A Wild Loop Through Death Valley: Saratoga Spring, Pongo Mine, and Old Ibex Pass

The desert doesn’t care if you’re here. It doesn’t change for you, doesn’t soften. It will chew you up, spit you out, and let the wind erase your tracks. That’s the beauty of it. And if you’re the type who likes your hikes with a side of solitude and rusting ghosts of industry, then this loop from Saratoga Spring through Pongo Mine and Old Ibex Pass is a fine way to spend a day; or, if you mess up, lose yourself forever.

The Route

Starting at Saratoga Spring, a lush, defiant little oasis in the belly of Death Valley, the wife and I headed past the Road Closed sign cresting the small hill that suddenly reveals the life-giving waters that have slaked the thirst of many weary desert traveler, both man and otherwise. Scattered nearby are the remnants of old stone cabins, built in the late 19th century and later repurposed by miners and schemers chasing fleeting fortunes. A blacksmith shop, a store, even a short-lived water bottling venture, each left its mark, now crumbling under the weight of time and desert indifference. Today, only the walls remain, half-fallen and sunbaked, silent witnesses to a century of hard living and harder lessons.

Using the old 1940s USGS topo, the wife and I push northwest toward Pongo Mine, following a collection of old mining roads, sometimes obvious, often not, occasionally missing altogether. There is one main road as you leave Saratoga Spring, but just past the turn for the Saratoga Mine (great side trip) where the map shows BM 192 you'll need to pick one of several options.

We found the middle fork and followed that until it eventually petered out so we veered easy and joined a more modern, albeit still abandoned, road. All along this part you are walking up the eastern fringe of Buckwheat Wash which drains the Ibex Hills and Talc Hills into the Amargosa River watershed. This section isn’t some well-manicured park trail. It’s a wander through time and rock, picking through faint tracks and washes, past scattered bones and tumbleweeds.

A little after BM165 which sits at the tip of a finger coming off the hills, you'll veer right up the western wash of Old Ibex Pass. The old ore bin of the Pongo Mine will come into view pretty fast. The Pongo Mine itself is nothing more than a collection of skeletal remains—wooden ore bins, a collapsed headframe, rusting machinery that once clawed talc from a single compartment incline shaft that is now sanded in (and has coyote tracks down it). This was Ernest Huhn’s dream in the 1930s before it fell to the Southern California Minerals Company and then, inevitably, silence. 12,500 tons of talc later, they packed up and left in 1955, leaving behind their junkyard for the desert to reclaim. Interestingly, these claims, along with several others in the Ibex Hills, were owned by Pfizer Inc. until finally being acquired into DVNP.

From here, descend from the Pongo Mine down across the old bulldozer cut prospects and rejoin the wash. The climb up to Old Ibex Pass is a slow, steady grind and we didn't see any traces of the road that once passed through here. The pass, once a crucial link for miners hauling their finds out of this unforgiving land, now offers something much better: a view. Stand at the top, let the wind slap your face, and take in Death Valley sprawling below and gaze upon the Ibex Hills running like some great spine in the landscape.

Old Ibex Pass isn't actually the divide pass and you'll continue climbing to the northeast for some time. The goal for this loop is to hug Ibex Hills, keeping them off to the right, without too much up and down. Eventually, this will result in a southeastward turn and passed the point labeled BM603 you may or may not find an old southeast leg of the road wye to follow. If you stay directly in the wash here, you'll add a little distance while hugging the other leg of the wye. In both case, you'll eventually hit a south flowing wash, drop in here and head south in the deep wash. The current Ibex Valley Road is actually a bit further east but on this hike we're following the historical one.

We're now descending down from the pass, following the original road down a deep wash until it eventually joins with the modern Ibex Valley Road near the abandoned well (labeled Water on the old topo). Today this well is just a sand filled steel casing poking out of the ground. Now just follow the modern road south then southwest, headed back toward Saratoga Spring, winding through forgotten claims and rust-streaked geology. You'll likely encounter a confused backcountry tourist or two along this section. To your east are the amazing Ibex Dunes and behind them the Saddle Peak Hills (both great trips for another day).

This hike isn’t for everyone. If you like your trails paved and your signs clear, stay home. But if you want to walk in the footprints of old prospectors, feel the desert’s indifference, and taste a little adventure, then lace up your boots. The pass is waiting. The rusting ghosts won’t mind the company.