EISPIRATEN

Good luck to your son in his future. When he's older he may want to join the same cave exploring group that Hugh Blanchard belonged to. They meet once a month at Cal Tech in Pasadena. They teach basic rock climbing classes free of charge. That's good experience for someone who wants to be a ranger. ...

Nice. Next time follow the masses up the mountain to the ruins of the old Mt. Lowe Railway instead of going into the canyon. Takes about an hour to walk up there.

Bryant (the guy who made that video) lives in San Diego now, but we did a major mine exploration up in San Gabriel Canyon a few years ago.
Here's a video, it's a bit lengthy, but if you skip past the history it's quite an adventure.

Thats a really old website, haven't updated it in years. I have John Robinson's old phone number written down in a book, but unfortunately he's dead now. The Carrie is a tough one to find. I'd take you up there but I live in Colorado now. A friend of mine did a great interview with the guy who found...

I have some shots of Las Flores Canyon aka "The Haunted Forest" on an old website of mine. Some of those mines are REALLY dangerous, so be careful.

http://secretmines.com/

The first mine you pass on the way to the main one is called the Fenner tunnel. That one came after Vincent sold the mine, although its still part of the Bighorn family. That's the mine you see off to the right side of the trail. VERY dangerous inside.

Do a little research and you'll find Tom Vincent's old cabin. It's not near the mine, but somewhat close to the parking area. John Robinson was a great writer. I have his old phone number, but unfortunately he died fairly recently. Glad you got a chance to see the mine.

I've seen those thin green telephone lines up there. Never knew about the fire phone. Cool photo. I have one somewhere of an old lodge up at Idlehour.

These old tracks are the back wheels off the OM & M (One Man & Mule) railway, next to the old lookout tower. The front wheels are under the shelter at Inspiration Point. And behind those wheels is a cool little trail that takes you around the side of Henninger. There's a lot of deer up there.

Yeah, that's called the First House, built in 1875. They moved it all the way from La Crescenta. Thats not Henninger's house, Henninger was just a gold prospector who was squatting on the land. That's why there's so much mining equipment up there.

Nice writeup. That area between the Telephone Trail and Idlehour is one of the most beautiful in the San Gabriels. Here's a few old photos of Henninger, Upper Eaton and Esme (the canyon the Telephone Trail starts in)

Thanks for the info. Picacho in Arizona requires no ropes, just the pre-set cables that are stuck in the rock, which are quite extensive. The park around it rates it as a difficult climb, but I've seen small kids do it. However there are places you can get hurt or worse if you don't watch your step.

If you're ever back in Arizona look up the Toilet Bowl near Strawberry. Another epic one.

Thanks Gene. I'm not out in Arizona very often but that one's worth the drive. Kind of close to Tucson.

Picacho noun - a large pointed isolated hill I happened to see this on a map as I was driving through Arizona and had to check it out. It was epic. A lone hill rising 1,500 feet above the desert floor with tons of history behind it. I stopped to take photos of it from a distance, but once I found o...

Yeah, there's a way to get to the bottom of it, but I haven't been down there. I know there's a shaft at the bottom and I think that's the one.

You can see a picture of the top of in in the 17th photo from the top. It's called square set timbering. That shaft with the ladder would have been used to drop ore down to a lower level so it could be hauled out.

Actually I do know where that goes. You can climb down to it from a sketchy area above. There's a three story structure right above it.

Never seen that metal ladder before. Somebody must have brought that in fairly recently. There's no way I'd climb up that thing. Great photo.

The only standing ladder I've seen is in really bad shape. And I wouldn't trust any ladders in mines. I'm not sure where the stacked ladders are. The only one I've seen is in a shaft and it's missing the lower half. That one leads up to a grating that's keeping some huge rocks from falling down. You...

I’ve been to that mine about 4 times but still can’t find how to get to the upper level. Is there any chance you can clue me in? I felt a little shy about asking because I didn’t know if that was ok to ask. You've probably already been to the upper level and didn't know you were there. As you enter...

It must be difficult spray painting those murals in the pitch blackness. Every inch of the walls have now been tagged, but at least they're restricting their "artwork" to the inside of the tunnels.

Thanks Gene

Just put up a YouTube video on the road along with some hidden places most people miss.

Thanks much. I'm trying to teach myself how to edit these videos but it's a slow going at my age.
Those smiling hillbilly inserts are from the movie Deliverance. If you've never seen it, it's really old but a classic. I think it won an Academy Award.

Just put up a video of five East Fork waterfalls. Enjoy.

Just put up a new Stanley Miller video. Still haven't tried the Wetwater Trail.

Joshua Tree rangers keep the lion population low key, and they're only in certain parts of the park, but they're out there. There are bighorn sheep and deer out here too, and a whole lotta rabbits, so they've got plenty to eat. First time I've ever seen one in the desert.

The first incline shaft (with the fox inside) I won't go into because it's caving in at the bottom. The "unidentified" mine with the small opening I'll go back to in the future, that one looks interesting. All of the adits at the third mine are shallow, less than 30 feet. Joshua Tree's pol...