Ever since Retracing Panamint Valley's Nadeau Trail, I've wanted to get back into the Argus Range to explore deeper into the canyons and higher along the ridgelines. As always, it seems that my list of things to do around Death Valley National Park grows at a rate significantly faster than I can cross things off, and so for half a decade, other trips have taken priority.
It was my newfound desire - to climb the high points of the 15 or so highest mountain ranges around my favorite National Park - that finally bumped this trip to the top of the list. Well, that, and the fact that a good number of park roads were still closed when I was going through my early stages of planning.
And so, we're off to hike to the top of Argus Peak before heading deep into the folds of the Argus Range in search of the secrets they hold. (No surprise, those secrets are old mines.)
Apex of the Argus | Nadeau Deux #1 - Ever since Retracing Panamint Valley's Nadeau Trail, I've wanted to get back into the Argus Range to explore deeper into the canyons and higher along the ridgelines. As always, it seems that my list of things to do around Death Valley National Park grows at a rate significantly faster than I can cross things off, and so for half a decade, other trips have taken priority. It was my newfound desire - to climb the (accessible) high points of the 15 or so highest mountain ranges around my favorite National Park - that finally bumped this trip to the top…
Escaped Tractor of the St. George Mine | Nadeau Deux #2 - There are a lot of weird things in the desert. Thankful for a few minutes of rest after summiting Argus Peak, we settled into our comfy scheel-mann seats and pointed the Tacoma toward the Nadeau Trail. The Nadeau Trail is named after freighter Remi Nadeau, one of the many unsung heroes of the Death Valley days. Although seldom acknowledged, freighters played a vital role in the development of remote mining communities by providing economical transportation to haul out their ore and bring supplies on their way back. Nadeau moved west in 1860, and over the next 20 years, forged a…
Climbing to the Rhonda | Nadeu Deux #3 - After a fun morning finding an abandoned tractor high above Snow Canyon, we tucked ourselves into the Tacoma and set off for what I knew would be a much harder hike. As the crow flies, our jumping off point in was less than a mile from where we'd found the tractor, but constrained to the unmaintained road system that reaches into the Argus Range, we had upwards of 15 miles to reach the trailhead in a way that didn't entail jumping off a cliff. Our departing view from Snow Canyon was pretty nice. As we entered Canyon, Lookout Mountain towered…
No Cake for You in Stone Canyon | Nadeau Deux #4 - As a windstorm raged out in Panamint Valley - gusts over 50mph whipping up dust and sand - we enjoyed a reasonably peaceful night tucked away in the lower reaches of Thompson Canyon. With the CVT ladder tied down, earplugs, and the strenuous activity of the previous day, we slept very well and very long. In fact, knowing that we had less hiking in front of us today than the preceding two, we didn't even get up before sunrise. Heck, we burned through more than an hour of daylight by the time we climbed down the ladder for some Wheat…
███████ Cabin and the Surprise Mine | Nadeau Deux #5 - We had no idea what sort of controversy we were about to stir up as we worked the Tacoma up the road-turned-wash-turned-road-turned-wash that is Canyon at the northern end of the Nadeau Trail. Somehow - since I'm usually one to visit any cabins along a route I take, and we've driven the Nadeau Trail in the past - this was entirely new terrain for us, and I was looking forward to checking out and its associated mining operations. Luckily, while the drive up the wash was an exercise in route-finding, it wasn't anything difficult for the Tacoma, which looked right…
Thank you for posting about your trip.
I was wondering... do you know anything about the gold mine that's about 3 miles above the cabins ( what's left of the cabins) at ███████████████████? I'm asking because I was there for the first time in 1965. I've been there a few times since then, but looking at GEarth it seems that the road leading to where the cabins were is just about all washed out.
During my first visit the remains of a sedan and a truck were in the wash about 200 yards or so from the cabin. Somewhere around 1987 or so there was no sign of them.
The first time I visited the mine, several pieces of mining equipment were parked nearby. That included another old truck and an old (1930s?) Caterpilar D3 tractor that was in running condition, except that its starter motor needed a replacement camshaft and as such, was not running.
The 2nd and 3rd times I was there (2014 and 2015) I didn't see any remains of either the truck or the tractor. An old washing machine tub survives along with a wooden platform at the base of the mine. I did leave a note in a bottle under that platform with my email address in case somebody might make it up there, see it, and email me but it seems that not a sole has been there since then.
Around 2010 or so I tried getting in touch with one of the █████ boys whose father (Bob █████) used to keep the road to the mines in decent shape but never heard from him. Bob passed away in a car accident in ███████ in 1967 or so.
Anyhow, if you know anything about the mine or know anybody who has hiked up to it, I would appreciate hearing from you. I am curious as to who took the time and trouble to get all the machinery and the tractor out of there.
And of course, you can reach me at ████████████████████.
Thanks again for your stories, pictures, and the time you take to write and display them!
Clayton