Broken Nose Alcove (Revisited)

My last hike to Broken Nose alcove was over 2 years ago (May 2018). My friend Mitch and I were talking about possible hiking locations, and we decided upon this spot. He was interested in seeing the arrastra that's in the area. When I mentioned the large alcove, that sealed the deal!

One of the first things we came across was what I like to call "hot dog rock". It looks like a giant hot dog bun to me! Look closely left of center and you will find something interesting. Lets take a closer look...

There's a deep hole in the rock with rusty cans and other trash inside. There used to be more. Back in the day, there was definitely a mining presence in this area, and my guess is that a miner or miners made camp nearby and decided to use this large hole in the rock as a convenient place to stash their trash!
 
Not far from Hot Dog Rock is this very interesting old shelter. It's most commonly referred to as the "Pinto Wye Hideout".

Someone has fortified this natural shelter with rock walls and a small cooking area. But who? And how long ago, and for what purpose? A logical guess would be miners, but it could have been someone more recently. Regardless, it's really interesting and fun to "discover" it!

 

Next up is the Pinto Wye arrastra. Somewhere I read that this is one of only two wagon wheel arrastras in the Western US, and this one is the best preserved. I took a picture of the information post next to the arrastra, which does a nice job explaining what it was used for.

Close up of the drag stone (used to crush the ore).

Not to far up the hill above the arrastra is a shallow mine. We simply MUST take a closer look!

 

Hello, Mitch! I ended up with lots of sand in my boots and pockets, and some cactus thorns in my pants, after climbing in and out of this steep mine. Anything for a photo, right??

As we follow a wash west, trying to make our way to the alcove, we come across this columnar rock. Not something I commonly see in Joshua Tree.

 

Ah, there it is. Do you see the broken nose? The alcove is on the opposite side and is a real challenge to access.
 

Getting ready to attempt my climb into the alcove.

Squeezing through the rocks on my way to the alcove.

Finally, you drop down this crack between these boulders to get into the alcove. It's pretty easy to drop down into the alcove. It's much more difficult to climb out again! I wasn't worried on this hike, since I had a partner. But on my first discovery of the alcove a couple years ago, I was hiking solo, and it was a little unnerving wondering if I would be able to climb back out. (Photo credit to M. Miller for the above three photos)

 

It's a large, spacious alcove. Perhaps one of the largest in the park. Like the Pinto Wye Hideout, it also has a small area for a fire, perhaps used to stay warm and to heat up a can of beans or a pot of coffee. Definitely not something miners built, as it's too much of a hassle to get in and out of on a regular basis. I was so intrigued with this alcove that I left a small "register" (coffee can with paper and pencil) to see if anyone ever visits this site. To my surprise, there was one person who signed my register! Just one person in the last 2 1/2 years. My only regret is, in my excitement, I forgot to take a picture of the sign in paper.

Mitch in his element

Not far from Broken Nose alcove is this nice shelter. As I approached it to to take some photos, I was surprised to find...

 

Two sticks propped up against the rock wall, just outside the shelter. Nature definitely didn't do this. These were placed here by a person. I remember reading about Native Americans placing "spirit sticks" outside their shelters, and many spirit sticks have been found during the early days exploring Joshua Tree for artifacts. It's much more likely that some hiker left these here as a joke or prank, but hey, you never know!

 

Looking back at Broken Nose alcove. There's nothing to give you size perspective in the photo, so you'll just have to trust me that it's very large!

 

Smile rock!

Like any great hike, you often see things that make you want to come back again. Somewhere past "smile rock", I noticed what looked like a cave opening. Impossible to tell if it's truly a cave, or just a shallow alcove, without making a challenging hike to check it out. And unfortunately, we are just about out of daylight. So you will have to wait for "Part II" of this post to check out the cave (or whatever it is!) after I make a return hike.

 

As we start our hike back, we are given a huge bonus: A full moon, which was just starting to rise as we got within about 1/2 mile from the car!

A helicopter heading north over the full moon. It's likely heading to the Marine Base just north of 29 Palms.
 

Thanks for stopping by.

Stay safe and stay healthy!!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.