As part of our trip to the desert we decided to join the Southern California 4×4 Geocachers on a run. The target was the Dale Mining District, just north of Joshua Tree, and the run was suitable for our stock 4×4 (though it pushed its limits at times!) The district has a huge number of caches as well as some interesting mining ruins, so I knew it would be a fun day.
The Dale Mining district supported over 1000 people at its height in activity, mostly miners with some families. What was still left in the area was shut down during WWII to focus the equipment and manpower on other activities. There are mine shafts and old equipment scattered all over the hills and mountains, and we tried to see as much as possible during daylight. This was a 4×4 run for a reason – don’t try these roads in a sedan! We could barely make some of it in our Trailblazer. Know what you’re getting in to if you head out here, and go with a group – it’s not a good place to get stranded and AAA isn’t going to come get you.
I believe my total cache count for the day was 78, my total photos taken was 512, and miles driven was 90+. I’ve pared down the photos to 60 or so which can be found at the link below. Also included is a tpo file of our track.
