Burro Schmidt's Tunnel: A Visitor's Guide
In the early 1900s (accounts give 1902 or 1906), William Henry Schmidt started digging into a ridge in the El Paso Mountains, north of California City. He kept at it for more than three decades, mostly by himself, using hand tools and some blasting. In 1938 he finished a tunnel about 2,087 feet long. He said the point was a shortcut for hauling ore to a smelter, but a road had made that shortcut unnecessary well before he got through. Soon after breaking through, he sold the tunnel and moved away. He died in 1954. Desert Eccentric tells the rest of his story.
How to get to Burro Schmidt's Tunnel
The tunnel sits on Bureau of Land Management land in the Last Chance Canyon area. You get there on dirt roads off Highway 14 and Red Rock-Randsburg Road. A high-clearance vehicle is recommended, and storms can wash the roads out. Bring a strong flashlight, water and a spare tire. There's no lighting inside. The far end opens onto a view across the valley.
As with any old mine working, you go in at your own risk. Don't go in alone, and stay out if the BLM has posted it closed.
Sources: Bureau of Land Management, Ridgecrest Field Office; Los Angeles Times, "Digging His Tunnel Was a Life's Mission" (January 3, 2002); Visit California, "Burro Schmidt Tunnel."
Illustration: AI-generated, artistic interpretation.