The mining camp of Lookout lies on a mountain top in the northern part of the Panamint Valley. Rich deposits of silver were discovered in 1875 and a small mining town quickly developed (50 dwellings, 5 saloons, 2 general stores). A 10-stamp mill and two 60 ton furnaces were processing the ore. Charcoal for the furnaces was hauled in by mule train from the charcoal kilns in Wildrose Canyon. A pack trail was constructed up the east side of Lookout mountain.
Surprisingly, that pack trail is still usable, so we decided to hike up to the ruins following this old trail. There is a 4×4 road that goes around the backside of the mountain and up to the ruins, but I’m told that it is quicker to hike the trail. The trail never gets very steep, but it is a continuous climb with lots of switchbacks.
Climbing the switchbacks up a barren slope.
We looked around a little on top, but didn’t explore extensively. The best remaining ruins are the stone basement walls of the general store. Almost all of the wood has collapsed.
The remains of the Lookout general store
After looking around for a while, we returned the way we came. There does appear to be an alternate trail down, perhaps so that the pack mule trains never had to pass each other on the narrow trail.
I had seen in my research that the Minieeta mine was on the south side of the Lookout peak, so we drove out to it. In retrospect this was probably a mistake. The road was very rocky. In a couple of places I had to make a couple of tries to find the correct line. I never scraped bottom, but I found it nerve-wracking. If I go back with my current vehicle I will park and hike in to see more of the old mining equipment at the site.
Cabin at the mine
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