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Lippencott Grade, Racetrack Valley, Teakettle Junction, Hunter Mountain
Monday, November 21, 2005
By: Jim Davis
This was a day of ups and downs - literally.
We lined up for our day's daventure about 9:30 and headed out of Panamist Springs (1,900' elevation) headed west on 190. After taking in the views of the Panamint Valley we continued west, then north through Lee Flat to South Pass (climbing 4,300' to 6,200' elevation). From here we turned north and decended into Saline Valley to the Lippencott Road junction (2,250'), turning east up into the mountains where the 4-wheeling started.
On this day's trip, Lippencott Grade was narrow as usual, but there were no washouts or other troubling obstacles and our group ascended the climb smoothly. Arriving at the top of the grade (3,900') we located the sign where it warns of how bad the Lippencott road is and basically telling everyone to "turn back now". It's tradition to write a note on this sign and we did marking the our trip.
We explored the amazing moving rocks of the Racetrack dry lake and met a gent on his first shakedown trip of a Pinzgauer fresh from extensive refurbishment work. We endured the washboard north to Teakettle Junction (4,200'), but were dissappointed not to have a teakettle to leave there. From the junction, we headed up through Hidden Valley on mostly graded road where we were able to make a good pace. Too fast a pace at times as one of our group hit a rock in the road and damaged a wheel necessitating replacement. I don't want to say who this was, but let's just say his initials are Ian. :-). Continuing south we climbed around Hunter Mountain (7,400') where we encountered several places of iced-over puddles, evedence that overnight it does get quite cold here in November, to still have ice in late afternoon. We arrived back at Camp Syncro in Panamint Springs shortly after 5:00PM.
In all, we'd climbed up 4,300 feet, down 3,950 feet, back up 5,150 feet, then down again 5,500 feet.
The roster included:
By: Jim Davis
This was a day of ups and downs - literally.
We lined up for our day's daventure about 9:30 and headed out of Panamist Springs (1,900' elevation) headed west on 190. After taking in the views of the Panamint Valley we continued west, then north through Lee Flat to South Pass (climbing 4,300' to 6,200' elevation). From here we turned north and decended into Saline Valley to the Lippencott Road junction (2,250'), turning east up into the mountains where the 4-wheeling started.
On this day's trip, Lippencott Grade was narrow as usual, but there were no washouts or other troubling obstacles and our group ascended the climb smoothly. Arriving at the top of the grade (3,900') we located the sign where it warns of how bad the Lippencott road is and basically telling everyone to "turn back now". It's tradition to write a note on this sign and we did marking the our trip.
We explored the amazing moving rocks of the Racetrack dry lake and met a gent on his first shakedown trip of a Pinzgauer fresh from extensive refurbishment work. We endured the washboard north to Teakettle Junction (4,200'), but were dissappointed not to have a teakettle to leave there. From the junction, we headed up through Hidden Valley on mostly graded road where we were able to make a good pace. Too fast a pace at times as one of our group hit a rock in the road and damaged a wheel necessitating replacement. I don't want to say who this was, but let's just say his initials are Ian. :-). Continuing south we climbed around Hunter Mountain (7,400') where we encountered several places of iced-over puddles, evedence that overnight it does get quite cold here in November, to still have ice in late afternoon. We arrived back at Camp Syncro in Panamint Springs shortly after 5:00PM.
In all, we'd climbed up 4,300 feet, down 3,950 feet, back up 5,150 feet, then down again 5,500 feet.
The roster included:
Syncros (7)Jim’s olive drab 87 Syncro GL
Steve’s silver ’91 Syncro Westy Sue’s blue ‘90 Syncro Westy Steve’s blue ’86 Syncro GL Ian's silver '90 Syncro Westy Larry's white '90 Syncro Westy Karl's '87 Syncro Westy TD |
Syncro-nuts (11)Jim & Matt (16) Davis
Steve Best, with friend Bob Sue Booth Steve and Jo Ann Wacker Ian & Tammy Phifer & cat Larry Chase Karl Mullendore, with Kelly his dog |
Note about this route from before Syncro Safari, Death Valley '05:
This trip is a large loop and encompasses many features and varied terrain. The primary variable on this route is the condition of the Lippencott Road. I’ve driven up (West to East) this 4x4 route before and it was narrow and rough. However, I didn’t realize it was “impassable” until we finished the junction near the Racetrack to find the sign posted about the route’s supposed impassability. Just because we made it up on that occasion (years ago) does not mean we’ll necessarily be able to do it at Syncro Safari. If the route conditions dictate we may do the loop from East to West, going downhill on the Lippencott Road, which is sadi to be the easier direction.
Here’s some trail information from a published trail guide:
Excerpt of the route from Death Valley SUV Trails, by Roger Mitchell (Copyright 2001).
Primary Attraction:
High mountain scenery, old mines, and if you are very lucky, you might see stones that mysteriously seem to move by themselves.
Time Required:
This is a full day’s outing, when the days are long. It would be better to camp along the way and make the circuit in two days
Distance Involved:
It is 53 miles from Panamint Springs to Teakettle Junction via Hunter Mountain and Hidden Valley. The return trip from Teakettle Junction back to Panamint Springs via the infamous Lippencott Grade is another 55 miles. There are no services of any kind along the way. Top off your fuel tank before you start.
Degree of Difficulty:
Most of this route is Class I and II. The road below the Lippencott Mine can range anywhere from Class III at best, to completely impassible, depending on conditions of the moment. Further, conditions can change instantly. Always check with the rangers before attempting the Lippencott Grade. The Hunter Mountain Road can be closed by snow in the winter. If you want to see the skating stones on the racetrack when snow closes the Hunter Mountain road, you should come up the Lippencott Grade from the Saline Valley, or come in by way of Ubehebe Crater.
This backroad loop exposes the visitor to another aspect of Death Valley National Park that most tourists never see. The topography and scenery range from the pinyon and juniper slopes of Hunter Mountain to the austere beauty of the Racetrack Playa to the Joshua tree covered landscape of Lee Flat. Top off your gas tank before leaving Panamint Springs. You have 108 miles of back roads ahead with no services of any kind.
We begin our backroad adventure at Panamint Springs, at an elevation of 1,900 feet, where we head west on State Route 190. After crossing the mouth of Darwin Wash, the State Highway climbs the spectacular grade which circles the edge of Rainbow Canyon. < > The marine sediments can only be seen in a few road cuts near the top of the grade. At a point 12.7 miles from Panamint Springs, a long ago paved road turns off to the right; this is the Saline Valley Road. A sign warns it is 85 miles to Big Pine, with no services along the way. Turn north here, noting your mileage as you leave the highway. The county road heads north across the southern end of Santa Rosa Flat. The elevation here is 5,000 feet, so we have already climbed 3,100 feet.
After four miles the road swings to the east, and then north again crossing a low limestone ridge. On the other side of the ridge, 5.8 miles from Highway 190, a Class II side road to the right heads for the low hills a mile to the east. This was the site of the Lee, the Wonder, the Silver Reid, and other mines. This is an interesting side trip of slightly over a mile.
One of the first mines to tap into these orebodies was the Emigrant Mine (later called the Lee Mine). It was found in the 1 870s, probably shortly after the big finds in Darwin in 1874.
There are still open shafts and holes, however, so watch your step and do not attempt to enter any of the underground workings.
Returning to the Saline Valley Road, turn right to resume your loop around Hunter Mountain. At a point eight miles north of Highway 190, a major unmarked intersection is reached. The left fork crosses the west edge of Lee Flat to descend into San Lucas Canyon before climbing again to an 8,200-foot high point at the old mining camp of Cerro Gordo. For this excursion, you will want to keep to the right here on the Saline Valley Road.
Soon a second low limestone ridge is crossed and beyond a sign announces you are entering Death Valley National Park. The road now crosses Lee Flat with its enormous Joshua tree forest. Joshua trees, Yucca brevifoli, are closely related to other types of yuccas and are quite widespread in the Mohave Desert. Indeed, they are found throughout the higher elevation deserts of Southern California and Southern Nevada and adjoining small areas of Arizona and Utah. They were supposedly so named by Mormon pioneers entering Utah, who thought they resembled Joshua lifting his arms to heaven.
you may see cattle on and near Hunter Mountain. Pay close attention to the road ahead. This is open range where the cattle can roam freely. Not everything out there with four legs is a cow. We have seen feral burros grazing among the cows. Perhaps they were trying to escape the wrath of National Park Service personnel who are committed to eliminating them from the park.
Once across the flat, the road begins to gently climb into the lava-covered hills to the east. During a June 1998 scouting trip, after an unusually wet El Nino winter, the roadsides were alive with a variety of wildflowers. In places the hillsides were covered with a yellow carpet of Fremont xeraside. There was also the tall stately Prince’s Plume of yellow, the tiny gilia and everything in between. The orange mallow was common, as was the ubiquitous Indian paintbrush, some with a very crimson coloration. Mojave aster with its purple petals surrounding a yellow core was common. Even the Blue sage put on its best flowering face for us. But the wildflower that most attracted our attention was the bright orange of the Desert Mariposa lily. Never anywhere had we seen this unique species in such profusion. Just five miles up the road we would see them pure white.
As the road climbs, the Joshua trees give way to juniper and pinyon trees. At a point fifteen miles in from the highway, persons riding on the right side of the car will have fleeting glimpses down into Mill Canyon and to the Panamint Valley Dunes beyond. Indeed, from some turns of the roadway you can look south down the entire length of Panamint Valley. The elevation of the road here is nearly 6,000 feet. The elevation of the Panamint sand dunes below is about 2,500 feet.
At a point 15.6 miles in from the highway, a second major intersection is reached. Like the last one, this one is unmarked. The left fork makes a 4,000 foot descent of Grapevine Canyon into the Saline Valley. Again keep right on the road which now hovers somewhere between Class I and II. We will return via the left fork near the end of our journey.
A quarter of a mile beyond the intersection there is a small sandy basin to the left, where the dune primrose seems to thrive at a much greater elevation than is its normal habitat. If you look closely, you may barely make out an old overgrown wagon road contouring around the western side of the hill. By walking along this old trail a half mile to the ridge top, and then following the rusting 1-1/2 inch pipe down to the bottom of the canyon, you will find century old Lee Pump overgrown with wild rose and grapevine. Only the top of the boiler protrudes above the thick jungle of vegetation. At one time this steam powered pump lifted water from Jackass Creek out of the steep canyon, where gravity sent it seven miles down hill to the Lee Mines.
At a point 17.3 miles in from the highway, our dirt road dips down into the canyon and tiny Jackass Creek is crossed. This desert watercourse originates at a spring of the same name just up the canyon. During the winter months, this rare desert stream will flow several miles down into Grapevine Canyon to join another stream that flows nearly to the Saline Valley. The Hunter Mountain Road can also be very icy here in the winter. Use great caution when ice covers the roadway.
At 18.6 miles from the highway, the road reaches its high point on Hunter Mountain at an elevation of 7,000 feet. There are some nice campsites among the pinyon pines. At 22.3 miles look for a cattle guard in a drift fence to the right. By going through this gap in the fence, and continuing south for nearly a mile, you will find an old log cabin, which some think goes back to the early 1 870s. History does not suggest it is quite that old.
William Lyle Hunter was a Confederate officer who came west in 1865 to start a new life. Hunter ran mule trains in and out of Cerro Gordo in the early l870s, hauling ore and supplies. He established a ranch on Lee Flat to support his fifty mules. He married in 1875, and eventually had four sons and a daughter. When the mines closed he moved to the Owens Valley to ranch and eventually became the Inyo County Clerk. His next to youngest son was Bev, who took to grazing cattle and collecting wild horses. In Lester Reed’s book Old Timers of Southeastern California, Bev Hunter says this cabin was his, which would suggest that it was built around the turn of the 20th Century.
Back on the main road, the route deteriorates to Class II as it leaves the pinyon forest and begins its steep descent of 2,000 feet to the Goldbelt Spring area. On the way down, good views can be had of the sand dunes near Stovepipe Wells, some twenty miles away to the northeast as the crow flies. At a point 26 miles from the highway, a side road right goes 1.2 miles to Goldbelt Spring.
Some writers have described Goldbelt Spring as if it were an honest to goodness mining camp in the mold of Greenwater or Ballarat. That may be a bit misleading. Goldbelt Spring is one of those desert water holes where sourdough prospectors have camped for well over a century, as they searched for, and sometimes found, mineral wealth in the nearby hills. At times, those who stopped here simply pitched a tent. Others seeking a more substantial shelter fashioned a cabin out of whatever building materials they could find. The residents of Goldbelt Spring were a long way from their source of supplies, and they seldom stayed for extended periods of time. A crowded day at Goldbelt Spring during the Greenwater excitement of 1906 might have meant six people were living here, and certainly no more than a few dozen at its peak.
Today’s ruins at Goldbelt Spring seem to be remnants of a later era when talc miners set up camp here in the 1930s and 40s. Unfortunately the last four wooden structures have all collapsed and the single “cousin jack” dugout is about to suffer the same fate.
Back track the 1.2 miles back to the Hunter Mountain Road and turn right. The main road now is pretty much Class I, as it makes its way down the bajada. The road heads west, then north, then west again, before entering Ulida Flat to head north once again. Along the way, several roads turn off to the right leading to talc mines.
At a point eleven miles from the Goldbelt Spring turnoff, an unmarked crossroads is reached. The Class II road to the right goes up to the tiny seep called Rest Spring and beyond to the White Top Mountain area where one can look down into Death Valley (see Excursion #15).
The left fork, an easy Class LI, goes 1.2 miles to the Lost Burro Mine. Here, a gold bearing vein one to four feet wide was found at the contact point where the Cretaceous granitic rocks forced their way up through the Tin Mountain limestone.
The mill built in 1917 has been salvaged for use elsewhere; however, the timber frame remains. There is a weather-tight cabin at the mine that can be used as an emergency shelter in a storm, if you don’t mind sharing your quarters with the mice and packrats.
The main road continues north, where it slips through a little canyon known as Lost Burro Gap before entering the Racetrack Valley.
At a point fifteen miles from Goldbelt Spring, 40.2 miles from Highway 190 (without any side-trips), yet another important intersection is reached. This is Teakettle Junction, so named for the variety of teakettles which over the years people have placed to adorn the sign. The right fork, a graded road, heads towards Ubehebe Crater some twenty miles to the north. To complete our loop, we will want to turn left, taking us in a generally southerly direction.
At a point 2.2 miles south of Teakettle Junction, a short Class I side road right goes over to the Copper Bell and Ubehebe Mines. If you elect to make this short side trip, the Copper Bell is to the left, the Ubehebe to the right.
Teakettle Junction
The same William Hunter who ran mule trains out of Cerro Gordo, together with a partner, John Porter, found copper minerals here in 1875. But because the site was so remote and the copper content marginal, they were unable to profitably mine it. After Hunter’s death in 1902, the two mines changed hands. In 1906, during the Bullfrog and Greenwater excitement, two imaginative mining promoters, A.D. Whittier and Jack Salsberry, became involved. The Ubehebe Mining Company was formed and shares at $1.00 par value were offered for 15 cents. Salsberry, a man of unbridled enthusiasm, claimed he had fifty million tons of 10% copper ore in sight. The estimated value was at least a billion dollars. He talked of building a smelter and railroad. Two miles northwest of the Racetrack playa, Salsberry laid out the townsite of Salina City, later renamed Latimer, to flatter a major investor. Historian Richard Lingenfelter says Latimer never had more than twenty tents at its peak. (I have never been able to find the site.) Needless to say, the grandiose dreams and schemes of stock promotions never lived up to their promise.
Nevertheless, the Ubehebe Mine did turn into a bonafide mine, although it was lead, zinc, and even a little silver, not copper, that were the important commodities produced. Mining began in 1916, peaked in 1928, and continued off and on into the early 1950s. When I first visited the mine in 1958 the tramline to the upper mines was down, but all of the structures were still in good condition. The underground workings looked like the last day the miners left them. Such is not the case today. Stay out of the tunnels and shafts!
Continue south another three miles on the graded road and you will reach the northern end of the Racetrack playa, a dry lakebed that isn’t always dry. It is during those infrequent wet spells, usually in the winter, that wind-blown rocks and other solid objects move about on the playa surface leaving a track in the mud to mark their route of movement. The National Park Service has a sign that nicely explains the process. While this phenomenon has been observed elsewhere in the western United States, including the Bonnie Claire playa east of Scotty’s Castle, the best examples of skating stones have been recorded here. Geologist Paula Messina, who wrote her Ph.D. dissertation on this phenomenon, has tried in vain to be present when these stones moved. Alas, nothing moved an inch while she was watching. She did find that, in general, most of the objects moved with direction of the prevailing winds, a north to northeast direction. But once in the middle of the playa, the tracks left by the objects were often very convoluted.
It should be noted that driving on the playa surface is no longer permitted. You may certainly walk out there, but please leave your car on the road. From the Racetrack, the Class I road continues south. At a point 9.5 miles south from Teakettle Junction, there is an intersection where a road turns off to the right. This is the upper end of the infamous Lippencott Grade, which makes a steep descent into the Saline Valley to the west. Before starting down, however, you may wish to continue on south another 1.4 miles to the site of the Lippencott Lead Mine.
Straight ahead, a Class I road continues 0.2 miles to a Park Service campground whose only improvement is a toilet. Beyond here the road deteriorates to Class III, and continues on another mile to the Lippencott Mine.
The Lippencott Mine’s earliest days are obscure, but probably go back to the years just before World War I. It was not until World War II, however, that the demand for lead prompted an extensive exploration of the orebody. During that period, lead from this mine was shipped to Santa Ana, California, where it was made into automotive batteries. After the war zinc, and to a lesser degree silver, became important byproducts. Warning: Stay out of the tunnels and underground workings.
To complete our loop, we must turn right at the intersection 9.5 miles south of Teakettle Junction. Forty years ago, the road into Panamint City was not considered particularly difficult, but the Lippencott Grade out of the Saline Valley was an extreme challenge. Boy, how times have changed! The Park Service has run a blade over the Lippencott Grade as a convenience to the backcountry ranger who patrols this area.
Be forewarned, however; it doesn’t take much to wash out the Lippencott Grade. It can be opened one week and closed the next. Save yourself some grief and always ask the rangers about its present status. Unless you obtain recent information to the contrary, consider the route down to be Class IV, and the route up Class V. When in doubt, scout the road ahead on foot before attempting to drive it.
From top to bottom, the Lippencott Grade is 4.5 miles long. In that distance, the change in elevation is 2,000 feet. It is still easier to go down the road than up it, but today those differences should not deter you if you want to make the ascent.
At a point 16.5 miles from Teakettle Junction, the main Saline Valley Road is reached. This is a good graded road receiving occasional maintenance by the Inyo County Road Department. There are lots of interesting features in the Saline Valley.
To return to Panamint Springs, you must turn left here. At 2,200 feet, this is very near the low point on this circle tour. It is a climb of nearly 4,000 feet up Grapevine Canyon to rejoin the Hunter Mountain Road where we kept to the right so very long ago.
Once on the Saline Valley Road, it is six miles to the lower end of the canyon. In the springtime, particularly in wet years, there is a small stream that runs the entire course of the canyon. This water not only supports a thick jungle of grapevines, from which the canyon gets its name, but it also supports a wide variety of birds, reptiles, and mammals. As you drive along the road, you are likely to flush out dove, quail, and chukars. Remember that this is within the park, and camping within 100 feet of flowing water is prohibited.
At the top of Grapevine Canyon, 27 miles from Teakettle Junction, we rejoin the road we came in on. By turning right we retrace our route 15.6 miles back to Highway 190, and from there it is another 12.7 miles back to the Panamint Springs Resort.
END EXCERPT
Primary Attraction:
High mountain scenery, old mines, and if you are very lucky, you might see stones that mysteriously seem to move by themselves.
Time Required:
This is a full day’s outing, when the days are long. It would be better to camp along the way and make the circuit in two days
Distance Involved:
It is 53 miles from Panamint Springs to Teakettle Junction via Hunter Mountain and Hidden Valley. The return trip from Teakettle Junction back to Panamint Springs via the infamous Lippencott Grade is another 55 miles. There are no services of any kind along the way. Top off your fuel tank before you start.
Degree of Difficulty:
Most of this route is Class I and II. The road below the Lippencott Mine can range anywhere from Class III at best, to completely impassible, depending on conditions of the moment. Further, conditions can change instantly. Always check with the rangers before attempting the Lippencott Grade. The Hunter Mountain Road can be closed by snow in the winter. If you want to see the skating stones on the racetrack when snow closes the Hunter Mountain road, you should come up the Lippencott Grade from the Saline Valley, or come in by way of Ubehebe Crater.
This backroad loop exposes the visitor to another aspect of Death Valley National Park that most tourists never see. The topography and scenery range from the pinyon and juniper slopes of Hunter Mountain to the austere beauty of the Racetrack Playa to the Joshua tree covered landscape of Lee Flat. Top off your gas tank before leaving Panamint Springs. You have 108 miles of back roads ahead with no services of any kind.
We begin our backroad adventure at Panamint Springs, at an elevation of 1,900 feet, where we head west on State Route 190. After crossing the mouth of Darwin Wash, the State Highway climbs the spectacular grade which circles the edge of Rainbow Canyon. < > The marine sediments can only be seen in a few road cuts near the top of the grade. At a point 12.7 miles from Panamint Springs, a long ago paved road turns off to the right; this is the Saline Valley Road. A sign warns it is 85 miles to Big Pine, with no services along the way. Turn north here, noting your mileage as you leave the highway. The county road heads north across the southern end of Santa Rosa Flat. The elevation here is 5,000 feet, so we have already climbed 3,100 feet.
After four miles the road swings to the east, and then north again crossing a low limestone ridge. On the other side of the ridge, 5.8 miles from Highway 190, a Class II side road to the right heads for the low hills a mile to the east. This was the site of the Lee, the Wonder, the Silver Reid, and other mines. This is an interesting side trip of slightly over a mile.
One of the first mines to tap into these orebodies was the Emigrant Mine (later called the Lee Mine). It was found in the 1 870s, probably shortly after the big finds in Darwin in 1874.
There are still open shafts and holes, however, so watch your step and do not attempt to enter any of the underground workings.
Returning to the Saline Valley Road, turn right to resume your loop around Hunter Mountain. At a point eight miles north of Highway 190, a major unmarked intersection is reached. The left fork crosses the west edge of Lee Flat to descend into San Lucas Canyon before climbing again to an 8,200-foot high point at the old mining camp of Cerro Gordo. For this excursion, you will want to keep to the right here on the Saline Valley Road.
Soon a second low limestone ridge is crossed and beyond a sign announces you are entering Death Valley National Park. The road now crosses Lee Flat with its enormous Joshua tree forest. Joshua trees, Yucca brevifoli, are closely related to other types of yuccas and are quite widespread in the Mohave Desert. Indeed, they are found throughout the higher elevation deserts of Southern California and Southern Nevada and adjoining small areas of Arizona and Utah. They were supposedly so named by Mormon pioneers entering Utah, who thought they resembled Joshua lifting his arms to heaven.
you may see cattle on and near Hunter Mountain. Pay close attention to the road ahead. This is open range where the cattle can roam freely. Not everything out there with four legs is a cow. We have seen feral burros grazing among the cows. Perhaps they were trying to escape the wrath of National Park Service personnel who are committed to eliminating them from the park.
Once across the flat, the road begins to gently climb into the lava-covered hills to the east. During a June 1998 scouting trip, after an unusually wet El Nino winter, the roadsides were alive with a variety of wildflowers. In places the hillsides were covered with a yellow carpet of Fremont xeraside. There was also the tall stately Prince’s Plume of yellow, the tiny gilia and everything in between. The orange mallow was common, as was the ubiquitous Indian paintbrush, some with a very crimson coloration. Mojave aster with its purple petals surrounding a yellow core was common. Even the Blue sage put on its best flowering face for us. But the wildflower that most attracted our attention was the bright orange of the Desert Mariposa lily. Never anywhere had we seen this unique species in such profusion. Just five miles up the road we would see them pure white.
As the road climbs, the Joshua trees give way to juniper and pinyon trees. At a point fifteen miles in from the highway, persons riding on the right side of the car will have fleeting glimpses down into Mill Canyon and to the Panamint Valley Dunes beyond. Indeed, from some turns of the roadway you can look south down the entire length of Panamint Valley. The elevation of the road here is nearly 6,000 feet. The elevation of the Panamint sand dunes below is about 2,500 feet.
At a point 15.6 miles in from the highway, a second major intersection is reached. Like the last one, this one is unmarked. The left fork makes a 4,000 foot descent of Grapevine Canyon into the Saline Valley. Again keep right on the road which now hovers somewhere between Class I and II. We will return via the left fork near the end of our journey.
A quarter of a mile beyond the intersection there is a small sandy basin to the left, where the dune primrose seems to thrive at a much greater elevation than is its normal habitat. If you look closely, you may barely make out an old overgrown wagon road contouring around the western side of the hill. By walking along this old trail a half mile to the ridge top, and then following the rusting 1-1/2 inch pipe down to the bottom of the canyon, you will find century old Lee Pump overgrown with wild rose and grapevine. Only the top of the boiler protrudes above the thick jungle of vegetation. At one time this steam powered pump lifted water from Jackass Creek out of the steep canyon, where gravity sent it seven miles down hill to the Lee Mines.
At a point 17.3 miles in from the highway, our dirt road dips down into the canyon and tiny Jackass Creek is crossed. This desert watercourse originates at a spring of the same name just up the canyon. During the winter months, this rare desert stream will flow several miles down into Grapevine Canyon to join another stream that flows nearly to the Saline Valley. The Hunter Mountain Road can also be very icy here in the winter. Use great caution when ice covers the roadway.
At 18.6 miles from the highway, the road reaches its high point on Hunter Mountain at an elevation of 7,000 feet. There are some nice campsites among the pinyon pines. At 22.3 miles look for a cattle guard in a drift fence to the right. By going through this gap in the fence, and continuing south for nearly a mile, you will find an old log cabin, which some think goes back to the early 1 870s. History does not suggest it is quite that old.
William Lyle Hunter was a Confederate officer who came west in 1865 to start a new life. Hunter ran mule trains in and out of Cerro Gordo in the early l870s, hauling ore and supplies. He established a ranch on Lee Flat to support his fifty mules. He married in 1875, and eventually had four sons and a daughter. When the mines closed he moved to the Owens Valley to ranch and eventually became the Inyo County Clerk. His next to youngest son was Bev, who took to grazing cattle and collecting wild horses. In Lester Reed’s book Old Timers of Southeastern California, Bev Hunter says this cabin was his, which would suggest that it was built around the turn of the 20th Century.
Back on the main road, the route deteriorates to Class II as it leaves the pinyon forest and begins its steep descent of 2,000 feet to the Goldbelt Spring area. On the way down, good views can be had of the sand dunes near Stovepipe Wells, some twenty miles away to the northeast as the crow flies. At a point 26 miles from the highway, a side road right goes 1.2 miles to Goldbelt Spring.
Some writers have described Goldbelt Spring as if it were an honest to goodness mining camp in the mold of Greenwater or Ballarat. That may be a bit misleading. Goldbelt Spring is one of those desert water holes where sourdough prospectors have camped for well over a century, as they searched for, and sometimes found, mineral wealth in the nearby hills. At times, those who stopped here simply pitched a tent. Others seeking a more substantial shelter fashioned a cabin out of whatever building materials they could find. The residents of Goldbelt Spring were a long way from their source of supplies, and they seldom stayed for extended periods of time. A crowded day at Goldbelt Spring during the Greenwater excitement of 1906 might have meant six people were living here, and certainly no more than a few dozen at its peak.
Today’s ruins at Goldbelt Spring seem to be remnants of a later era when talc miners set up camp here in the 1930s and 40s. Unfortunately the last four wooden structures have all collapsed and the single “cousin jack” dugout is about to suffer the same fate.
Back track the 1.2 miles back to the Hunter Mountain Road and turn right. The main road now is pretty much Class I, as it makes its way down the bajada. The road heads west, then north, then west again, before entering Ulida Flat to head north once again. Along the way, several roads turn off to the right leading to talc mines.
At a point eleven miles from the Goldbelt Spring turnoff, an unmarked crossroads is reached. The Class II road to the right goes up to the tiny seep called Rest Spring and beyond to the White Top Mountain area where one can look down into Death Valley (see Excursion #15).
The left fork, an easy Class LI, goes 1.2 miles to the Lost Burro Mine. Here, a gold bearing vein one to four feet wide was found at the contact point where the Cretaceous granitic rocks forced their way up through the Tin Mountain limestone.
The mill built in 1917 has been salvaged for use elsewhere; however, the timber frame remains. There is a weather-tight cabin at the mine that can be used as an emergency shelter in a storm, if you don’t mind sharing your quarters with the mice and packrats.
The main road continues north, where it slips through a little canyon known as Lost Burro Gap before entering the Racetrack Valley.
At a point fifteen miles from Goldbelt Spring, 40.2 miles from Highway 190 (without any side-trips), yet another important intersection is reached. This is Teakettle Junction, so named for the variety of teakettles which over the years people have placed to adorn the sign. The right fork, a graded road, heads towards Ubehebe Crater some twenty miles to the north. To complete our loop, we will want to turn left, taking us in a generally southerly direction.
At a point 2.2 miles south of Teakettle Junction, a short Class I side road right goes over to the Copper Bell and Ubehebe Mines. If you elect to make this short side trip, the Copper Bell is to the left, the Ubehebe to the right.
Teakettle Junction
The same William Hunter who ran mule trains out of Cerro Gordo, together with a partner, John Porter, found copper minerals here in 1875. But because the site was so remote and the copper content marginal, they were unable to profitably mine it. After Hunter’s death in 1902, the two mines changed hands. In 1906, during the Bullfrog and Greenwater excitement, two imaginative mining promoters, A.D. Whittier and Jack Salsberry, became involved. The Ubehebe Mining Company was formed and shares at $1.00 par value were offered for 15 cents. Salsberry, a man of unbridled enthusiasm, claimed he had fifty million tons of 10% copper ore in sight. The estimated value was at least a billion dollars. He talked of building a smelter and railroad. Two miles northwest of the Racetrack playa, Salsberry laid out the townsite of Salina City, later renamed Latimer, to flatter a major investor. Historian Richard Lingenfelter says Latimer never had more than twenty tents at its peak. (I have never been able to find the site.) Needless to say, the grandiose dreams and schemes of stock promotions never lived up to their promise.
Nevertheless, the Ubehebe Mine did turn into a bonafide mine, although it was lead, zinc, and even a little silver, not copper, that were the important commodities produced. Mining began in 1916, peaked in 1928, and continued off and on into the early 1950s. When I first visited the mine in 1958 the tramline to the upper mines was down, but all of the structures were still in good condition. The underground workings looked like the last day the miners left them. Such is not the case today. Stay out of the tunnels and shafts!
Continue south another three miles on the graded road and you will reach the northern end of the Racetrack playa, a dry lakebed that isn’t always dry. It is during those infrequent wet spells, usually in the winter, that wind-blown rocks and other solid objects move about on the playa surface leaving a track in the mud to mark their route of movement. The National Park Service has a sign that nicely explains the process. While this phenomenon has been observed elsewhere in the western United States, including the Bonnie Claire playa east of Scotty’s Castle, the best examples of skating stones have been recorded here. Geologist Paula Messina, who wrote her Ph.D. dissertation on this phenomenon, has tried in vain to be present when these stones moved. Alas, nothing moved an inch while she was watching. She did find that, in general, most of the objects moved with direction of the prevailing winds, a north to northeast direction. But once in the middle of the playa, the tracks left by the objects were often very convoluted.
It should be noted that driving on the playa surface is no longer permitted. You may certainly walk out there, but please leave your car on the road. From the Racetrack, the Class I road continues south. At a point 9.5 miles south from Teakettle Junction, there is an intersection where a road turns off to the right. This is the upper end of the infamous Lippencott Grade, which makes a steep descent into the Saline Valley to the west. Before starting down, however, you may wish to continue on south another 1.4 miles to the site of the Lippencott Lead Mine.
Straight ahead, a Class I road continues 0.2 miles to a Park Service campground whose only improvement is a toilet. Beyond here the road deteriorates to Class III, and continues on another mile to the Lippencott Mine.
The Lippencott Mine’s earliest days are obscure, but probably go back to the years just before World War I. It was not until World War II, however, that the demand for lead prompted an extensive exploration of the orebody. During that period, lead from this mine was shipped to Santa Ana, California, where it was made into automotive batteries. After the war zinc, and to a lesser degree silver, became important byproducts. Warning: Stay out of the tunnels and underground workings.
To complete our loop, we must turn right at the intersection 9.5 miles south of Teakettle Junction. Forty years ago, the road into Panamint City was not considered particularly difficult, but the Lippencott Grade out of the Saline Valley was an extreme challenge. Boy, how times have changed! The Park Service has run a blade over the Lippencott Grade as a convenience to the backcountry ranger who patrols this area.
Be forewarned, however; it doesn’t take much to wash out the Lippencott Grade. It can be opened one week and closed the next. Save yourself some grief and always ask the rangers about its present status. Unless you obtain recent information to the contrary, consider the route down to be Class IV, and the route up Class V. When in doubt, scout the road ahead on foot before attempting to drive it.
From top to bottom, the Lippencott Grade is 4.5 miles long. In that distance, the change in elevation is 2,000 feet. It is still easier to go down the road than up it, but today those differences should not deter you if you want to make the ascent.
At a point 16.5 miles from Teakettle Junction, the main Saline Valley Road is reached. This is a good graded road receiving occasional maintenance by the Inyo County Road Department. There are lots of interesting features in the Saline Valley.
To return to Panamint Springs, you must turn left here. At 2,200 feet, this is very near the low point on this circle tour. It is a climb of nearly 4,000 feet up Grapevine Canyon to rejoin the Hunter Mountain Road where we kept to the right so very long ago.
Once on the Saline Valley Road, it is six miles to the lower end of the canyon. In the springtime, particularly in wet years, there is a small stream that runs the entire course of the canyon. This water not only supports a thick jungle of grapevines, from which the canyon gets its name, but it also supports a wide variety of birds, reptiles, and mammals. As you drive along the road, you are likely to flush out dove, quail, and chukars. Remember that this is within the park, and camping within 100 feet of flowing water is prohibited.
At the top of Grapevine Canyon, 27 miles from Teakettle Junction, we rejoin the road we came in on. By turning right we retrace our route 15.6 miles back to Highway 190, and from there it is another 12.7 miles back to the Panamint Springs Resort.
END EXCERPT