Copper Mountain

Barstow BLM

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Copper Mountain is north of the college named for it and its peaks wrap around the east side of Coyote Lake or Sunfair Lake depending on what map one is looking at. This generally dry lake bed is a better known spot to get some free dispersed BLM camping while visiting Joshua Tree National Park. It and Copper Mountain are also quite popular with the off roading crowd, so I expect this hike won't be quite as nice as the last one. The climbing might be easier. I've spotted a rough road up this side of the high point to aim at. It is a little hard to see when looking directly into the sun in the morning, but I'm sure it's still there.

The high point of Copper Mountain with a radio antenna and a few other bits and bobs is at the south end of the chain that make up this mountain.

A long, narrow bulk is at the north and some smaller bumps pop up in between.

Setting off across the flats, there are distinct vegetative zones. I expect I am walking around the edge of what can be lake, or at least muddy. To my left is a very thick and tall growth of things like grasses while the right has a scattering of bushes with shorter things that actually are grasses. It's not muddy now in spite of recent rain. Perhaps I need a different hypothesis for the growth patterns. I cross a neck illustrated as lake, something which does not exactly follow the depressed contours, and the mountain stands before me.

Copper Mountain looks easy enough from any angle. The left side ridge is tempting but the right side one is the one I'm aiming at.

I start up an edge with very little of a road. It turns out that comes up from the valley to the left. It is rough and rocky and probably made by people believing that being allowed to take their OHV there means being able to take their OHV off road there. It is a common erroneous belief. I haven't checked which way BLM falls on this particular bit of land. Believing the local lore is a good way to get in trouble when they decide to crack down. The only prints on it appear to be mine coming down, but I'm sure I wasn't here already. They're actually a little bigger than mine.

Mount San Gorgonio in the distance will not be giving up its snow any time soon. Bartlett Mountains are off to the right of it in the near distance. The different vegetation shows up as different dried colors in the lake.

The road comes up to meet the ridge. Across the lake bed, with its colored zones of vegetation, is the rest of Copper Mountain.

The park has some higher mountains.

The road gets a little better near the top where it flattens out. This is probably more to do with the easier terrain than that it was meant to be by anyone in authority. The high point is even flatter, having been bulldozed that way, and has some workers at one of the electronics sites. They came up the good road on the other side. I poke around looking for an azimuth for the High benchmark (seems to be gone as are the things it references for its placement) and tag a bit of rock left sticking up a little higher than the rest of the area.

Out northeast for desert and bumps and desert and mountains.

The snowy peak of Mount San Jacinto is just visible.

Next I'm off to the other peak where the benchmark that goes with the azimuth should be. I'm rather surprised to find it just outside a fence for more electronics. There is also a single reference mark left.

Getting High on Copper Mountain. There's an electrical panel where reference 1 should be but reference 2 has been left. Both station and reference are dated 1965.

And now I am off to ponder the other peaks. First a little way down the good road until there is a motorcycle track along a ridge heading north. This is mostly an easy walk interspersed with crazy, nasty downhill moments. They start picking the most up and down route and I decide I can do better on my own as I drop back to the flats.

The good road, which can still be a little rough, heading down the mountain.

The rest of Copper Mountain. My next target is the one on the right.

The flats are not what I am expecting. They are actually a little sand dune area. Roads go everywhere, so I have my pick of easier or more direct routes.

The local sandy bumps leading to the dry lake a fair way below, then the Bartlett Mountains and Mount San Gorgonio.

Down a sandy stretch to the further flung portions of Twentynine Palms.

There's a very steep road up one side of the mountain and a tamer one up the other. It looks like a few have tried the first and ended up dropping off it again. It is less ripped up above the fail point where only the capable or foolish downhillers may go.

Aimless swirling in the sand must be fun, at least for four wheels.

At the top of the next bump with even more Copper Mountain to the north.

I head down the road, but could have saved some downhill going along the ridge. No idea if it would have been easier. Travel isn't too bad along these ridges, but they're getting rockier. I've decided to go up one listed on Peakbagger, so I follow lines in the landscape up and double back to easier spots then follow the lines again. Eventually what looks like a tough little motorcycle track comes up to join me. It hasn't been used much and isn't hard to walk to where it misses the peak by 10 feet. I go to claim it and find it is actually only on Lists of John. Never mind. Still a nice spot.

Some good, strong cactus along the way.

This is a rather pointier peak on Copper Mountain.

I head down again with thoughts more of wandering the area. The north end of Copper Mountain is pock marked with mines, presumably copper, on the map. I make my way on road and cross country. If I knew better where the roads went, I would probably be able to just go along them. There are geocaches to string together and take entirely too long to look for up here, too.

Up through one pass, there's a huge high valley. Getting near the north side of Copper Mountain.

Steeply down to another valley. There's actually a distinct tunnel in the bump ahead.

Down somewhat near the tunnel visible above and there's suddenly a lot more mining when looking back. Tailings and tunnels are everywhere.

As I wander off the far northeast side of the mountain, there's huge talus to wander and climb through. I can't find the geocache that hides among it, but it certainly has more levels than I expect to look through. My attempts to get to the top are all thwarted. Finally I have to give up and head back down toward the lake and across it.

The sunset comes while I wander past more and more mining claims along a wash based road.

I take the road across the mountain as the light dims, then drop down to the dry lake. The lake offers roads and simple flat areas to aim and go. In the deepest areas, it is devoid of vegetation altogether, so walking toward the lights of a farm near my parking is easy. There are spots where the light reflects from standing water, so I avoid those, but most the area has firm footing. As the tall dry reeds start up, I start to follow the roads through them. It is easier than the battle with the stems. When I am too low down to see the lights, I go toward the dark shadow, this way and that, until back to the car.




©2019,2020 Valerie Norton
Written 19 Jan 2020