This is the Burro Schmidt Tunnel and Camp
Information Site.
"Friends of Burro Schmidt Tunnel"
Part of the newly formed "Friends of last
Chance Canyon"a California 501.c.3 non-profit - Please visit
- TFLCC.org
for more info.
Caretaker Position Available -
Special opportunity for alternate caretaker
at a depression-era mining camp in the El Paso Mountains, Mojave
Desert, California. Not for the tender-hearted. Volunteers deliver
drinking water and propane. Generator available, cell phones
work nearby. Older RV is onsite. Docent responsibilities / meet
& greet lots of visitors along with lots of quiet solitude.
Gold prospecting is available and Ridgecrest CA (population 35000)
within 30 miles. The site offers beautiful views and is at 3500
feet. Small stipend is available. 4wd or high clearance vehicle
needed. Startup non-profit organization is now formed. Go to
www.bickelcamp.org/caretaker.html
for details. Retired, personable & friendly, couples?...responsible
people who love the desert & respect it's remainig human
history please - Contact Chuck at info@burroschmidttunnel.org
Thanks!
"We have such opportunities within our
grasp, and it is almost our
obligation to the people who struggled before us, to grab those
opportunities, and not retreat ...or sink into inaction."
The above is part of a 4th grade California State
History school project.
William Henry "Burro" Schmidt single handedly dug
a 2087 ft tunnel through the solid rock of Copper Mountain. Burro
Schmidt Tunnel is located in Last Chance Canyon within the El
Paso Mts of our CA Mojave desert. This one-man 38 year effort
which began as a gold mine in1906 has recently changed hands
and the result has been the loss of some amazing desert history.
Will Burro Schmidt's old cabin and other artifacts be saved?
Will the legacy of Tonie Seger, the "Tunnel Lady" die?
This website is dedicated to bringing those people together who
want to help protect what is left and to help develop a plan
with the owner so that these people are not forgotten and their
history and legacy is saved for future generations to learn from
and enjoy.
High atop the El Paso Mountains, above Last Chance Canyon,
exists today a monument to one man's determination and perseverance.
William Henry Schmidt, better known as "Burro" Schmidt,
spent 38 years accomplishing the task of hand-drilling a tunnel
nearly a half-mile long. Over those 38 years....Click to READ MORE
******
This website will include information on William Henry
"Burro" Schmidt as well as Tonie Seger and Mike Lee
who also resided at the site. The website is dedicated to the
hope of saving the remaining structures and artifacts that exist
at the site today.
The tunnel is located just beyond the cabins and up
around the hill a hundred yards or so. You can't see the tunnel
entrance from the camp so just keep on walking up and around
the hill. Please watch your head as well as your footing. There
are many places where you can easily trip or bonk your head.
There are no lights! Bring a couple of good strong flashlights.
Enjoy! Don’t Destroy!
There may be a need for future potential Burro Schmidt
Tunnel caretakers. If you are an individual and or couple who
would be interested in caretaker/docent responsibilities and
you are interested in finding out more about this desert opportunity,
please feel free to contact us and we will let the appropriate
entity know about you.
Please! Respect this property and the memory of those
who spent their lives here. Do not disturb or remove items from
this historic place.
If you have an artifact from the site and would like
to return it anonymously, please, we will accept these items
no questions asked and make sure they are stored and cared for
until such time that they can safely be displayed at the site
by the owner.
Please keep in mind that the opinions expressed here
are our own and are gathered through research derived from many
sources including reading existing articles and speaking with
many different people. Actual facts may be different and the
text here may change or lag behind other opinions or facts as
we discover new ones and as the situation between the entities
involved changes and we find out, hear about or are alerted to
them. This is an enthusiast web site driven by our desire to
help, not an official one.
The Burro Schmidt Tunnel and associated historic cabins
and out buildings are located in Last Chance Canyon in the El
Paso Mts. of the Mojave desert in Southern California. About
40 miles north of the town of Mojave, west of the mining districts
of Randsburg, south of Inyokern and a tad east of the border
of Red Rock Canyon State Park.
Get on our volunteer list! For more information and
how to help preserve the history of the structures, the artifacts
remaining and the tunnel at the Burro Schmidt Tunnel site, please
contact us.
