Joshua Tree National Park - Artist in Residence Day 24

Iron Door Cave and Pinto Wye Arrastra

Ranger A had some time open today for a hike, so we sought out a couple of the more hidden spots in the park, the Iron Door Cave and Pinto Wye Arrastra.  The Iron Door Cave is deep into the boulder piles behind Hidden Valley.  There are a few little stairs down to an iron door built into a rock pile, with a small room behind it.  Apparently there used to be a latch that locked the door from the outside, unsure what the purpose for that was, or the original use of this cave.

The Pinto Wye Arrastra is one of just a couple wagon wheel arrastras within the NPS.  An arrastra is a primitive tool used to grind and pulverize gold or silver ore.  This one is will preserved, and is on the list of National Historic Sites.  As we wound our way through washes and over ridges to the arrastra, we explored some boulder piles nearby, and discovered a rock shelter someone built at some point.  

We were done with our excursion by early afternoon, I spent the remainder of the day organizing photos, working on blog posts, and beginning the process of packing since I only have a couple days left in the park.

Expanse of Joshua Trees.

Iron Door Cave.

The boulders around Hidden Valley.

We found this, too, not sure of its purpose.

Following a wash to the Pinto Wye Arrastra.

An enormouns clonal ring of yuccas.

Silver cholla in bloom.

Some ruins amidst boulder piles.

A hidden rock shelter.

  

The Pinto Wye Arrastra.

A pop of color thanks to a couple barrel cactus.

There are several large outcrops of quartz here.

An unsecured mine.

Joshua Tree National Park - Artist in Residence Day 23

The Pinto Basin and Old Dale Road

Today I ventured into a more remote area of the park, the Pinto Basin.  First was attending the squad meeting, which is the gathering of the park superintendent and division chiefs.  We shared the paintings from my collaborative project with local kids (see earlier posts for details), as well as my painting donation to the park.  After the meeting I was taken over to check out the park's nursery, where park staff grow plants for use in the park.

The park road that drops south to the Cottonwood area, Pinto Basin Road, skirts along the western edge of the basin.  The only vehicle access across the basin is via Old Dale Road.  This is a four wheel drive road across the basin, as it approaches the northern park boundary, it becomes a high clearance, four wheel drive road and should not be attempted unless you have solid experience on very rough, deeply eroded roads.  My interest lies within the park.  I have an intense affinity for wide open spaces as well as the desert, so it was a thrill to get out in the middle of it. 

I discovered numerous ruins of different operations, not mines, but perhaps mills or support industries.  Following a wash that leads away from the road, I wandered for about four miles following old roads and washes.  It's incredible how many old roads are out here.  Disappointingly there are also countless sets of tire tracks crisscrossing the landscape, many recent, despite the fact that driving off roads in a national park is illegal.  This is extremely harmful to the plants and soil, and it also damages the experience for visitors who come for the beauty of uninhibited nature.

It was 100 degrees in the basin, according to my car thermometer, which is typically accurate.  It was a really warm hike. I'll let photos do the rest of the talking.  It was a fantastic day of solitary exploration.

Duly warned.

Headed out on Old Dale Road.

View from atop a rock pile where the first set of ruins I explored is.

The markings resemble a helicopter pad, very curious to research this history of this place.

Panorama of the site from above.

View from below.

So many recent tire tracks across the desert floor here.  Driving off established roads is illegal and highly damaging.

Another

A distant dust devil.

Someone's home (wildlife, not human).

After miles of wandering, I came across another set of ruins, this time old car bodies jumbled in a wash.

 

 

Another set of ruins, this had a large ramp built up, consisting of gravel held in place by a wooden structure.

After leaving that area, I found yet another set of ruins.

An old gate with a road leading to it.

Gorgeous desert expanse.

Still more ruins around.  I'm realizing that there is an incredible quantity of relics in this park.

 

Along the road.

Further down, the mountains are all farther away.

A view into Pinto Basin from Pinto Basin Road.

There was blissfully little traffic in the park today.

A pause for Joshua Tree images in the glow of sunset.

A safety note about today's adventure: even if you're sure your car can handle a remote road, always go prepared for things to go wrong.  Out here, for me, that means enough water to last five or more days, food, a sleeping bag, and for the car, a full tank of gas, inflated spare, a battery powered jump starting unit, an air compressor that plugs into the cigarette lighter. And I always keep other things in my car like a large flashlight, fire starter, water purification system, emergency survival blankets, and more.  If something were to go wrong with the car, I don't want that to immediately mean I'm in a survival situation.