Burro Schmidt's Tunnel to Nowhere & A Living Ghost Town

Cantil, CA
Jawbone Canyon, BLM 

Randsburg, CA.

There were two other sites we wanted to explore while here.  The first was a 45 minute drive to what's called the Living Ghost Town of Randsburg. Anytime we find a ghost or old mining town, we have to see it.  Randsburg sits at 3400' elevation and has a population of 69.  Gold was discovered at Yellow Aster Mine in 1895 and the town quickly grew to 4,000 people. $20 million was mined here making it the richest mine in southern CA.  The town built an opera house, general store, saloons and churches. In 1897 a minor fire broke out but was followed by two larger ones just a few months later, wiping out the rest of the town leaving it mostly deserted.  Many movies and videos have been shot here including Cowboys and Aliens and Dwight Yocum's music video, Long White Cadillac.

The Opera House

White House Saloon

Baltic Stamp Mill

There are a couple of places to get something to eat but they are only occasionally open on weekends.  The only thing opened while we were there was this mercantile store which mainly sold polished rocks.  We chatted with the owner for a bit and I came out with a small pink heart shaped rock.

They seem to have very loose rules for homes.  Most were original, somewhat restored homes and some were unique busses or RVs.

Cute little mural on this Scamp.

At first I thought Spizzerinctum was someone's last name until I looked it up.  It's actually a real word according to Merriam-Webster.  It means: guts, nerve, backbone, the will to live.  Very fitting for this town trying its best to hang on.

Here's a funny story.  After I posted some of this visit on facebook, one of my friends wrote to me that generations of her family were from here and actually ran the General Store!  Pretty crazy!

One of the older residents.

The other end of town.

End of the Trail.  This used to be the old Post Office.

On a plaque in town reads these words.  They are from a poem by Sam Walter Foss.  It seems he never lived here, but his poem reads:

The House By The Side Of The Road

There are hermit souls that live withdrawn
In the place of their self-content;
There are souls like stars, that dwell apart,
In a fellowless firmament;
There are pioneer souls that blaze the paths
Where highways never ran-
But let me live by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

Let me live in a house by the side of the road
Where the race of men go by-
The men who are good and the men who are bad,
As good and as bad as I.
I would not sit in the scorner's seat
Nor hurl the cynic's ban-
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

I see from my house by the side of the road
By the side of the highway of life,
The men who press with the ardor of hope,
The men who are faint with the strife,
But I turn not away from their smiles and tears,
Both parts of an infinite plan-
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

I know there are brook-gladdened meadows ahead,
And mountains of wearisome height;
That the road passes on through the long afternoon
And stretches away to the night.
And still I rejoice when the travelers rejoice
And weep with the strangers that moan,
Nor live in my house by the side of the road
Like a man who dwells alone.

Let me live in my house by the side of the road,
Where the race of men go by-
They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong,
Wise, foolish - so am I.
Then why should I sit in the scorner's seat,
Or hurl the cynic's ban?
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

A nice way to leave this interesting town.

It's getting late but we still want to find the tunnel!

Who is William Schmidt and what is so special about his tunnel?

William "Burro" Schmidt spent 33 years of his life digging with hand tools and explosives by himself, starting in 1902.  His goal was to create a shortcut near his mining claim to where he could send his ore to a smelter, so he didn't have to go around the mountain.  His tunnel is 2,087 feet long through Copper Mountain located in the El Paso Range of the Mojave Desert.  Strangely, the tunnel emerged on a high ledge in the middle of nowhere.  During all those years he supported himself by working as a ranch hand during the summer.  In the fall he would take his two burros and head back up the mountain.  While digging he actually discovered possible rich veins of gold, silver, copper and iron.  His tunneling obsession overcame his mining and even after the tunnel was finished, he never transported one ounce of ore through it.  Schmidt later died in 1954.

To visit the tunnel, you have to drive about 9 miles up a dirt road which took us about a 1/2 hour. The area is managed by BLM and it is permissible to visit the tunnel and walk through it.  It took us about 30 minutes to walk end to end.  Bring a flashlight and/or headlamp for each person.  There is an amazing view from the end of the tunnel at the ledge.  You can see Randsburg one direction and the oval track of the Honda Proving Center in the other.  They say the Great Wall of China will last another 250,000 years but William's tunnel is expected to last 500,000 years.

The road wasn't too bad and most any vehicle can make it.

Here's a clue, continue up, around the cabins on the upper road that hooks left.  This will take you to the beginning of the tunnel.  We didn't know this and since the road was getting narrower we didn't want to drive further and risk not being able to turn around, so we parked in front of the cabins.

The cabins can be seen but there is a fence around them to keep out vandals.

We followed a couple of trail apps and bushwacked straight up from the cabins to what looked like a cut in the mountain.  I figured we'd see something up there.  My trail app showed a short trail from up there to what turned out to be the tunnel opening at the end.  We found a geocache just above the tunnel entrance as well.

It was a gorgeous view from up here and very windy.

Here's the tunnel opening (the actual end) where we started.

I was able to stand up while walking through but Steve had to duck in a few spots.

It's pitch black so you need to bring lights!

 

We were able to see minerals in some areas.

There are some cart tracks towards the (real) beginning as well as a couple of offshoots we walked down too.

And before we knew it, there was light ahead.

Here is Steve coming out what is actually the beginning of the tunnel.  Had we driven just a bit further up around that bend, this is the parking area right in front of the entrance!

We did it the hard way, but it was a blast and I'm sure glad we found out about this place!

You are really out here.  Pay attention to the road markers and write them down.  While it was fairly easy getting up here, we were so busy talking about it as we drove back down that I wasn't paying close enough attention and next thing we were both saying, "This doesn't look familiar."  It was getting to be long shadows and we didn't want to get stuck up here in the dark with no cell service.  We do have food, water, blankets and plenty of gas with us at all times, but it's not where I wanted to spend the night.  We backtracked a couple of times and found the turnoff we missed.

"Jawbone" on the hillside above the Visitor Center.

Before we left this fun location we drove further back in the canyon to see what other possible sites there were.  If you drive back past the other set of pipes, it really does get more beautiful the further you go.  The mountainsides were so colorful!  There is no cell reception back here though.

This little side road ended in the most colorful spot with a perfect campsite.  You'd be protected from most of the wind as well.

These water pipes are pretty amazing.  They go right under the road.

Back to our spot now so we can pack up and head to the other side of the Mojave Desert.