6.5 Miles
YEA!!! Sunshine in the Desert near Palm Springs. Ken took me to Joshua Tree National Park for my 50th Birthday so I could finish my 50 hikes in the climate I LOVE.
Our first hike was a 6.5 mile round-trip to the Lost Horse Mine. Back in the 1800's, California was the place to be for gold and silver mining. The story of the Lost Horse Mine is that Johnny Lang and his son drove their cattle into the valley when there was nothing but cattle and Indians.
One night while camped, the Lang's horses got away from them. The next day while searching for their horses they came across a gold claim owned by another man "Dutch" Frank. Dutch was being threatened by cattle rustlers and was fearful for his life. He readily sold the mine to the Lang's for $1,000.
The Lost Horse Mine eventually produced 10,000 ounces of gold and 16,000 ounces of silver (worth approximately $5 million today) between 1894 and 1931. The picture above is what is left of that mine.
After visiting the mine, we headed down the mountain to an area that had many Joshua Trees. They are not the most beautiful trees, but for the Mojave Desert, they were very spectacular. We had a great time on this first day of desert hiking. OH! how I love the desert sun!!!!
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