a second-hand, three-stamp mill for a modest price. In April the mill was hauled to its new home near Keane Wonder Springs, below the mine. Unfortunately, in spite of all this work, Cyty's hopes did not materialize. The mill was fired up in October, and a shipment of unknown value was made in November, but the Big Bell Extension was never heard of again.

Cyty lived most of the rest of his life in the Rhyolite-Beatty area, following the fortunes of the time. He built a small hotel in Beatty during the Leadfield boom, worked as a watchman at the Keane Wonder Mill, and was convicted again for assault with a deadly weapon, retried and, yes, acquitted once more. He lived to be an old man, cherishing until the end the grand delusion that the gold mine he once had in the Funeral Mountains "was richer than the Keane Wonder ever dreamed of being."

Hiking Death Valley

A short commute. (To the mill anyway, the mine was a whole different story!)

The cabin looked to be in reasonable shape as we approached, and I was sure we'd find a log with a couple dozen entries by Jeremy Stoltzfus.

My favorite part of the cabin. Gutters, critical infrastructure in a place that gets no rain.

Alas, the interior of the cabin was in rough shape, and there was no visitor log to be found.

Ore chutes with a view.

Though the Big Bell Extension never produced much, the real value was in the view!

After shedding most of our layers and leaving them on the front porch of the cabin, it was time for the real hiking to being. From here we'd be climbing just over 2,200 feet in 2 miles. It was a lot of up, and then it would get steep.

Up we go.

Following the old mining trail.

Gaining elevation, we found ourselves climbing the travertine terraces left by the spring, views getting wider and wider as we climbed.

In the distance, Mesquite Dunes.

One foot in front of the other, we climbed to a wide bench above the mill before crossing a small wash and tackling a series of switchbacks that led up a steep talus slope. Gaining another quick 220 feet, we soon found ourselves winded, and standing on a second bench overlooking the valley. Here, the trail passed alongside travertine layers - stacked more than 30 feet tall - colorful and delicate in the reflected canyon light.

Travertine shelf trail.

Travertine twirls.

Travertine cavern.

Sweeping layers.

Such a brilliant green. I've only ever seen one other instance of Pygmy Cedar, also in DVNP. (Peucephyllum schottii)

After a mile-and-a-half, we finally reached a saddle along the ridge between the canyon in which Cyty had built his mill, and the one where he'd built his mine. Sometimes it's more scenic and exciting to climb to these places via canyon routes, but looking down, we patted ourselves on the back for choosing the steep miners trail. This canyon seemed rather dull, no dry falls for excitement and rubble talus walls with little visual interest. Plus, from this point on, though our trail became narrower, it climbed much more gently along the canyon's abrupt rim.

Saddle view.

An easier grade.

With less than half a mile to the main workings of the Big Bell Extension Mine, it wasn't long before we came upon some smaller prospects nestled along the side of the trail. These were largely uninteresting, though the deepest adit contained a couple bed frames, likely to supplement the sleeping capabilities of two cabins a little further up the trail.

Much of the hike was covered with this sparkly material. @mrs.turbodb thought it might be Bauxite, but decided upon our return that it likely was not. (What is it? Mica schist?)

Still in use, just not by the intended species.

Correction, no longer in use.

Not long after the second cabin - and after navigating a few sections of trail that would have benefited from poles - our path finally terminated in the wash. Here, the main mining area fanned out into the steep, U-shaped escarpment, a narrow-gauge rail stretching out of the mouth of the main tunnel.

What treasures might be hidden inside?

Perhaps something that may have require rail?

Alas, there was an ore cart, but it lacked the ability to roll.

None of the adits seemed deep enough to require much mechanical ventilation, so perhaps Cyty was just planning ahead.

Higher on the hillside, several more - mostly shallower - adits plunged into the quartz-laden walls. Protected by their poor accessibility, old mining trails were faint and scrambling up the waste rock piles seemed the best option in some cases. A few neat discoveries kept us motivated to search each adit in turn.

Waiting for the next load.

I think this was the first tobacco tin I've found in an adit. Remember kids, like it says on the tin, "delightful and wholesome."

An old stone oven, used for fashioning the implements used around the site.

After poking around - and eating a bit of lunch - it was just after noon when we headed back down the trail. Generally, I'm a fan of hiking up rather than down - since it's easier on my knees - but I have to say that in this case, down was a whole lot easier. Plus, it was so much easier to enjoy the views!

Around the bend.

We made great time back to Cyty's Cabin and Mill, grabbing our sweatshirts and windbreakers less than 90 minutes after leaving the mine. A couple miles across the alluvial fan - taking advantage of the old mining road - were all that stood between us and burgers at In-N-Out.

Well, and a bit of driving. And meeting up with Steve.

This guy scrambled out of our path, a rare sight in my experience. (Zebra tailed lizard)

Check out those toes!

A much more commonly seen resident, with a nice blue tail. (Western Side-blotched lizard)

By 2:15pm, we were rolling south. We didn't know it as we walked in, but we were just in time for our opportunistic meet-up with Steve. Volunteering at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, his shift ended at 3:00pm, and who knows where he'd have gone after that.

After following this Death Valley Giant around the park for years, it was nice to finally meet him!

We chatted for a while until Steve politely excused himself to help the plethora of visitors who needed his guidance more than we did, and with smiles on our faces we climbed into the Tacoma. It'd been another great trip, but as always seems to be the case, our todo list as we left was longer than when we arrived.

 

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