If you want to know what to do in the Mojave Desert…do this! We had a blast. This site is located about 40 miles north of the town of Mojave and sits on BLM land.
Right about now you are probably wondering, “What is Burro Schmidt?” …so let us enlighten you…
William Henry “Burro” Schmidt was a miner who decided that it was too hard to transport ore up and around the mountain, so he came up with the idea to go through the mountain. For 38 years, Schmidt hand dug the passageway that we know as the Burro Schmidt Tunnel today. He used his bare hands, shovels, and small pieces of explosives, finally completing his vision in 1938. The roughly 2,000-foot-long tunnel starts at his cabin, which still exists today, and spits you out on a 4,000-foot ledge on the other side of the mountain. The Bureau of Land Management does not recommend that you go through the tunnel, but everyone does. So, OBVIOUSLY we did. The only advice we can offer is to bring a bright flashlight and/or headlamp! This tunnel is PITCH BLACK…You cannot see your own hand in front of you. Not only is that creepy as all heck, but the coolest part of this experience is seeing the inside of the tunnel. Since Schmidt did not mine while carving out the mountain, the ore still remains in the rock. It is absolutely beautiful!
The other highlight is seeing Schmidt’s cabin. We should say what’s left of it. Unfortunately, people like to steal and break things, but what is left is pretty cool to check out. He resided in this manmade compound from 1907 to 1946, and you can see how crafty he was. For being such an old cabin in a remote location, he had bookshelves, electricity, and even a gas tank. We imagine he lived comfortably. Our favorite part was looking at all the newspapers and food boxes nailed to the walls and ceilings. He appeared to have created his own version of insulation.
After surviving our trip through the tunnel and seeing what cabin life was like in the early 1900s, we headed back to the truck and fueled up for some biking. Since this portion of the desert is BLM land, you are pretty much free to do as you please, so we pulled out our stuffed Igloo, had lunch in the truck bed, and then put our helmets on and hit the dirt.
This area is awesome for biking. If you are new to the sport, there is plenty of open area to familiarize yourself with a bike. If you are experienced, there are tons of hills for you to cruise up and fly down. If you aren’t a biker, sit down with a bag of popcorn and catch a free show, because there will be tons of people testing their limits on their own bikes.
What we didn’t know is that you can set up camp here, so if the middle of nowhere appeals to you, bring a tent, start a fire, pour a cocktail, and relax.
We will likely return to this remarkable tunnel for dirt biking, but we think everyone should explore the tunnel at least once.
Rock On,
TnT