Explore the Golden Bee Mine

74485 National Park Dr,Twentynine Palms CA 92277

04 March, 2023

Description

What do honeybees have to do with gold mining? Find out the answer on our hike to the site of the Golden Bee Mine, located in the Hexie Mountains in Joshua Tree National Park. This moderate hike is approximately 6 miles out and back with some cross-country hiking required. The last section follows a rocky old mining road with a steep, 800 ft. elevation gain at the end. It’s worth the effort if you feel up to the challenge! At the Golden Bee Mine site, we’ll see the mine entrance, as well as the remains of some equipment, mining camps, and the mine office area. We will learn about the history of the Golden Bee mine, the miners who ran its operation, and about gold mining and processing as it was typically done in the Golden State. The area that now comprises Joshua Tree National Park attracted cattle ranchers in the mid 1800’s as a place to graze cattle. Mining activity began in the region around the 1870’s reaching its peak during the 1920’s and 1930’s. Gold was the main objective, but quantities of silver, copper, lead and other metals were also mined. A few active claims lingered into the 1970’s before mining activity ceased. Approximately 288 mining sites are located within the current park boundaries. Some consist of small exploratory digs while other sites still have extensive shafts, abandoned mining and milling equipment, tanks, concrete, wood and stone structures. Activity Level: Hard Hike Details: Explore the Golden Bee Mine, Spring 2023 Participant Waiver: Please fill out and return the participant waiver within seven days of your event to [email protected] (digital signature or photo of signed doc is ok) To receive your $10 off Membership Discount, please enter your membership code at the checkout! learn about your hiking guides, pam and tom Pam Kersey, Ed.D., MSN, RN is a Desert Institute "lead" volunteer, an archaeological site steward, and has also volunteers as a camp nurse. She has completed four marathon hikes for children's cancer fundraising. She has camped, backpacked, and hiked for many years including summits over 154,000 feet 5 times. She has taught hiking classes for women, and enjoys others learn how to safely appreciate camping and hiking. She recently retired from a career as a nurse and as a science and math dean. Tom Scanlan is a telecommunication professional and a part-time college educator. He loves the outdoors and has ten years of experience as a Boy Scout Leader. As a hiking enthusiast he has climbed Mount Whitney twice. He has taught others of all ages how to backpack, camp, and hike. Tom is an active volunteer archaeological site steward for the Joshua Tree National Park and Cleveland National Forest and for the Desert Institute.