The Old Dutch Cleanser Mine (Red Rock Canyon, part 4)
High Desert Weekend Trip-log #11
Red Rock Canyon State Park - Sun, 27 Mar, 2002. 1:30pm
After driving around near the falcon cliffs in Red Rock Canyon State Park we decided to head to a spot in the park simply marked "overlook" on our hand-drawn map. The trek turned out to be both less and more than we bargained for.
It was more because the map was not drawn to scale. What looked like 3 miles on the map was more like 6 in real life. And while the disinterested park range warned us about the "rough" road near the falcon cliffs- which was rough only for glorified grocery-grabbers in 20" wheels and summer tires- the road out here was genuinely rough. Our Xterra still traversed it with ease, but only because of its high clearance in addition to 4 wheel drive.
"Less" described the overlook once we found it. Meh, I thought. But there was something fascinating right next to it: a mine entrance!
This wasn't marked on our map- our not-to-scale, hand-drawn map offered by a disinterested ranger who doesn't even know the true condition of the roads in her park- but I found out elsenet it's the Old Dutch Cleanser Mine.
The deserts of California are studded with old mines. Many of them were gold and silver mining claims than never paid out. But many are for softer minerals peculiar to the desert geology, like talc, gypsum, boron, and- here- white pumice. White pumice is the gentle abrasive in old for Old Dutch Cleanser was mined here until the 1940s.
The mine shafts descend at roughly 30° angles and they are deep. Our (small) lights couldn't penetrate to the ends, or even bends, in the descending shafts. And no echo was returned. And coldness radiated up from the shafts. These mines that were used for decades were suddenly abandoned almost 75 years ago. It was kind of spooky.
The walls and floors of the mind are still covered with a soft, white mineral. At first I thought it was talc, then gypsum. But no, it's white pumice.
Elsenet there are videos of people exploring the mine deeply. We did no more than scratch the surface because we didn't have the right equipment with us- particularly helmets and stronger lights.
Red Rock Canyon State Park - Sun, 27 Mar, 2002. 1:30pm
After driving around near the falcon cliffs in Red Rock Canyon State Park we decided to head to a spot in the park simply marked "overlook" on our hand-drawn map. The trek turned out to be both less and more than we bargained for.
It was more because the map was not drawn to scale. What looked like 3 miles on the map was more like 6 in real life. And while the disinterested park range warned us about the "rough" road near the falcon cliffs- which was rough only for glorified grocery-grabbers in 20" wheels and summer tires- the road out here was genuinely rough. Our Xterra still traversed it with ease, but only because of its high clearance in addition to 4 wheel drive.
"Less" described the overlook once we found it. Meh, I thought. But there was something fascinating right next to it: a mine entrance!
This wasn't marked on our map- our not-to-scale, hand-drawn map offered by a disinterested ranger who doesn't even know the true condition of the roads in her park- but I found out elsenet it's the Old Dutch Cleanser Mine.
The deserts of California are studded with old mines. Many of them were gold and silver mining claims than never paid out. But many are for softer minerals peculiar to the desert geology, like talc, gypsum, boron, and- here- white pumice. White pumice is the gentle abrasive in old for Old Dutch Cleanser was mined here until the 1940s.
The mine shafts descend at roughly 30° angles and they are deep. Our (small) lights couldn't penetrate to the ends, or even bends, in the descending shafts. And no echo was returned. And coldness radiated up from the shafts. These mines that were used for decades were suddenly abandoned almost 75 years ago. It was kind of spooky.
The walls and floors of the mind are still covered with a soft, white mineral. At first I thought it was talc, then gypsum. But no, it's white pumice.
Elsenet there are videos of people exploring the mine deeply. We did no more than scratch the surface because we didn't have the right equipment with us- particularly helmets and stronger lights.