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.

19 Comments

  1. King Croc on August 13, 2021 at 6:42 am

    man i just watched a video about some guys finding a sunken sub (after purposefully seeking it for years but) and they called the state or whatever to pull it out to investigate how it sunk. the old henley civil war submarine or whatever
    anyways. they found like prestine rings and coins in there. im just thinking like if i stumbled upon it. i’d find an underwater welder and cut it open and find those gems and sell em for millions LMAO
    hopefully you find something in these places one day that’s worth that. maybe an old jon henry railroad hammer yaheardme? yaheardme? big jon henry! he beat the train with just his fists! a black hero lol

  2. Lars Mohler on August 13, 2021 at 6:51 am

    Nice finds. Thanks for taking us along.

  3. Ralph Patrick on August 13, 2021 at 6:51 am

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

  4. shawn burton on August 13, 2021 at 6:54 am

    Been hunting piute mtn for years never seen those mines.

  5. Steve Laminack on August 13, 2021 at 6:54 am

    That is pretty amazing, 90% of the people would have walked over the Arrastra and either not even seen it or for sure wouldn’t have known what it was, great find and great observation.

  6. PHARRAOH on August 13, 2021 at 7:00 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.

  7. Sue Girling on August 13, 2021 at 7:05 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💖

  8. bobsg35 on August 13, 2021 at 7:05 am

    Looks like that place gets a lot of traffic.

  9. Out West Metal Detecting on August 13, 2021 at 7:05 am

    I use to live in Kernville, we have friends that have been living in the valley since the late 60’s. They have property in the Piutes, we camp every Labor day weekend, it’s beautiful up there. Thanks for taking us along.

  10. SoCal Outdoor Explorer on August 13, 2021 at 7:09 am

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

  11. Cheycasters on August 13, 2021 at 7:11 am

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

  12. Robert Hardwick on August 13, 2021 at 7:17 am

    Id be on the watch for mountain lions!

  13. Nicholas Swanson on August 13, 2021 at 7:19 am

    Holy shit mine #3 had a ton of skeeters!

  14. DaveTheCoffeeGuy on August 13, 2021 at 7:26 am

    I heard they was gating only a few mines deemed unsafe how is that ruining the area?

  15. No Angel on August 13, 2021 at 7:26 am

    Please keep an eye out for any freshly dug areas. There is two missing toddlers from California City. I believe they are buried in an abandoned mining area or in the desert near California City or Bakersfield.

  16. ronnie cardy on August 13, 2021 at 7:28 am

    Nice cabin 👌

  17. Steven School Alchemy on August 13, 2021 at 7:29 am

    Cool bananas!

  18. Kevin Brennan on August 13, 2021 at 7:38 am

    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..

  19. Dozer1642 on August 13, 2021 at 7:41 am

    Too bad the forest service cares more about closing mine shafts than they do about maintaining the roads that allow access to public lands.

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