A Ride Through the North Plomosa Mountains.

 

The North Plomosa Mountains.

The Plomosa Mountains are a range of mountains east of Quartzsite that run from Highway 72 in the north to I-10 in the south.
They are bisected by Plomosa Road which goes from Hwy. 95, 10 miles north of Quartzsite to Bouse on Hwy.72.

I decided that on this Wednesday Ride we would tour the north Plomosa’s which are those mountains north of Plomosa Road.

Getting There.

We met at the fire station at 9:30 There were only three jeeps in the group this time. A lot of the people have left here to go home for Christmas or had other things to do today.

Once we were gathered, we headed north on Hwy 95 to Plomosa Road where we turned east.
We drove east until we came to the turn off to go over Quin Pass; we turned left and stopped to air down.

Into the Mountains.

After airing down we drove over Quin Pass…

into the valley on the east side of the mountains.

We drove across the valley to a collection of red rocks on the west side.

In the Wash.

After walking around the rocks for a while we headed back about half way across the valley where we turned left into a wide wash heading north. There is a trail that follows the west side of the wash but the wash is more fun.

There are a few large rocks in the wash that make it interesting.

There are a few interesting Iron Tree skeletons in the wash.

The Big Hole.

After driving in the wash for a mile or so we climbed out of the wash and followed a trail that goes by what we call the Big Hole.

This is an abandoned mine shaft that is maybe a hundred feet deep or more.

It is interesting to me that through out the desert in this area there are many shafts like this one. Most of them are either fenced off or covered. This one is probably one of the most dangerous of the bunch but there is no fence or even a sign to let you know it is here.

We spent a little time here, walking around the area and dropping rocks in the hole to estimate its depth. 

Another Hole.

We left the Big Hole and continued our tour of the area.

About half a mile north of the big hole there is a rough trail going up a steep hill to the left. Near the top of the hill one can see a pile of tailings.

I drove up the hill to see if there was enough room for the other jeeps to come up. There was a large flat with enough room for all the jeeps to park.

On one side of the flat is another deep open shaft.

The trail went up to the top of the hill so some of us walked to the top to check out the view.

Lunch.

After leaving this shaft, we continued heading north. Eventually the trail crossed a wide wash with some trees for shade and room for us to park so we decided that this was a good place to have lunch.

Fun Rocks.

After lunch we continued north on the trail. I was looking for a particular rock formation that I have been to before.
We wandered around in the general direction of the rocks.

Eventually I saw the rock formation I was looking for so we headed for them.
Once we got there we walked around…

investigating the natural caves in the rocks.

Some of them showed signs of past habitation.

Heading Home.

Once we were tired of climbing around the rocks we started our return trip.
We headed southwest on a trail that goes around the west side of the mountains.
This trail goes through some sand dunes which makes it even more fun.

Along the way we noticed this hawk sitting on a limb.

Dinner at The Grubstake.

Once we got back to Plomosa Road we stopped to discuss where we would go for dinner.
It was decided to meet at The Grubstake Saloon at 4:30 for a good fish dinner.

That was the Wednesday ride. It was a lot of fun with a good meal at the end.