Clark's Pass Hike

Last week I mentioned I was considering a desert hike. Well, I ended up doing it. I had to drive to the location, but I didn't see another human during the hike, so there was zero risk of transmitting or receiving a pathogen. Reflecting back, it probably wasn't the right decision. Had I injured myself and required medical attention, I might have been pulling valuable resources away from someone else. And I don't want to be encouraging people not to follow the rules in their neck of the woods. Thankfully, no injuries and all went as planned. But that will be it for now. I'll be sheltering in place and doing my best to stay healthy. I hope you are doing the same.

With Joshua Tree National Park closed, you have to get creative to find places to hike. For a while now, I've noticed a large wash on the north side of Highway 62 whenever I drive out to east JT for a hike, and thought it might make for a nice hike.

The red arrow in the map above points to the opening of the wash. It looks like if you follow the wash far enough, you come to an area that looks sandy, which is unusual in the middle of rocky hills like this (see map below).

I'm calling this the "Hidden Dunes" hike because of what looks like a sand dune area in the middle of these rocky hills. An interesting place to explore, so join me as we go check it out!

After parking the car, I hiked down into this broad wash that parallels Highway 62. A pretty wash with some nice smoke trees. I saw sunlight reflecting off something underneath a creosote bush, and was amazed to find this old bottle.

What an interesting old bottle and a nice deep amber color! It's common to find broken glass out in the desert, but intact bottles are rare. As I thought about "why would this old bottle be here?", I recall seeing what looked like some old dirt roads in this wash. The location of this old whisky bottle might literally have been right along side the old road or trail that snaked through Clark's Pass prior to Highway 62 being constructed.

There are few markings on the bottle, other than what look like ornate roses, vines, and two flat areas for labels, which have long since eroded away. After some googling around, I learned this looks like a Four Roses whisky bottle. There is nothing on the back of the bottle. The bottom of the bottle says T M REG US PAT OFF and PAT PENDING, so not much help.

There is what looks like a nail or piece of metal sticking out of what's left of the cork stopper, which is deep in the neck of the bottle. I have no idea what this piece of metal is doing. It's firmly in place, as if the metal was embedded in the cork to reinforce it. My limited google searching hasn't turned up anything yet, but I did find a wonderful blog on the topic: www.bourbonguy.com/blog. Yes, definitely a Four Roses bottle, no doubt about it. But I wonder how old it is? On a whim, I sent some photos of the bottle to Eric Burke at the blog. I was surprised and pleased when he answered me right back with some very helpful information. Here's what he had to say: 

This is an interesting bottle you have there. And not just for the nail that was sticking out of it. My initial thought was that this was a  Prohibition Era bottle, because I’ve seen a lot of them with that embossing pattern from that era. But then I remembered that during Prohibition you were limited to pint size bottles and this look to be larger than that. From the size of your hand, I’m guessing it is quart size. 

I know that it isn’t from between the end Prohibition to 1964 because of the lack of government mandated information in the glass. And after 1964 Four Roses was using clear glass bottles. 

So that leaves us with Pre-Prohibition. The scar on the bottom and the quality of the seam on the side points toward this being a machine made bottle. The first bottle making machines were introduced in 1905, so this is after that. But they weren’t common for a few more years. Probably around 1910. I do not see a volume marking in your photo. Those were mandated on all bottles made after September 1914. So that gives us a range of 1905 to 1914 (1919 if it has the volume marking that I am missing) and a probable narrowing of the range of 1910-1914. 

I have no idea about the nail…though it did originally have a cork stopper. That’s a cool find you have there.

Thanks, Eric! So this is a Four Roses whiskey bottle that was made sometime between 1905 and 1914. Over 100 years old! In my minds eye I can see some old grizzled prospector traveling by horseback along this road (perhaps more of a trail back then) with a pack mule, swigging from this bottle, and chucking it in the bushes, cursing that it's empty. 

This bottle has been a major diversion, but a fun one. Let's get back to the hike!

A little ways up the wash, I come across this 4"x4" post in the ground. Very weird. My first thought... could it be a grave marker? The post is weathered, so it's been here quite a while. It's solid and doesn't budge when I push it. Someone went to a lot of trouble to bury this post.

As I continue my hike, I find two additional posts. They are all identical looking, just different locations. All three are along the east side of the wash. They don't seem to be marking a boundary. If they were up on the rocky hills, I would suspect a mining claim or marker, but these are in the wash. I'll add this to my long list of desert mysteries that will likely never be solved!

I saw no hiker footprints in this remote area, but was disappointed to see someone had recently driven a quad up the wash. This area falls within the Sheephole Valley Wilderness, so no motorized vehicles of any kind are allowed.

My first view of a small sand dune area. 

It's fun photographing the dunes and trying to capture the sand patterns.

As I started my hike up "Hidden Dune", I had to stop to catch my breath and decided it's a good time for another photo. This one is a look-back at the wash I had just hiked up. 

Another look-back shot. The thing I will remember most about this area is the interesting mix of sand dunes and boulders.

Another interesting find: This particular area in the photo above is FULL of quartz rocks, large and small. The photo doesn't do it justice, but they are beautiful rocks. The more I hike in the desert, the more interested I become in geology and rocks. I've heard that "gold follows quartz" and gold, in fact, can be found in quartz. It nestles in the veins or cracks and can sometimes be seen as small particles or scales. Who knows, may be I've discovered a gold mine!!

But someone's been here before me. I found four of these pipes on the ground. They look to be about 1/2" in diameter and 10" long, and capped on each end. I have no idea what they are. I checked in with a knowledgeable friend of mine and he didn't know either. If you think you might know what they are, I would love to hear from you!

Here's a good view of 'Hidden Dune'. While it turns out not to be a true dune, you can clearly make out an area of sandy soil surrounded by rocks. This is as far as I got on today's hike, but there's a lot more to see on the return hike. Check back next week for more photos. I'll leave you with this late afternoon sky shot.

A single pair of headlights heading east on Highway 62.

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Thanks for stopping by. Stay safe and stay healthy!