OCR Text |
Show j l j r . 1 , . I - - - - - I .v - , ' ,W 'Li-. - ...... . W-VV . f , , By JENNIFER PETERSON Staff Writer Sagebrush, dust, wind and heat what more is there to a desert? One trip along any of the four segments of the East Mojave Heritage Trail with founder Dennis Casebier and Friend of the Mojave Road, shows campers and travelers there's a lot more to it than that The EMHT project began in 1975 when Casebier spent eight days hiking a 130-mile segment of an old wagon road. The going was tough and, in spite of the beautiful flora and fauna one can find in the desert, the hard work, extreme temperatures and lack of shade and water has proven detrimental to the health of many a desert traveler. Casebier, a desert aficionado, and dozens, perhaps even hundreds of volunteers have spent years researching resear-ching the desert and finding a way to link several previously established estab-lished roads to create a 600-mile closed loop trail which would give botanists, historians, biologists, geologists ge-ologists and fans of the desert safe access to historic and scenic sites. Today, Casebier leads groups of desert enthusiasts along the trail are foreign to outsiders like myself. One petroglyph along the trail shows a couple walking hand in hand. Throughout our trip along the historic trail, we were constantly reminded of its endangered state as we passed through "Wilderness Study Areas.' Although the East Mojave is largely administered by the Bureau of Land Management as multiple-use, multiple-use, public land, it is one of many regions throughout the country which environmentalists say needs to be preserved. By establishing a wilderness, the desert would be closed to all motorized vehicles making travel in the area nearly impossible. im-possible. In areas where the climate is more favorable to foot travel, creating a large wilderness area may be more feasible. But, as Casebier pointed out, the Mojave Desert is a place where a day hike can turn into a deathly experience for those who go unprepared. f Another problem with the proposition prop-osition of establishing the Mojave as a wilderness area is that the definitions of a wilderness would require that no roads had ever been established, or remained in existence exis-tence in that area and the area be free of signs of man. Cars like this one once traveled the rough roads of the Mojave. Today, four-wheelers are a more convenient mode of transportation in this kind of country. (Clipper photo by Jennifer Peterson) t - ' .X:;- - v" M K x - -, I r - - . -! . X j among the various desert plants, including in-cluding teddy bear cactus, barrel cactus, joshua trees and desert palm, Casebier told of Fr. Francisco Garces, the first white man to use the Indians trails across the desert. Since the Indians had never seen a white man before, they had no reason to be aggressive and were actually amiable hosts to the , Spaniard. Garces asked the way to the Spanish Mission of San Gabriel and the cordial Indians led him across their desert, along their trails and past their watering holes. In 1826 the Mormon pioneer Jedidiah Smith left Utah in search of a route to California. When he came upon the Colorado River, Casebier explained, he also came upon the Mojave Indians. Again, the Indians were helpful in showing a white man across the desert safely, safe-ly, as Smith became the first ' American to travel overland to California. , But one year later, when Smith attempted to return across the desert, half of his party was killed by the Indians who were upset" about how they had been treated by other whites in that year. As a result of this attack, travelers and homesteaders were given shoot-to-kill orders if any Indian was caught in their sights. - v ? "I find it utterly amazing that if you or I were to live in those days, and were traveling along this road on our buckboard, and we saw an Indian we would shoot him dead,' Casebier mused. 'It didn't matter whether you were man, woman or . even a cliild-they just killed them like animals.' I After nearly one-half day exploring explor-ing the first segment of the trail, Casebier brings the group to Goffs, a nearly abandoned railroad town, once the turn-around point for helper engines bringing trains up the hill from Needles. In 1914 the Goffs Schoolhouse was constructed. Although it- was used as a schoolhouse for many years, when the shortline discontinued discon-tinued its service to Goffs, the town, and school, were basically abandoned. aban-doned. In the 1970s, Jim and Bertha Wold acquired the property and began lifting the sagging roof and , rebuilding the falling walls. Casebier took over the renovation renova-tion of the schoolhouse as the Wolds grew too old to remain out on the fairly desolate property. Today, To-day, the schoolhouse serves as a museum and the home of the most extensive library on that area of the Mojave. Nearby stands the Goffs cemetery and just over the tracks is" the Goffs General Store where home cooking, gasoline, soda, chips, canned goods and a little local color can be found. On the first Saturday evening of each month, the store acts as the dance hall as families and friends creep out of the desert and into the hall for a little dancing, singing and celebrating. Back along the trail is an interesting inter-esting side trip to Fort Piute. Although Al-though never an official fort, the post was ' manned by several soldiers who assisted wagon trains and other travelers through the canyon ca-nyon where they became easy prey for the then infuriated Indians. Soldiers seldom left their horses or mules outside because the Indians would capture the animals and eat them, leaving the soldiers trapped in the center of the desert with no mode of transportation. As a result, ; the horses and men lived within the same structure. The walls of the structure still Stand about two to three feet tall indicating the room divisions. , j A hike through the area brings the desert explorer into touch with the past. The area is literally littered v, ' with petroglyphs left by the Indians so many years ago. They show m desert creatures such as goats and tortoise, plants and markings which This unmarked grave in the Goffs cemetery, like many throughout this area, leave a lot for the desert traveler to ponder. (Photo courtesy of Kathleen Peterson) while lecturing over the citizens-band citizens-band radio about the history of the area. This writer recently joined one of those groups. The trail has been divided Into four segments of approximately 150 miles eachi'Armough the road is at r'point treacherous, four-wheel-drive is a must to aid in maintaining the road in good condition. . The first segment of the trail begins in the heart of historic Needles, once a prominent railroad town, and ends at the abandoned mining town of Ivanpah. Lined up outside El Garces, the old Santa Fe Railroad Station, Casebier oriented drivers to the dangers of the desert and the road before we headed toward a look at thepast. Tnis section of the Mojave desert between Needles, Ca.r Las Vegas, Nv. and Barstow, Ca. was once the home of the Mojave Indians whOx roamed the seemingly endless desert surviving on the scarce food sources available to them. As nomadic tribes, the Indians moved from one area to another throughout the year as food became available. As we drove along this road Joshua trees thrive throughout the Mojave. (Photo courtesy of Kathleen Peterson) However, the Mojave is covered with remains of farmsteads onil-ly onil-ly introduced by the Federal lJ i-stead i-stead Act, mine shafts and Xuier mining remains among other items left behind by people who have lived, liv-ed, worked and traveled through this section of desert. Perhaps the most evident remain-' ing damage done by humans are the result of Gen. George S. Patton's Desert Training Center established in 1942 for the preparaticV the military for battle. J In 1964, Patton's son and Ms men continued the onslaught aVxer-cise aVxer-cise called Desert SrrikeT?ft the desert littered with communication wire, tin cans, trails and tracks which may never disappear. Although sections of the desert still have signs of the presence of tiumans, there are miles and miles of road along which one sees nothing but beautiful plants, scen-sry scen-sry and, if the traveler is careful and lucky, wildlife. A trip to this historic, scenic part rf the southwest is well worthwhile before , the government closes it iown forever. y . , - H " ' ; i ,r " i ' The Goffs Schoolhouse was originally constructed in 1914. Today Casebier carries on the work of the Wolds In reconstructing the building for use as a desert museum. (Clipper photo ! by Jennifer Peterson) x |