Research Trips

Panamint City Ghost Town, California

(w/a small measure of Death Valley and Goodsprings, Nevada thrown in for fun)

Introduction:

In 1997, fellow author and researcher Alan Patera and I had been long talking about a backpack trip to Panamint City ghost town, high in the Panamint Range of western Death Valley. It had been a destination goal for both of us for a very long time. So in the springtime of that year we started making plans, which eventually included two other people that accompanied us. At the time I was living nearby in Ridgecrest, California. Alan hails from the greater Portland, Oregon area. Our other trekkers were Rod H., who was also from Ridgecrest; and Chuck K., who came from the Salinas, California area.

Instead of a lengthy historical discussion of Panamint City, which is widely available in books and on the Internet, I will use my transcribed verbal notes as a basis for this page. It is a habit that I carry my microcassette with me; and I recorded my thoughts and experiences as we at first ascend the range to Panamint City, enjoy a night at the ghost town, then descend the following day. Through these words you can read of my elation at finally getting to go to Panamint City; my pain as I was ill prepared; and my trauma and drama on the descent of the mountain range. The page concludes with the travels of Alan Patera and I across Death Valley and over to Jean, Nevada, where we prepared for the day following a tour of the Goodsprings, Nevada townsite and nearby mines; as Alan was preparing a manuscript for an upcoming book on the town.

These notes were transcribed verbatim as expressed and recorded. Each numbered paragraph represents a separate recording and may be prefaced by ambient background noise or other nuances. At times I might say something to someone else in the party while the tape is running, or someone says something to me, in which case it is also transcribed and included if decipherable. In some cases, for this page, I might insert a note to further explain a comment I made or why I made it. The names of our two companions I shortened for their privacy, as they do not have any Internet or published presence., as do Alan Patera and myself.

Within the text of my transcribed notes, I include photographs I took using a 35mm Pentax IQ-Zoom camera. The film was processed by Seattle Film Works, which sent back prints plus a floppy disk with early digital photos in a low resolution. Since I don't have a scanner, I include the low resolution shots here scattered about within the text. I also carried with me a video camera, which started experiencing technical difficulties, so I didn't get a lot of video while on this trip.

This was also my first backpacking trip in several years. I overpacked – 35mm and video camera, cell phone (not the itty-bitty things we have now, but a fairly heavy and sizable hand held), a hand held CB radio, extra clothes, bota bag full of water, medicine, first aid kit, food, cooking apparatus and utensils, sleeping bag, and other paraphernalia; all of which weighed close to 50 pounds. My backpack also was missing its lower strap, which put all the weight on my shoulders, until I worked out a lower strap using my belt early in the trip up. And I was wearing my steel-toed work boots, which were terrible for hiking and caused much pain and drama, especial on the way back the following day.

Herewith are my experiences, expressed as they occurred. Enjoy hiking to Panamint City with us.

Day #1

Field Trip Transcript

FT04.21.97
(April 21, 1997)

Backpack Trip to Panamint City

1) Field trip transcript. April 21, 1997. We’re in Ridgecrest. It’s ten until six. We’re preparing for departure for Panamint City. Rod H. will be here shortly. And uh backpacks being loaded and overloaded. Putting them in the back of my truck and uh ... our trip will consist of Alan Patera, myself, Chuck K., Rod H.

2) It’s 6:30. We’re just leaving Eastridge Market. Heading eastbound toward Chris Wicht Camp.

3) Forgot to denote the starting mileage on the truck. I’ve got 11.4 miles now as I’m entering Poison Canyon. So, it’s reading about 7,624.0. Because my odometer is right with my trip odometer and I started at zero. So 7,614.0 miles was starting mileage. [Note – CA178 travels through Poison Canyon as it descends into Searles Valley south of Trona, California].

4) Peeyooouuu! The Trona Daisies are in full bloom today! [Note – Searles Valley often smells of rotten eggs, or hydrogen sulfide. I like to call it “the fragrance of Trona daisies in bloom.”]

5) 7:01. Slight delay. Pioneer Point Market. Where Alan wanted to pick up some last minute things. [Note – Pioneer Point Market is at the northern end of Trona.]

6) Rod doesn’t know we’ve stopped. So he’s probably up the road a couple of miles.

7) 38.0 miles. 7:13. Slate Range Summit.

8) Getting a much later start than I’d like to have. It would have been nice to come up here last night, really.

9) The weather today is windy. It’s relatively warm. I’m at the bottom of Slate Range Pass now. It’s 69° here. Cloudy and high thin clouds. Some lenticular. A few cumulus here and there. Passing front going by, but it’s not going affect us other than the winds and some increased clouds.

10) 45.4 miles. 7:21. Turning off onto the road to Ballarat.

11) I think the road to Ballarat was better when it was dirt. With this oil topping, they’ve got these deep potholes everywhere.

12) 49.0 miles. 7:26. We’re at Ballarat now. Going to go over to the General Store. I think Chuck K. is going to leave his car here at the General Store.

13) It’s five after eight. We’re here at the Chris Wicht Camp. Chuck K.’s over contacting George and Rocky. And uh so we can pacify them and then we’ll head on up. [Note – George and Rocky, father and son, live in the old Chris Wicht camp at the end of the road in Surprise Canyon. It is recommended that anyone going to Panamint City and leaving their vehicle take them a little food or drink.]
[Note Added 3/10/08 – The Novak's home at Chris Wicht or Novak's Camp has burned down. George and Rocky currently live at Ballarat.]

14) 8:20. We’re on our way.

15) [Labored voice accompanied to sound of rushing water] Got pristine water. Pristine scenery. And we’ve got the Navy doing stupid pet tricks overhead. [Note – Military jets being obnoxious.]

16) [Labored voice accompanied to sound of rushing water] 8:39. We’re getting closer to the falls. The canyon is getting narrower and taking on that angled slant that it gets up here. Fortunately uh ... nobody’s particularly fast. Rod H. and I making up the rear and Chuck and Alan just up ahead.

18) [Voice accompanied to sound of rushing water] Chuck’s uh ... [yelling to Chuck:] ... thirty-three forty you say? Thirty-three hundred and forty feet here at Limekiln Springs on Chuck’s altimeter, temperature, do-it-all Swiss Army knife of a watch tells us 79°.

19) [Voice accompanied to sound of rushing water] I had to make an instant retreat from my comfy rock. Alan realized that he was sitting in an ant hole. And I wasn’t too far away from him. A couple of ants on my backpack.

20) [Voice accompanied to sound of rushing water] We have some company. I see a man below me. I don’t know if there’s any more down there. They don’t look like they’re coming up to camp, though. I just see a fanny pack on the one that’s coming up the hill now, that’s sitting there on a rock about 60 yards below us.

21) [Voice accompanied to sound of rushing water] The people who are walking up are BLM folks. Steve Smith among them. [Note – Steve Smith is currently retired, but was formerly the recreation officer for the Ridgecrest BLM office.] A man named D.. Geologists, archaeologists. Everybody’s been talking for quite a while. It’s ten minutes until ten. And we’re still at Limekiln [Note – Top of the falls]. We’re getting ready to leave.

22) [Voice accompanied to sound of rushing water] It’s seven minutes until ten. We’re regrouping and starting to mosey upwards.

23) [Labored voice] We’ve got a mineshaft - tunnel uh just up above Limekiln Springs, toward the end of the trees.

24) [Labored voice] We still have water running along with us. Although it’s impossible to get through from all the dense brush. The road is quite steep. Good pitch. And uh ... we’re climbing in elevation rapidly. We still haven’t reached Brewery Springs yet. Alan has lagged well behind. We left him at Limekiln. He said to go ahead, that he needed to get his pack on. I still haven’t ... still haven’t seen him yet. I’m lagging behind Rod and Chuck.

25) Ok. Alan is just coming into view. I have ten after ten.

26) We’re approaching Brewery Spring . I see piñons on the slope above. A nice sign. [Note: this proved to be actually Limekiln Spring, clarified when we reached the actual Brewery Spring.]

27) Ok, a prospect. North wall. It looks like we’re approaching Brewery Springs.

28) [Voice accompanied to sound of rushing water] Brewery Spring. 10:35. [Note – Limekiln Springs.]

29) Stopping at Brewery Springs [Limekiln Springs]. Rod, Chuck and Alan are back somewhere in the brush. All I heard was Rod say “Dave, you got to bring your camera back here!” So I will. It’s seventeen minutes until eleven.

30) Rod and I cached our shoes and wet socks. Now wearing our heavy duty boots. And uh it’s five after eleven. And we’re getting ready to leave this beautiful spot. [Note – I was wearing my steel toed work boots, as I was then working at the borax plants in Trona. These turned out to be a very poor choice of footwear on this trip. Rod also worked at Trona.]

31) Wow. I got rid of these big, heavy boots banging around back there hitting me in the butt. Everything is a little lighter. The boots are on my feet and my feet feel better walking in this rocky scree.

32) [Labored voice] It gets awfully quiet when you get away from water. We’re uh ... a few hundred yards above Brewery [Limekiln]. Just some grapevine and trees. And yet you don’t hear the water now.

33) [Labored voice] We’re up to the point now there is no more water, nor foliage. Except sagebrush.

35) [Labored voice] The sun is beating down relentlessly. It feels hot, although there’s a cooling breeze and it’s to my back. Exposed canyon bottom. Flies are annoying.

36) [Labored voice] Alan found a hole in the wall. Take advantage of the shade and an opportunity to get the weight off my back.

37) [Labored voice] It’s twenty after twelve and we’re continuing our shuffle along.

38) [Labored voice] We’re getting to a point now where our first junipers and piñons are getting close. It’s 12:23.

39) [Labored voice] Just up ahead, a juniper right on the side of the road. It’s 12:25. Also too, we have water ... willows. I hear no water trickling, although there’s a continuous line of willows that began just above where we rested in that uh ... hole in the wall.

40) [Labored voice] As we’re progressive ... progressing onward, I hear a heavier flow of water in the trees. Everywhere I look on the slopes, there is piñon and juniper. The trees are getting quite thick, the willows. An occasional cottonwood ... graces the menagerie of willows.

41) [Labored voice] It is twenty minutes until one. As I stand here a short distance above the first juniper. The canyon is shallowing ... getting shallower. Not as severe. Taking on a gentler hue, instead of the harsh desert environment. The breeze is a little harder. I hear water. Although it taunts me by not allowing easy access as yet. As usual on such ... envoys ... I am the last in line. Alan is probably ... 50 to 75 yards ahead of me out of sight around the bend. And we haven’t seen Chuck and Rod in an hour. Although ... I’m sure they’re nearby.

42) [Labored voice] Water is beginning to seep along the road now. A few yards from where I last spoke.

43) [Labored voice] Ok, I am coming up to Alan, Chuck and Rod.

44) It’s ten after one. We’re leaving our break site here. Just parked our butts on the road. Leaned back on our packs. Water flowing on our feet. There’s some discussion as to whether we are at Brewery Springs. Which would be down ... [Rod in background - laughing as he is talking: “Don’t say that!”] ... down ... [chuckle] ... yeah! Rod says “don’t say that!” That would be very down-heartening.

45) [Sound of water in background] Yup. There is some discussion. If this is Brewery Springs, then we’ve got a long way to go. It’s already quarter after one.

49) Well that certainly appears to be the case. Brewery Springs. The topography is following the course of the map. I always thought Limekiln was at the top of the falls. It is not the case.

50) [Labored voice] Small piece of machinery. It’s twenty three until two. About a quarter mile above the “Tunnel of Love.”

51) [Labored voice] Quarter until two. Just reached the confluence of Woodpecker Canyon and Surprise.

52) [Labored voice] It’s uh 2:00 o’clock. That was not Woodpecker Canyon, but an unnamed canyon. [Someone’s voice in background - indecipherable] We got a little ways, but we’re not too far from Woodpecker. We’re not all that far from Panamint, for that matter. Much closer now. We’re slowly whittling away at the distance.

53) It’s five after two. We all stopped to marvel and shoot pictures and video of an orange ring necked lizard of some kind.

54) [Labored voice] We’re definitely getting into the sagebrush belt now. There are a few straggling creosotes here on a sunny, south facing slope. The bottom of Woodpecker Canyon is 5,800 feet. That’s got to be its upper limit. Where I’m standing now, it’s all Great Basin sage. A few junipers here and there. Lots of ephedra. Mormon Tea.

55) [Labored voice] There are a lot of nice, puffy cumulus forming over the ridgetop. Adds a little softness to the scene.

56) [Labored voice] Up this southern canyon, almost looks like full-sized pine trees up there. Besides piñon. There’s a few sticking their head over the rest, that are awfully straight and tall.

57) [Labored voice] It’s twenty after twelve [Note – 2:20]. We’ve come across some junk. It looks like a homemade camper that got carried down in a flashflood.

58) [Labored voice] Twenty after two, I guess. I don’t know whether I said twenty after twelve or twenty after two. But it’s twenty after two.

59) [Labored voice] We’re fortunate to have lots of wildflowers up here. Lots of lupine have been blooming for ... oh ... since below Brewery Spring. Pretty lavender lupine. Lots of little flowers. Odds and ends.

60) [Labored voice] Another prospect. A hole in the ground in the south facing slope ... [someone belches in background - me laughing] ... north facing slope. That belch brought to you courtesy of Rod! [Rod in background - indecipherable]. Looks like directly across ... what got to be Woodpecker Canyon. We’re standing at ... almost the mouth of it now. The landscape is becoming more gentle. Less harsh looking. More piñon and juniper forming. Lot of ... [Rod in background: “In other words, a little more flat, for one thing!”] ... yeah! Well, it’s not exactly flat, but it’s not exactly like crawling up Niagara Falls, either!

61) By the way, it’s twenty three minutes until three.

62) [Labored voice] At the confluence of Woodpecker and Surprise. Looking directly up Woodpecker. There’s evidence of mining here. Little bit of a tailings pile, very well covered in brush. Prospects and corrugated metal. Over in the canyon of Woodpecker, looks like a twisted frame of like a chassis of an automobile. Or something.

63) [Labored voice] Alan has fallen way behind us when we stopped and rested the last time. He’s on his way up now, but he’s a good ... hundred and fifty yards behind us. Chuck K. is about a hundred yards ahead of me and Rod is ... oh about fifty yards now.

64) [Labored voice] There appears to be a road going up that, so it’s probably Woodpecker. I see some wooden objects ... oh about a hundred yards away. Assorted mining junk. There’s a couple of mines up this canyon.

65) [Labored voice] 3:00 o’clock. And uh just left a little rest area there. We all took a sit ... a SIT that is. And we ... I am heading up. Alan and Chuck are ahead. Rod’s behind ... a little ways. I’m just plodding along.

66) [Labored voice] My video camera is acting up more and more. [Long recorded silence]

68) [Labored voice] It’s quarter after three.

69) [Labored voice] At this point I’m at, there’s getting a heavier piñon cover. The juniper and piñon is getting rather heavy. Well ... we hopefully should be seeing ... the mill stack at any point. It is uh ... I believe up Marble that a road goes up behind ... in behind the Wyoming Mine area ... and it ... below the Wyoming is the smelter.

70) [Labored voice] I think my cam-corder’s gone! It either gives me a scrambled up black screen with the lettering scrambled all over the place, or it will finally give me a picture and act like it’s going to work, but then flash “STANDBY” when I go to ... record. So close and yet so far!

71) [Labored voice] Well, I’m now getting the brightness going high and low, high and low, although I got it to record. I’m going to take the battery out for a little while and see if that will help.

74) I got some video of the stack in the distance. I hope it will come out. Starting to see more rock walls. A series here. [Rod in background shouting to Chuck: “Do you think we’ll see more in here?”] Both sides.

75) [Labored voice] More evidence of mining, terracing, rock walls. [Rod in background - indecipherable] The smelter stack is coming into a better view. It’s uh ... twenty until four. Should be at the smelter by four at this rate.

76) [Labored voice] I think we’re all hungry. We’re all fantasizing about food. And cold beer.

77) [Labored voice] An embanked trail crossing on the northern wall of Surprise. Near a canyon. I don’t know if it’s Sourdough or not. [Rod: “The one just before Sourdough.”] Probably just before Sourdough.

78) [Labored voice] Super, heavy duty trail system going up there. And heavy duty embankments. From this distance they appear to be twenty or thirty feet high in some places. To hold the trail level.

79) [Labored voice] On the south canyon wall, a wall going straight up. A low, stone wall.

80) [Labored voice] There are rock walls on both sides of the road. Against both canyon walls. Still a ways below the stack. It’s 4:00 o’clock.

81) [Labored voice] A number of trails ... way up the side of the hill with heavy rock work and embankments. Lots of rock walls everywhere you look here at Panamint.

82) [Labored voice] It’s like that smelter stack is walking as fast as we are. Whoa! 4:12 and we’re still a ways from it. A thousand or fifteen-hundred feet. Oh! My dogs are tired! My camera has been acting up. I’ve been able to get a few shots out of it. I don’t know how they’re going to turn out until I review it. And uh ... I’m ready to get this pack off my back, some food in my belly, and some shoes off my feet!

83) [Labored voice] Behind the old smelter is a more modern millsite. Green, corrugated siding. Pipeline running down. White. Probably PVC. Amidst the ruins of many, many ... many rock houses. I cannot begin to count them all. I’ll wait until I’m more fresh before I get ... to looking ... I’ll get these on the way home, probably. Don’t have my Pentax out where I can reach it. I have the IQ-Zoom. Chuck K. has an IQ-Zoom, but he’s got one of those IQ-Zoom 160’s.

84) [Labored voice] We have three burros. Watching us from a very short distance. [Shouting to Rod:] We’ve got three burros, Rod!

85) [Labored voice] Well, the wild burros took off. So now we have company in Panamint. Population in Panamint is three burros and four jack-asses.

86) [Labored voice] In sight of the good cabin now.

87) [Labored voice] Now at the road to Sourdough Canyon now.

90) Yeah, my video camera is almost unusable now.

91) There’s uh a GMC dump truck up there, it looks like. A Chevy or GMC. I see one ... two ... three ... four cabins. Maybe five in the background. Set here right in the middle of towns amidst the rock walls. Everybody’s at the cabin except me. Rod’s going in now. So it’s open and I presume they’re setting up camp. I’m about uh ... 500 feet away, right at the smelter.

92) It's really quite beautiful here.

[End of Tape 1, Side A]

[Beginning of Tape 1, Side B]

93) [Voice labored w/footsteps] Continuing. Side B. It's quite beautiful. The side ... cabins that are on the south facing slope, but the north side of the canyon ... they're all in alignment. First one even looks like it has French doors in it.

94) The one here in the middle of town ... is next to what appears to be some kind of parking structure. Probably for that Wyoming Mill. The smelter is very pretty. It is showing signs of crumbling down at the bottom, along the edge. Hopefully the structure is not getting too weak. If it comes down, it will come down hard. High wind. Red brick, lot of rock. Beautiful sight looking against the blue sky with some wispy, white clouds. The green, forested piñon background. I can't reach my Pentax without dropping my pack, and I don't really want to do it on the street. I should have done it on the rock, I guess, and looked for the ... camera. It would make for some beautiful pictures because the sun is out. It's quite pretty. Quite striking. There's a cool breeze blowing. Still warm. I'm comfortable in short sleeves and short pants. There's a large rock walled building. Probably some kind of a saloon set back into the mountain. Big enough to be a saloon, certainly. Again, a black, GMC dump truck. Probably early 70's or ... dump truck. It looks like it's thrashed. The windows, doors hanging open. It's parked lopsided. I see the windows have opened up on the cabin, so I presume they found it suitable. And uh ... first thing I'll do is drop this pack, drop my shoes and get something to eat! Hopefully we got water. That's my main concern, because I'm out.

95) Electrical lines strung out. I bet you they got a generator somewhere in town.

97) Whoa!!! Sitting on the front porch. Wooo! Quite nice! Uhhhh ... [exhale] ... There's a generator setup over here, too. [Chuck K.: "The generator over there has run out of gas."] [To Chuck:] It did! [Chuck K.: "That's what the miner says."] [To Chuck:] So they have in the uh ... make an entry or something? [Chuck: "No. We talked to a miner up here."] [To Chuck:] Oh. When? [Chuck: "Oh, I don't really ... we came up here, oh, five years ago. I don't know how long he had been up here, though."] [To Chuck:] Uh huh.

98) All the entries say the mice are quite active here. I might sleep out on the porch. I don't know. There's a couple of mattresses in there. Bring one out here. This is nice. Sleep out here. The mice are probably more active in there than they are out here. Hopefully.

99) There's a shower. Alan's taking one now.

102) Alan and Chuck heading up to Thompson Camp. Rod is staying at one of the other cabins. I'm here at the main cabin. I've got water boiling. Chuck's going to sleep here tonight, also. [Sigh] That shower was cold as ice, but boy! It felt good! Cold water ... I had my soap and my towel and my wash rag. [Sigh] I think Alan is going to sleep in his tent in the garden area in that cabin that Rod's in tonight. Which is back behind us. I might mosey over there after I uh ... fill my belly. Wolfed down some trail mix and that ... I'm not extremely hungry like I was now ... but sitting here on the front porch getting ready to put my shoes back on. It's quite nice. After that long hike up.

104) Had a minor tragedy, after I got all showered and clean, I popped the top of the Sterno. It blew up all over the place. Including me.

105) My back molar ... [clearing throat] ... has completely broken out. [Clearing throat] Spitting out teeth. Or pieces of tooth.

106) This camcorder has had it. Just constantly giving me problems.

107) Enjoying at the cabin, some nice, Lipton Cup-a-Soup. Broccoli and cheese.

108) Sitting here on the front porch, enjoying my Cup-a-Soup. It's quarter after six. And uh it's very nice. A very nice spot. Might run over to see what Rod's up to. See if he wants to come over for dinner.

109) I'm preparing my dinner, which is freeze dried mountain high ... or Natural High brand Gourmet Camping food. Honey-Lime Chicken with long grain and wild rice. Serves two, but I'm eating the whole thing.

110) Lots of modern stuff here too. It's quar ... ten until seven.

111) The sun is down behind the ridge, except the cabin. The mill is still lit up in sunshine. I'm walking up towards Rod's cabin here. I hope I don't find that sidewinder.

112) Pleasant stroll. I wish my video camera wasn't giving me so much trouble. A beautiful shot of the mill in the last rays of the sun.

113) Above the cabin is a large, stone building. It appears like it might have been a basement ... [clearing throat]. Inside the square, they've uh built ... almost like a mini-motel inside of wood ... frame construction and wood. Plywood. Corrugated sheet metal for uh ... roofing. And uh full of washing machines and other paraphernalia. Probably when it was back in its day ... before the 80's, they were able to truck things up here. It was much easier. [Note – The road to Panamint City was permanently destroyed in a series of flashfloods in 1984.]

114) It looks like Rod's cabin has water.

115) Nice, pretty evening. It's twilight. The bats are starting to fly. Still see details. Light enough to see detail. A glow ... a golden glow over the Argus Range. A few clouds shifting around. Cumulus. Uh ... in a way the cumulus have real white, white tops. I suppose the full moon is giving them a good ... lighting up top. Probably won't be up here for a while.

116) Crickets are chirping and the bats are flying and it's very tranquil. A nice breeze. Night breeze. It's cool. Still shirt sleeve weather. Very pleasant. We have no lights in the cabin. We all have little flashlights and that's about all, so we'll probably all turn in a little bit early. [Someone talking in background - indecipherable] Although Alan wishes to take a full moonlit walk down the streets of Panamint, and I might join him. Set the camera up on an open exposure, get a shot of the mill bathed in moonlight. That should be surrealistic. I wish I had the Pentax for that, but uh ... er uh the K1000 Pentax. The IQ-Zoom should do that, though. [Note: Alan's favorite nighttime activity in every ghost town he visits is a night time stroll through its streets, especially when there is a full moon.]

117) Kicking back in the chair with my feet up. Wonderful.

119) [Others talking in background - Chuck K.: "... hurry. Go ... go up to uh ..."] It's pretty the clouds all backlit by the moon. The moon will be up here ... it's lighting up the canyon up by Rod's cabin. So it will be up here shortly. Get some open exposure shots. Hopefully it will come out. I think it goes to one minute on the Pentax IQ. And uh ... yeah, Rod's cabin is in the moonlight. And uh ... get some nice shots of the uh ... nice shots of the uh mill stack. It's still twilight out. Pleasant.

120) Hale-Bopp is quite visible. Along with about two planets that I can see. Don't know what they are. One's probably Venus or Mercury. As I said, the clouds are backlit by the ... it's awfully pretty. Let's see if I can get any video of the clouds. [Note – Hale-Bopp is a comet that was visible during our trip.]

121) They're pretty lit up and the moon is coming over the mountain. Got some nice video of the moon coming over the clouds lit up.

122) It's quite lovely, the moon drifting in and out of clouds. Cutting across. Alternately getting brighter and dimmer. Light here on the front porch, and then dimmer. Before the moon came up, you couldn't see anything but the western sky. The western sky has still got some brightness to it. You can still see the outline of the Argus Range and the profile of the canyon. Of course, that aided by the moon.

123) [Alan in background: "Come on moon! Get out of the cloud cover!"] [Chuckle] Ten minutes until nine. We're out on our moonlight sojourn. We're right by the stack now, but the moon is not cooperating. It went behind a bunch of clouds.

124) We have our downslope winds right now. A little brisk. The moon is still not cooperating. It's just down the canyon it's all moonlit, but not here. Clouds seem to be staying right over the moon, but they're moving. Maybe they're mooning us.

125) Took a couple of flash shots. It sure got Rod's attention! He's screaming and yelling down there, "What the heck is that??!!"

126) Trying a couple of open shutter shots. The clouds have cleared up now over the Panamints. We have a nice, clear moon. So Alan is supposed back and uh ... he went over to get a sweater or something. He's over talking to Rod right now.

127) It's quarter after nine and we're going to try it again. Not a cloud in the sky.

128) [Voice accompanied to sound of footsteps] It's twenty after nine. I just went as far as the smelter stack. Alan is on his way down. He's going to probably go down to the lower ruins, down by Marble Canyon. That's a little too far for my taste right now. I'm tired, weary and I just feel like going and getting into my skivvies and crawling into my bag.

129) [Voice accompanied to sound of footsteps] Anyway, he's going to go down ... I just feel like turning in. Hopefully I should be able to sleep tonight. I brought some earplugs along. I'm not good at camping out first nights. All the entries of the last week that people stayed here mentioned that the mice were hyperactive. So with those earplugs, hopefully won't be able to hear them. Unless they knock something over.

130) [Voice accompanied to sound of footsteps] It's quite beautiful walking back up to the hill here. Rod's over on his porch, listening to a Sony Walkman. Picking up stations, picking up KFI. He says he likes talk radio. I'd be listening to KNX1070 out of 'Frisco. Getting news. Maybe flipping it over to KROW out of Reno for some country western. Right now the moon is just got everything so bright. It's almost like the daylight of a solar eclipse. So I'm going to turn in. This should be my last entry. I might read a little bit. There's a book on climatology in there. Among the books that have been left behind.

Day #2

Field Trip Transcript

FT04.22.97

(April 22, 1997)

Painful Escape From Panamint City, Beer in Ballarat, Long Drive

to Jean, Nevada

2) I think I must have lost some weight on this trip, because I didn't eat much except for a few handfuls of ... of trail mix and a couple of sticks of jerky until dinner last night. My pants are much looser and I can suck my belly flat for a change. So I must have done some good calorie burning and fat burning yesterday.

3) I think we're all going to go up to Sourdough Canyon. Uh ... Chuck's going to take his pack down to the ... road down there ... and the junction of the road. Drop his pack. I'm going to do the same, since I have my pack. Alan and Rod are going to take the road, the dirt in, which kind of climbs the shoulder of it and drops in. From their cabin.

4) It's really difficult to compose a scene with the Pentax IQ-Zoom. I wish I had the K1000. Hopefully I'll get some good pictures. I already shot three rolls of film, working on my fourth now. I know a lot of those shots were bad shots.

10) Alan and Rod are making their way along the road from their shack into Sourdough. I'm going down, pick up my pack and ... go down, drop it off next to Chuck's. Down at the intersection of the road to Sourdough and the road to Panamint.

11) There's a lot of new and old mining junk scattered around. Nothing very, very old. I mean I'm not talking about last century, but, a lot of mid and later 1900's. Nineteen ... well, prior to 1984 when the road washed out. Because that was the end of mechanized mining here in Panamint. The washouts of '84.

12) It's kind of a shame. Of course, who knows what it would be like if mining was continued. Might be another C.R. Briggs operation where the whole valley would be strip mined.

13) It's really upsetting that this camcorder has crapped out on me, because I can sure get some beautiful video. I can get video, I am getting video, but it's ... have to beat on the camcorder to get it to mind. It's doing strange things. You shut it off at both the main power switch and the lockout switch, and the thing keeps running. The auto-focus is going haywire. The auto-exposure is going haywire. It's a real pain, I'll tell you.

14) I'll tell you, my tootsies are sore! I'm looking foreword to at least a nice, comfortable motel room tonight. Although it would be nice to be home! I haven't slept in ... well, I slept in my own bed on Sunday night. But I haven't seen my wife since last week. I won't see her until next Thursday. [Note: Previous to this trip I had spent a few days at my home in Big Pine, my wife was visiting friends out of state.]

15) I haven't mentioned the time for a while. It's twenty minutes until ten. And I'm uh ... again, starting up Sourdough Canyon. I'm a hundred feet or so from the junction.

16) Boy, the road going up to the Wyoming, that's a real zig-zagger. I'd say the Wyoming is 1,500 feet or better above the camp. No wonder Cycle World magazine rode their bikes up there for their pictures in the tunnel.

17) Uh, there's a truck parked over here. Double rear axle, Ford body. Truck.

18) Another 40's era Ford truck sitting over near it. This one don't have tires or nothing. Not even axles. The other one is pretty complete.

19) All kinds of vehicles up here. Even a travel trailer. Parked on a terrace.

20) A bulldozer up here also.

21) There's a backhoe here also.

22) “Shotgun” Mary's cabin is pretty nice. Had no view whatsoever, but very nice. The trees are too thick. [Note – Though at the time I thought it was “Shotgun” Mary's cabin, I found out later that it wasn't. “Shotgun Mary lived in Panamint during the 1940's to 1960's and is legendary for her reclusiveness and willingness to protect it with a shotgun. She is also credited with shooting the Inyo County Sheriff at one point.]

23) [Labored breathing] Yeah, this is a nice house. Brick flooring. Uneven. China in the kitchen. Stove. Probably out of that camper down below. It's obviously a camper stove. Foodstuffs.

24) Nice, fancy wooden back door. Wood doors, front also. This is quite a nice place, they kept it very clean. It's got a nice bed. Library. Magazines, National Geographic. And uh ... quite nice. Fireplace. Wood stove. Two wood stoves.

25) Shower don't work, but it has one here. So it obviously hasn't worked for a while.

26) The closets are full of old clothes. Jeans. Jackets. Kind of a fleece lined suede jacket. Could have been Mary's stuff. I wonder when Mary died? It would be interesting to find a bio on her. And also some newspaper articles, see if I can find anything. Such as when she shot the Inyo County sheriff.

27) It has a barbecue setup in the back here. Bathtub. With a hose in the tree. Just fill up the bathtub, I guess. It has a lot of brick work and rock work. Uh ... some kind of stairsteps leading to nothing. There is a trail. [Yelling to Alan Patera:] Did you notice this trail back here, Alan? There's a trail back here taking off. [Alan in background - indecipherable] [To Alan:] Yeah. Not this trail here, but there's one back here that goes up the hill. [Alan in background - indecipherable] [To Alan:] Yeah.

28) Couple of trails lead off from Mary's cabin. Going up and down.

29) Yeah, it's quite a cabin here. Very nice. Very nice cabin.

30) Wherever the red-light district and cemetery was in this canyon was, it's long been erased.

31) [Voice accompanied by footsteps] The road continues on up Sourdough from Mary's. It would be interesting to follow it. Although everybody else now is heading down the hill. [Shouting a response to Alan:] What's that? Ok, I'm just going on to see what's here. Alan was telling me that he'll meet me down at the main road.

32) [Voice labored] There's some springs above here. Saw the pipe coming down to Mary's place. And uh ... some willows up here. It's been banked up like there might be a small holding dam or something.

33) Yeah, I'm going to turn around. This might go on forever. I wish I had the time. And now everybody's sights are sort of set on heading back down. Which is not a bad idea. But it sure would be nice to spend another day or two up here. Explore some of these side areas. Like I never got to Thompson Camp ... and uh ... I would like to get a chance to get up close and personal with some of these ruins, old ruins especially.

34) There's a lot of junk from the 80's and 70's here. A lot of mechanized machinery.

35) Mary's cabin is quite pristine and rugged looking. It looks like something from the turn of the century. And uh ... as compared to the ... one that we stayed in ... the one we stayed in was fine. It had probably the only working shower. Rod's shower was unworkable. He had no water in the building, even though there was a faucet. Mary's cabin has water in and outside. I think if we ever come up here again, this would be the place to stay. It is kind of off the beaten path. It's quite a very nice cabin. The other one is plain. And obviously more modern architecture. Quick build architecture. Whereas the cabin at Sourdough is inviting. Very inviting.

36) [Voice labored] Sourdough Canyon is quite heavily forested with juniper and piñon. Ephedra. Mormon Tea. Sagebrush. The views are good, but they're not uh ... I like the views at Panamint City better. Down at the end of the driveway where ... the driveway over to the Shotgun Mary cabin, you can see the top half of the smelter stack. You can see the newer workings ... the newer mill ... the mill that works the ores of the Wyoming. Yeah, this is a backhoe ... is a bulldozer actually. It's a small bulldozer with a backhoe attachment. The cabin itself is quite beautiful. Although I like the setting of Panamint City better.

37) [Voice accompanied by footsteps] It's really too bad that the road into Panamint City is impassible except with uh ... super modified CJ5's and the like. Because it would be neat to come back. As much effort as it took, the chances of me coming back is pretty small. Pretty slim. But yet ...

[End of Tape 1, Side B]

[Begin Tape 2, Side A]

38) This is Tape 2, side A of the series. Field trip series of the past few days. Panamint City, we’re at. Just getting ready to leave. At the confluence of Sourdough Canyon ... and Surprise Canyon. The junction of the two roads. I was up at Shotgun Mary's. Get a little last parting video, if I can, then I'll start heading down the hill.

39) The time is 12:20 ... er, twelve ... the time is 10:27.

42) That's video shot.

43) Ok, I see Alan now. He's about 200 yards down the hill from me.

44) It will certainly be a pleasant sight to see the bottom of the canyon and my truck. It will be even more pleasant if I see the bottom of the canyon, my truck and that George and Rocky N. hasn't screwed with it. We placated them with a couple of 12-packs of beer and a 12-pack of Pepsi. Hopefully uh ... they'll leave things alone. I had nothing of value in there except my cellular phone. But I would like to uh ... drive home. [Note – George and Rocky once had a reputation of sabotaging vehicles parked next to their home. In recent years I've not heard of any problems associated with the two of them.]

45) My feet hurt. My shoulders hurt. The back of my knees are sunburned. My neck is sunburned. The S-hooks on the straps holding my sleeping bag are poking me on the fleshy parts of the small of my back. And yet I trod steadily downhill, my mind set on seeing a little, brown nosed truck. [Note – My truck at the time was a 1996 Chevrolet S-10 4WD truck, in a shade of brown called “Aspenwood.” So my nickname for the truck was “Little Brown Nose.”]

47) Boy that beer at Ballarat sounds good right now. Maybe I'll even have two!

48) As we're descending, my feet are killing me. Rocks keep poking me right at the junction of the third and fourth toe on both feet and it sends stabs of pain. My toes are going numb because of the constant pressure against the front of the boot. [Under my breath:] Oh man! I'll be glad when we get to the bottom of this hill!

49) I would say, though, that I've made better time. It's only taken forty five minutes to go from Sourdough to Woodpecker, whereas it took well over an hour yesterday going up.

50) If I don't break my left ankle before this trip is over, it will be amazing. I have probably two to three dozen times had it go over on me to where I felt sharp pain. A popping. When my ankle goes over and rolls my foot over. Even with these boots. I haven't fallen yet, but I've come quite close.

51) I makes you wonder what drew man up to Panamint in the first place. Before there was a Panamint. What drew man or men and their pack animals and their supplies up this torturous, god-forsaken canyon. How did they know that their reward would lay near the top up in the piñon belt. This canyon must have been pure hell, getting up it before there was a road. I'm walking down a road, which is ... if you can call it a road. It's more of a gravel ... or a rock path than anything. Very little dirt. Not enough dirt to step a foot on. And yet they had to fight the sagebrush, the wash ... the washouts. The gully itself to make their way up this thing.

54) It's 12:00 o'clock noon straight up. I'm hitting the lone willow that's just above Brewery Springs. I can't see Brewery yet, but I should be hitting the "Tunnel of Love" shortly. In fact I think I see where I'm going to hit it now. Good! I can now see the top of the "Tunnel of Love." It's about another 300 feet.

55) Hopefully I'll meet my compadres in there. Get a load off my feet for a while.

56) Yeah, I hear their voices now. Get some cold water in my throat. And uh ... some weight off my feet.

57) [Voice accompanied by sound of jet aircraft overhead and voices of others] It's five after twelve and I'm at Brewery Springs. Been here for a couple of minutes. Get a load off my feet.

58) It's twenty after two [Note – 12:20]. We're leaving the cave here at Brewery Springs. We're still in the "Tunnel of Love." Just hitting the springs here now. [To Alan:] Here's another thing here, Alan, that looks like it's been excavated. I don't think it's the springs. It's not wet.

59) Ok, now we're at Brewery Springs. I think what would help on this downhill trek is a staff. At least through here at Brewery Springs, the rock is very gravely. And even though it's still steep, I don't get the bashing. I'm sure that will soon change once I leave this idyllic location.

60) I think from this point on out, we'll hit our landmarks much sooner. Because uh ... it didn't seem that long to go from Limekiln to Brewery. There was only a short section of totally dry condition. Plus we were stopping and resting quite often.

61) I'm starting to hit the lower end of Brewery now. Although I still got a ways to go before I run completely away from the willows. There's still water running down the road, but I'm out of the "Tunnel of Love," and the willows in the canyon, further against the north side here. Lining the road instead of covering the road. Hopefully it won't be as steep. It's steep, but not as rocky as it was up above. That should help a lot. I feel better from that short, 15-minute rest. But I'll still be glad when we get down. When we hit Limekiln Springs, it will be a quick drop to the waterfalls. And we could probably be back to the truck ... I'll venture to say, by 2:00 o'clock or 2:30 at the latest. Depending on how long we dilly-dally at the springs.

62) This road is much more pleasant. Still steep, but not near as rocky. More dirt. Just small pebbles and stones. I'm below Brewery. The willows are starting to peter out. I believe that just around two bends, that we'll all reach Limekiln.

63) I think Chuck's got a rattler that he's teasing. I hear him rattling.

64) Yeah, he's got a rattlesnake he's trying to prod out into the open.

65) [Sound of rattlesnake rattling] [Chuck: "He was right here."] [To Chuck:] You've got him back in that bush, huh? [Chuck: "So you don't forget what a snake sounds like."] [Rod: "Whoa!"] [Continued rattling] [Alan: "Can we take him home?"] [To Alan:] I don't think so!

66) It's ten minutes until one and the first greenery, grapevines of Limekiln Springs are in sight. Limekiln is still out of site, but we'll be there shortly.

67) Hitting the first willows and grapevines of Limekiln Springs. The springs themselves are still around the corner. It's uh four minutes until one.

68) Seventeen minutes after one. I'm leaving Limekiln Spring. Alan Patera has already left a long time ago. Chuck left about ten minutes ago. I had to get a few things readjusted. And uh ... get my tennis shoes. Never have seen Rod H.. Apparently he just stopped and got his tennis shoes and then left. So I probably won't see him see him until the top of the falls, if then. He's probably back to his Jeep right now. Ow!! Damn!!! I am so FRICKIN' sick of these rocks!! My toes feel like they're pointing in every direction of the compass. Everything is burning. I'd put my tennis shoes on, but I'll have no support. It would be nice to cool these doggies down in the waterfalls, but I think I need the traction. I have all this weight working against me going down those damn falls.

69) Definitely much warmer here than in Panamint. Although there's a nice breeze blowing. Ow!! Damn these rocks!! I'm sick of them!! There bound and determined to break my ankles! Ow!!

70) Well, somehow I got myself off the road! I have to backtrack. This is a real pisser!! I've come to a place ... there's a road I'm on, but it deadends in a wall of brush. Missed the turnoff somewhere. [Note: I was suffering the effects of heat exhaustion, with its attendant confusion, which was causing me to get lost in the dense brush and willows near the top of the falls.]

71) [Voice labored] I guess I have to backtrack again. It must keep going. I don't know. I get up here to where the ... canyon narrows down ... there's no fricking way ... they've got a road on the other side.

72) I guess I didn't go far enough. It just keeps on going. Sure didn't look like it at first.

73) [Water rushing in background] Five after two. Leaving the top of the falls. Chuck ... I got about ... three hundred yards from here when I stopped to take a rest when Rod came back up looking for me. By the time we got back down here they were gone. But uh Rod ministered to my aching feet and got my tennis shoes out. I've got them on. With the cold water running through my shoes, it feels like heaven. Starting our decent of the falls now.

74) Ten after two. Bottom of the first set of falls.

75) [Sound of rushing water] It's twenty four after two. And we're down below the other set of falls. We're getting into gentler territory. Boy, I tell you, I'm going to kiss me a little brown nosed truck ...[yelling to Rod:] ... hey! Here's a little green frog. Ain't he cute. [Rod: "A frog?"] [To Rod:] Yeah. Little frog here. A bullfrog, I guess. He's a little one. Anyway, I'm going to kiss me a little brown nosed truck. And then I'm going to kiss Ballarat Bob for having that nice, cold beer waiting for me. At Ballarat. [Note: Lightfoot Louie was by then running the store when we visited.]

76) [Sound of rushing water] I feel much better now that I've got my tennis shoes on and I've got cooling water going through my feet. They still hurt and my left ankle is swollen. I probably sprained it pretty good. I'm still holding up. I'm walking through the creek bottom. At this point I don't give a shit if my pants are getting wet or not. I'm going to change into my shorts when I get to my truck anyway.

77) We're at George and Rocky's smelter.

78) The final stretch.

80) It's 3:35. We've been sitting for the last forty five minutes or so at the store at Ballarat, drinking beer and swapping lies. Oh, man I just have to go to my truck here, and I HURT!!! [Note: We bought up the last beer in Ballarat that day, as Louie was preparing to shut down the store for the summer months and wasn't planning on buying more.]

81) It's 4:06. I've forgotten to make an entry for a while. We're nearly to the northern junction of Indian Ranch Road and Panamint Valley Road. We're going to go up Wildrose Canyon. Alan would like to get a better fix on the site of Emigrant Springs. He was under the impression that it was at Journigan's Mill. So we're going to go that way. It's 4:06. Right now I