Burro Schmidt was a determined fellow and spent 32 years of his life burrowing through the rock to create a shortcut to bring gold ore to the smelters near Mojave. Burro never found any gold ore, but he did finish his tunnel.
Schmidt was entered into “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” as the “human mole” and featured the tunnel on Huell Howser’s California Gold Series. Today, the tunnel is somewhat of a tourist attraction even though it is located atop the El Paso Mountains.
Burro Schmidt started digging the tunnel at age 36 and did not complete his endeavor until age 68. During the summer, he worked as a ranch hand. And when the weather cooled off in the winter, he would load up his mules with supplies and head to the last chance canyon to work on his tunnel.
Schmidt burrowed out the entire tunnel with hand tools. He would use a jackhammer to drill holes into the rock face and fill them with dynamite that blasts out one section at a time. He would use a hand-pushed cart along rail tracks to clear the rubble. This process was repeated over and over again for thirty-eight years.
Burro Schmidt lived in a cabin near the tunnel entrance, and to save money, he would use newspaper and magazine clippings as insulation from the cold desert nights. Burro’s house is still there; however, it has suffered at the hands of vandals.
Bring a flashlight and plenty of water if you plan on making this trip and going into the tunnel. The trek through the tunnel takes about 30 minutes, and the ceiling is high enough that most people do not have to duck. Once you break out on the far side, you will be treated to a spectacular view of Fremont Valley and the Koehn Dry Lake below.
The Bureau of Land Management has taken over ownership of the property, although there is a dispute over the owner. There are no gates or guards, so just about anyone can access the property willing to journey up the dirt road, EP15.
A nice little side trip just off Burro Schmidt Tunnel road is the Holly Ash Mine site. This mine produced pumice from 1939 until about 1958. The material was hauled off to a nearby railroad siding and taken to Los Angeles to be used for cleaning and construction products. The tunnels are shallow and exciting to explore. There are also some remains of mining artifacts scattered around the site.
Nearby, Red Rock Canyon has exciting places to explore and offers overnight camping facilities. If you continue on the paved Redrock Randsburg road, you can hook up with Highway 395 and stop by and explore the nearby Ghost Town of Randsburg before returning home.
Burro Schmidt Tunnel is located in the high desert near Red Rock Canyon State Recreation, approximately 60 miles north of Mojave along Highway 14 and Old Garlock Road. There is a sign at around mile marker 50 with a sign pointing the way to the Tunnel.
Trails are branching off all over the road to the Burro Schmidt Tunnel. However, the road is marked and easy to follow. After about eight miles of bumping along a dirt road, you will arrive at Burro Schmidt’s place. Four-wheel drive is not needed, but a plus for this trip.
I went to the tunnel the first time in the early 80’s and there was a lady there who I’m assuming was the lady mentioned above. She was answering questions and giving a tour of Burro’s house. What I distinctly remember are the LIFE magazines that were insulating the ceiling of his dwelling. If memory serves me correctly the issues were from the 40’s or so roughly.
Also of note was that Burro nearly blew himself up on more than one occasion, as to save money he would use the minimum amount of fuse to get the job done and sometimes he misjudged the time needed to get out of the tunnel. The tunnel itself does have some pretty short ceiling areas, at least if you are above about 5’5″, so bring a flashlight. My father gouged his head a couple times when we went through without a light one time. Not much chance of getting lost, but it’s a little eerie without something to illuminate the mine.
Also the mine has at least one side tunnel heading left, but I believe only goes about 100 feet. If you do go without a light you can see light coming from the entrance right up until it curves, then darkness for a ways and then you can see exit light.
Hello Mike
Thanks for the information. You definitely want to bring along a flashlight if you plan on walking through the tunnel.
Gordon
Daytrippen.copm
I have been going into the last chance / mesquite canyon since the early 60’s. there were quite a few people living in there. some had family that had been living in those canyons since early 1900s. I met Toni who was Burro Schmidts wife who lived in the cabin shown there. I don’t know when she died but she was living there in the early 1990s the last time I saw her. I just want the people to know it was obamas EO and the blm that ran out all the people who were living in that area when they took control of several million acres from the People of the United States and turned them into National Monuments.
Found this Obituary for Toni
Looks like they were not married, just neighbors.