Secret Cajon Pass...

I love exploring areas that are hidden to those who whiz by on the freeway; maybe it's the part of me that likes to be "different."  I took both of these photos along a trail that runs approximately one mile north of Lost Lake.  Most of the trail is a graded dirt-road, but there are a couple of very large mounds in the road which require higher ground clearance than that provided by a standard automobile, and there is a sandy spot toward the end of the trail (which dead-ends at a ridge which overlooks Lone Pine Canyon) which requires four-wheel drive.  

The photo at the top of the page was taken with a Nikon D7200, using a Nikkor 28-70 millimeter telephoto lens.  Settings:  200th/sec. at f.14.  ISO 250.  This rock formation is at the aforementioned ridge, which I hiked to.  It's a relatively short, uphill hike, and I didn't want to negotiate it with my Jeep, since I wasn't sure if there would be room for me to turn the vehicle around.  Plus, the exercise wouldn't hurt!

The bottom photo was taken on the same day, at a point along a flat portion of this trail.  

Equipment:  Nikon D7200, Nikkor 28-70 millimeter lens, 1/160th sec. at f.14.  ISO 250.

Traces of past travelers?

Look at these two photos:

I took these photos today, on the east side of the Mormon Rocks in the Cajon Pass.  The ruts in the top photo appear to have been made by wagon wheels.  Using a tape measure, I determined that the ruts are approximately 55" edge-to-edge. 

The ruts look really old, and they don't appear to have been made by the tires of a motorized vehicle.

A close look at the second photo reveals another set of ruts, that climb the lower rock formation.

Thoughts anyone? 

Calico Mountains...

It is believed that a man named Lee discovered silver here, in 1875.  Unfortunately, Lee was killed by Indians.  That was the rumor, anyway.

Calico's mining history evolved slowly, in the following years.

In 1880, a Barstow mill operator by the name of Porter found some previously-lost silver claims in the Calico Mountains.

More silver was discovered here in 1881, by a gentleman whose last name was, coincidentally, Silver.  Later that year, several others moved to the area, and these men founded the Silver King Mine.

Our own Grand Canyon...

All rights reserved.  Photo by Scott Schwartz.

Sometimes referred to as the "Grand Canyon Of The Mojave," Afton Canyon was carved by the Mojave River, which flowed from Lake Mannix.  This process started 15,000 yeas ago.

8,000 year-old tools and pottery have been found in the area; recorded history starts with missionaries, traders, and scouts, who passed through here during the late 18th century.

The photograph above was taken from a portion of the Mojave Road which takes one along the  Mojave River bed, south east of Afton Canyon.  The mountains shown are the Cady Mountains.

Rails Through The Cajon Pass...

Traffic through the Cajon Pass began to increase steadily, after the Mormon pioneers started traversing the Pass in 1848.  The Cajon Pass became a regular route for freight wagons and merchant caravans.  It didn't take much imagination to see that a means of handling the increasing volume was needed.  

As early as 1857, a Lieutenant R.S. Williamson conducted a survey in preparation for a railroad through the Cajon Pass.  His surveey included the construction of a tunnel through the pass. 

July, 2018.  Photo by Scott Schwartz, taken near the Mormon Rocks.

But, the railroad idea didn't gain any real traction until 1875, when a mining boom in Panamint City occurred.  At this point, construction of the railroad was started, along with the digging of the tunnel.

However, the mining boom in Panamint fizzled, and work on the railroad stopped.  That is, until 1879, when some engineers concluded that the railroad could be routed through the Pass in a manner that avoided the construction of the expensive tunnel.  

So, work on the railroad started once again, and trains were chugging through the Cajon Pass by 1885.

Desert Legends...El Paso Mounains

This is the former home of Evelyn "Tonie" Seger, who moved here with her husband in 1963.  She and her husband left their residence in Huntington Park, so that her sick husband could recover with the aid of the dry desert air.

Seger's husband died within a year of her arrival.  During an interview that I conducted with her during the late 1990's, Seger told me that her husband had been trying to locate a water source for their settlement, and that his wish, as he lay dying, was that Evelyn continue her search for water. 

According to Seger, she later found the water source with the aid of a divining rod.

For forty years, Evelyn Seger was the guardian of Burro Schmidt Tunnel, lecturing visitors on the tunnel's history, and on desert lore. 

Seger died in 2003.  Sadly, her home has decayed, due to neglect, and to vandalism.

However, the tunnel is still accessible, and it still attracts scores of visitors.

Campsite Of Pioneers: Mormon Rocks, also known as Rock Candy Mountains.

Sometimes referred to as "the father of San Bernardino County."  Jefferson Hunt was an officer in the Mormon Battalion, which had been formed in order to help the U.S. fight the Mexican-American War.  After the war, he, and a detachment of soldiers were stationed in the Cajon Pass in order to guard settlers against marauding Indians.

After being discharged from the Army, Hunt led caravans of wagons between Utah and San Bernardino, and, at the urging of his church, formed a Mormon colony in San Bernardino.

This spot is where a group of Mormons were supposed to have camped, while en route to San Bernardino in 1851.

Mormon Rocks, at sunset.

Photo taken on 7/29/18.

The road on the left is Hwy. 138.

Goler Gulch...

According to legend, Death Valley pioneer John Goler found signs of gold in the El Paso Mountains, while he was making his way back to Los Angeles.  He was never able to find his "lost" gold, but others followed in pursuit of the gold. 

The area shown in this photo (which I took in May, 2018) is known as "Goler Gulch", in the El Paso Mountains.  By 1893, there was a mining settlement here, but, as with most such settlements, only a few crumbling foundations and some rusty pipes remain.