Exploring Abandoned Mines in California's Piute Mountain Range

Exploring Abandoned Mines in California's Piute Mountain Range

The Piute Mountains are part of the Sequoia National Forest in Kern County, Ca. They lie between the Kern River to the west and the Mojave Desert to the east. Large scale gold mining in the Piutes began in the late 1860’s and early 1870’s but faded out around the turn of the century. The great depression brought on another flury of activity and many old mines were reopened as low buget operations.

In this video, I show you four old gold mines and one dolomite mine that I found during a camping trip last July. At the mine sites I found two adits, a miner’s cabin, and a stone arrastra. Although these mines are pretty small, they were still very enjoyable to explore. I hope you guys find them as interesting as I did.

11 Comments

  1. Cheycasters on March 3, 2021 at 11:47 pm

    Cool! Iv’e never heard of that arrasta?? El Paso’s too Piutes! Thanks.for theses vids…

  2. ronnie cardy on March 3, 2021 at 11:51 pm

    Nice cabin 👌

  3. Kevin Brennan on March 3, 2021 at 11:51 pm

    I will never understand the mine of a vandal or thief. What a wonderful asset { NOT }, to the community they are.. At least the place, has not been shot to shit..

  4. Ralph Patrick on March 3, 2021 at 11:58 pm

    I’m so jealous! My age and health prevent me from exploring. Thanks for sharing!

  5. Lars Mohler on March 4, 2021 at 12:06 am

    Nice finds. Thanks for taking us along.

  6. shawn burton on March 4, 2021 at 12:07 am

    Been hunting piute mtn for years never seen those mines.

  7. SoCal Outdoor Explorer on March 4, 2021 at 12:08 am

    Another awesome video. What are your resources that you use to find your locations?

  8. Sue Girling on March 4, 2021 at 12:14 am

    Hi, that cabin was a cool find, I wonder how old it was ??. those mines although small were still interesting. Thank you for sharing, much love. xx💖

  9. PHARRAOH on March 4, 2021 at 12:16 am

    just yesterday, I was watching Andy Griffith and it was the one where he and Helen Crump get stuck in a old mine when it collapsed and Barney organized a crew to dig them out.

  10. Steven School Alchemy on March 4, 2021 at 12:30 am

    Cool bananas!

  11. Robert Hardwick on March 4, 2021 at 12:40 am

    Id be on the watch for mountain lions!

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