Forgotten Death Valley trip

Through the years while looking for new and exciting places to explore, I came across this old forgotten silver mining area in Death Valley.

Its name is Panamint City hidden in the southern mountains of Death Valley. The information I acquired stated that this silver mine and town, at the height of its boom of production in 1874, boasted a population of over 2,000 citizens. Could it be I may have stumbled upon another location hidden somewhere within our Sierra Nevada Mountains of California?

Joining me on this adventure was a seasoned hiker from San Jose and she was just as excited as I to solve this mystery of hidden treasures.

Drive State Route 168 from the town of Ridgecrest to the mining town of Ballarat. Here, you will find a few old structures and foundations remaining from its heydays of the 1890s through World War I.

The partially populated town still boasts a general store that displays artifacts of this general area of previous mining. The proprietor has the classic name of Rocky and of course in the past he was a retired silver miner.

He is very knowledgeable of the area’s history and those who in the past worked within this area.

To locate the trailhead to Panamint City, you have to follow a one-lane desert road west that follows the canyon to Chris Wicht’s Camp. This is where to start following the trail and runoff stream that wind its way down through Surprise Canyon.

Keep in mind this is a class 2-plus hike. There are two separate springs that create the water source. Each will flow for a few miles before disappearing into the rocky base.

It is important to be careful of the areas where the canyon narrows. You may have to scale the sides of these narrow slots to climb over the large slippery hunks of quartz that nature has polished over time.

Along the trail are pieces of mining machinery and two old, weather-beaten vehicles. One looks like a “Ford” half ton pick-up and a two-ton “Diamond T Dump Truck,” maybe the victims of a flash flood?

Who knows what date they arrived at this final resting place. Directly above them, showing off their colors, are the minerals embedded within these canyon walls, accented by the bright sunlight. On the canyon floor the wild flowers add a colorful pathway through the rocks.

We started our hike at an elevation of 2,600 feet and set up our first campsite at 5,400 feet. The first day, we hiked more than six miles through the blistering temperatures over 90 degrees. At the second water source we decided this was far enough for our first day.

If my map is correct, we should arrive at Panamint City before 10 o’clock the following morning.

After a few hours hiking the following morning, in the distance I could see the first visible structure. It is the dark stone chimney pointing upward into the sky from the ore smelting building.

All that remains of this huge building is its foundation. Along the sides of the canyon were the remaining foundations of the original town that was established in the 1870s.

There were two structures built in the 1950s still in livable condition. One was located on the canyon floor and I was informed by Rocky it was open to those hikers who managed to arrive in one day and had to stay the night.

The second structure is located at a higher elevation on the north hillside looked like a personal residence of someone still working one of the open mines. Throughout the hillsides you can still see the tailings from many of the original mines.

We were not alone at this abandoned location as looking down on us were four wild burros. One burro was located on the north canyon wall and three others were on the south canyon wall.

They were tame enough to pose for us, but when we tried to approach them they disappeared out of our line of sight. These burros are descendants of those animals abandoned by prospectors from the past. In fact they are located throughout the mountains in Death Valley.

At the height of Panamint City’s boom around 1874 and with a population of over 2,000 citizens, it was very successful. But in 1876 a flash flood destroyed most of the town.

Silver was its main source of income and when that was depleted, the town started fading away. A few miners worked the area until the major flash flood of the 1980s. This raging water removed parts of the existing road.

Today, the only access is by foot and if you decide to attempt this hike into Panamint City, be in good condition and plan your hike in the spring or late fall.

I was so impressed by this adventure that I’m planning another hike in late October of this year — after Death Valley cools off from the summer heat.

Tony Krizan describes himself as an “adventurer” and he explores the Sierra Nevada range on a regular basis. He can be reached at tonykrizan@hotmail.com