Nearing the mouth of Echo Canyon. The short section of staggered ruts is at the point just beyond where the roadway visibly ends.

View along the road in the lower canyon. The roadway here is still very good, as it receives fairly regular maintenance by the Park Service.

The Eye of the Needle, 4.9 miles from CA190. The truck was my 1996 Chevy S-10 4x4 that I owned previous to my current 2002 Toyota Tacoma.

At 9.4 miles into Echo Canyon is found the Inyo Mine. The mine was discovered in January 1905 as an outgrowth of the fabulous discoveries and subsequent rush at Rhyolite. The first camp at the mine supported a blacksmith shop, boardinghouse and store. The Financial Panic of 1907 caused a region-wide slowdown, including the Inyo. The mine lapsed into inactivity until 1928, when the current camp – with the ruins found today – was built and worked to 1940.

There are ruins today of seven buildings, a diesel engine, cyanide tank and mill make for pleasant exploration, as well as the visible mines on the hillside to the north behind the camp.

This camp is often confused by individuals and publications as the camp of Schwab, which is found a mile and a half northwest in the north fork of Echo Canyon. We'll visit that mine later on this page.

The photo at the right shows the collapsed cookhouse, with another building further in the rear. The cookhouse collapsed in 1999.

The Inyo Mine makes for a nice camp, one should camp along the roadside near where this photo was taken. The photo at the left was taken in the evening while I was eating my supper, cooked on a Coleman stove on the tailgate of my truck.

My camp in the morning. I like a simple camp – sleeping in the back of my trucks, using an air mattress and sleeping bag. Tote boxes with all my gear, food and supplies for myself and the truck (in case of breakdown or need) are removed for sleeping.

Let's now move on to nearby Schwab ghost town. It is found nearby over the saddle in the north fork of Echo Canyon. Most maps show a road leaving the south fork and running up the north fork, however the Park Service has closed this road and have reclaimed the land. However, Schwab can be accessed by vehicle and a half mile hike by backtracking from the Inyo Mine down the road four-tenths of a mile, and turning right on this road. The road then climbs to the summit of the saddle between the two forks, then drops down to the canyon bottom. At the point when the canyon bottom is reached, where the road swings from northwest to northeast up the canyon bottom, park here. The old road is discernible, with a sign indicating that the road is closed, along with rocks placed in such a manner that it is not worth an attempt at illegal driving down canyon.

Walk down the north fork canyon to a point where it widens and a large, open canyon comes in from the north. This is where you will start encountering the ruins of Schwab.

Schwab was founded also as an outgrowth of the Rhyolite boom. To attract interest in the town, it was named in the honor of Charles Schwab, the steel king, who also owned interest in the nearby Skibo Mine. Shortly after the town was populated, three women – Gertrude Fessler, Mrs. F.W. Dunn and her daughter Helen Black – incorporated the townsite by issuing shares. The town was not a lasting success, the women promptly put on an abolition on intoxicating refreshments and sporting women, which likely put a kibosh on further activity in a male dominated occupation. The town quickly abandoned – including the women who incorporated it – and the post office was open scarcely six months; only one resident showed up for his mail in its last days.

The first thing you will find are broken bottles and abundant cans. A wooden cross indicates a “Death Valley Victim” with a date of 1907. However, I doubt its authenticity, for 1.) the thin wooden cross would have vanished decades ago in this climate, and 2.) I have presently come across no published mention of a death at Schwab – either in the period press, current publications, or government documents.

Walking around the entire bowl formed by the merger of the two canyons will reveal tent sites (tents consisted generally of a wooden floor and subwall, with the canvas tent over it), stone foundations and cellars. What appears to be a main street is found on a bench above the canyon bottom along the northern bank of the north fork canyon, just below the confluence of the large side canyon. What I think is a main street has building sites on both sides, with supporting stone walls for buildings hanging over into the canyon. A couple of wood lined cellars are also found on the north side of the street.

This ends my contribution to the Echo Canyon road. As mentioned, the road continues northeast up the north fork of Echo Canyon, but I cannot attest to its condition between Schwab and the site of Echo. Below Echo the road enters a series of bedrock falls before the canyon widens near the ghost town of Lee. Read Mitchell's Death Valley SUV Trails before attempting this road.

Have Fun!