Leslie and David's Wanderings: December 2020

Sunday, December 27, 2020

13 December 2020 Burro Schmidt Tunnel

When David picked up his rental car at the airport, he was surprised to see that they had foolishly assigned him a new Ford Ranger four wheel drive pickup truck! So of course he had to take it off pavement to see how it would perform. So on his second day off for the weekend, he went exploring the dirt roads north of Mojave. One of the folks at work had recommended the trail to Burro Schmidt’s Tunnel as something the Ranger could handle. So he took the southern route to the tunnel. The Ranger was not a great off pavement vehicle, mostly because the tires that were on it were not the best off road tires, but it handled the back roads just fine. He never really had to drop it into four wheel drive but did a few times just to see how it handled. As he arrived at Burro Schmidt’s tunnel, he was surprised to see the tunnel was actually open to the public and there were people coming out. One of them in a wheel chair! After asking them about the tunnel, he decided to do a little exploring. The tunnel was cut by William “Burro” Schmidt from 1900 to 1938 by hand. It goes a half mile through solid rock. Burro stated he started the tunnel to create a short cut, from his house to the smelter in town rather than taking “treacherous” trail over the mountain. Rumor is that he was following a vein of gold. By 1920 there was a road around the mountain but Burro kept on digging. The tunnel is on BLM land but there is a disputed mining claim that is open for the tunnel. David decided to go in to the tunnel as far as his cell phone flashlight would allow. Turns out he went all the way to the other side and only hit his head three times. About halfway through, he remembered that this area of California had experienced a lot of earthquakes in the last year. The thought of being in that tunnel during an earthquake was not reassuring. When he came out on the other end of the tunnel, there was a nice view out over the valley. He also found a trail he could take over the mountain rather than go back through it. Back at the truck, he decided to take the northern route out through Red Rock Canyon State Park. The road brought him out on CA14, but just in from the highway, there are a series of camping areas that are accessible for RV to boon dock. The road look easily passable when it is dry for our fiver. So he noted the coordinates of where the road interests CA14 in case we are in that area anytime in the future.

Plaque outside the Tunnel

Burro Schmidts Tunnel entrance

Inside the Tunnel

The other end of the tunnel

View from the exit of the tunnel

Joshua Tree off the road

Coordinates for where the dirt road to the boon docking campsites intersect CA14

12 December 2020 Pacific Crest Trail

David was on a business trip to Palmdale California for 11 days including a weekend. So he took advantage of the opportunity to get out on the weekend to do some fun things away from people. The Pacific Crest Trail runs along the mountain tops from the Mexico Border to the Canadian Border along the crest of the mountain ranges. Part of the trail pass not to far from Palmdale so he decided to hike a portion of it for some exercise. He drove to where the trail crosses Lake Hughes road and parked. The weather was cool and the clouds were hanging low on the mountains with occasional drizzle. The wind was blowing pretty hard in the valley but the segment of trail he chose was sheltered from the wind. He hiked in 2.5 miles before turning around with a 1200 foot elevation gain in the first 2 miles. Along the way he was surprised to find a couple of dens along the trail and a flowing spring. Not know what would be in the dens, he did not get to close! When he topped out on the crest, the wind was blowing hard and it began to rain. So it was cold and wet, a good time to head back. As soon as he dropped down a couple hundred of feet, the rain stopped and the wind died for a pleasant trip back down. The views from the top over the valley were pretty. The area had experienced a fire a couple of years prior and there was a lot of burn damage. In fact there was a sign at the base of the trail saying it was closed due to fire danger, but from the numerous foot prints in the dirt, it was clear other hikers were using the trail. It was a pleasant way to burn 2086 calories and get some fresh air after wearing a mask all day for 6 straight days! On the way back, he swung by Bill and Pam’s to say a socially distanced hello from the car.