Lost Horse Mountain, Points 5,196' and 4,957' via Lost Horse Trail, Joshua Tree NP

Hike three high points and view the historic Lost Horse Mine along this western Joshua Tree NP trail.

Related posts:
​Hike Mt. Minerva Hoyt, Joshua Tree Wilderness
​Monument Mountain, Joshua Tree NP
​Pinto Mountain, Joshua Tree Wilderness
Desert Plants photos

Starting in Quail Wash.

Trip Stats
Overview:  Make the Lost Horse Loop hike even more interesting by bagging a few peaks along its route to get a feeling of the vastness of Joshua Tree NP and wilderness, with views of San Jacinto Peak in Palm Springs.  Check out the plaque that commemorates Lost Horse Mine stamp mill, one of the best-preserved of its kind in our national park system.
Coordinates:   Lost Horse Mountain = 33°.56'13.74" N  116°.08'10.01" W.     

Distance/Elevation gain:  8 - mile loop, net 1,600' gain.  Highest point is Lost Horse Mountain at 5,305', lowest is trailhead at 4,572'.
Difficulty:  Moderate Class 1 on loop trail; moderate Class 2 scrambling to three high points.
​Permit/Fee:  $30 for entrance fee for Joshua Tree NP, good for 7 days.

Trailhead QR code

Navigational aids:  Trails Illustrated Joshua Tree National Park #226 map.
Date Hiked:  4/10/22
Geology:  The Lost Horse Loop trail and mine is located in granitic quartz biotite gneiss (metamorphic) related to Pinto gneiss age 1.7 billion years ago - some of the oldest rocks in California.  Biotite is dark mica mineral.  The Lost Horse Mountains are one of only three occurrences of basalt in Joshua Tree NP.

Cattle rustlers and Gold Mining in Lost Horse Valley
If you were a cattle rustler in the 1870's southwest, you would look for a remote and hidden area with enough water and good stands of trees and plenty of native grasses and other vegetation to feed your "stock".  A place where the nearest law enforcement officials were at least 50 miles away.  For the McHaney brothers, this place turned out to be the higher, western side of what is now Joshua Tree National Park, in Lost Horse Valley and Hidden Valley.  Bill McHaney's gang took cattle from Mexico and Arizona to hide them in other Joshua Tree valleys as well, then returned stolen horses.  

Johnny Lang also drove cattle into Lost Horse Valley after his brother was gunned down in New Mexico.  He woke up one morning to find his horse gone.  He tracked it to the McHaney's place but was told to leave the area.  Luckily, Lang met "Dutch" Frank who had discovered a mining claim, but was afraid to set up mining operations because he was also being hassled by the McHaney gang.  Lang bought the rights to the mine and called it "Lost Horse", after enlisting three partners to protect the claim against claim jumpers in 1893.  The Lost Horse Mine ultimately produced 10,500 ounces of gold and 16,000 ounces of silver.  Today, the Lost Horse Mine stamp mill is considered one of the best preserved in a National Park service unit.

We hiked three high points along this loop.  The most interesting summit was Peak 5196 because of the columnar basalt at the top.  In a land dominated by granite, this is one of only three occurrences of basalt.  From its summit, just northeast of the trailhead, are extensive views of Queen Valley to the east and Lost Horse Valley to the west.  A few days before, we had hiked Mt. Minerva Hoyt, named after the woman instrumental in President Franklin Roosevelt's proclamation to designate Joshua Tree National Monument.  

Joshua Tree National Park:
​A History of Preserving the Desert

Sign at trailhead.  We hiked the trail counter-clockwise.

Our Hike in the Mojave
As the road to Lost Horse Trail climbs to around 4,000 feet elevation in the western, Mojave desert section of Joshua Tree NP, the amount of Joshua trees, junipers and yuccas is more prevalent compared to lower, dryer Sonoran desert Pinto Basin to the east at 1,700 feet.  Although it's a moderately-used trail, you get the feeling of remoteness surrounded by mountain ranges. The trail circles Lost Horse Mountain, trekking through Quail Wash and over juniper and shrub-covered hills darkly punctuated by scattered gneiss boulders.  

Point 4959
We made a short climb to our first and easiest summit, Point 4959, at 3.9 miles into our counterclockwise loop hike on Lost Horse Trail loop (right).  It was our first good view of Malapai Hill, a black mound surrounded by the flat yellow sand of Queen Valley (see photo below).   Was this 15-million year old cone of basalt a volcano or not?  It could have erupted at the surface, or it might have intruded and solidified underground and the biotite granite rocks into which it intruded may have eroded to expose it.

Lost Horse Mountain
Lost Horse Mountain, our next summit, was easily hiked up its northeast ridge from the saddle on Lost Horse Trail where it begins to descend to the remains of historic Lost Horse Mine.  From its summit, we could see a hazy view of snowy Mt. San Jacinto looming over Palm Springs, where Ray Wilson and I created the Cactus to Clouds Challenge hike in 1993, an epic adventure that gains over 10,000 feet in one day.  We met a hiker at Lost Horse summit who recommended Point 5196 near the trailhead.  Back on the trail, we checked out the Lost Horse Mine and its well-preserved stamp mill.  A rusted pipe extends toward Lost Horse Spring 3 miles away.  

Point 5196
Point 5196, 7.1 miles into on our loop, is the most interesting because of the tilted and shattered columnar basalt on the top.  This volcanic dome is one of the three occurrences of basalt in Joshua Tree, the others being Malapai Hill and near Pinto Basin to the east.  What's unique about these basalt columns is their thin white coating of calcium carbonate formed by the evaporation of water from the joints between columns.  Some of the basalt in the Lost Horse Mountains is derived from  the Earth's mantle, 30-50 miles below the surface.
A few names and messages are scratched into the summit's basalt boulders.

​By the time we got back to the trailhead parking lot, it was full.  Another fun day in Joshua Tree's Mojave desert.  The three extra summits were the "icing on the cake" -  worth the effort.​

 Time and Space in the Desert
Joshua Tree is an awe-inspiring land shaped by Earth's events spanning the Proterozoic alteration of pre-existing rocks into gneiss, to the five Proterozoic through Cretaceous intrusions of plutons that produced gold and silver and its famous sculpted rocks, to the relatively recent faulting that uplifted mountains and blocked canyons.  A landscape that has a tumultuous origin, but a relaxing presence.  Dark and rubbly mountains spring out of flat, buff - colored valleys.  A slight haze of dust still hangs in the air after last night's wind storm.  I stand looking over it all - breathing space.  Back straightens, chest raises, diaphragm brings in creosote and sand-scented air.  To some, this expanse and space feels intimidating; to me it feels comfortable.  To some it looks formidable with its hot, dry stillness and sharp- spined cacti; but I admire their motivation to survive under the hot, penetrating sun.  To walk in browns and buffs for awhile and then suddenly come upon magenta and bright yellow cactus blooms is cause for celebration.  I remember liking these ragged and gangly Joshua trees and contrasting smooth, rounded boulders the first time I saw them 38 years ago.  I revel in the sublime space and quiet that calms my mind.  Grateful for the feeling of being connected to this land.

"Time and space. In the desert there is space. Space is the twin sister of time. If we have open space then we have open time to breathe, to dream, to dare, to play, to pray to move freely, so freely, in a world our minds have forgotten but our bodies remember.  We remember why we love the desert; it is our tactile response to light, to silence, and to stillness."
        -  Terry Tempest Williams

Never Stop Exploring!

From summit of Point 4959, looking at Malapai Hill.

Beautiful 1.7 billion-year old gneiss - and hedgehog (?) cactus.

Circling around Lost Horse Mountain (on far horizon) to hike up its northeast ridge.

Remains of a very sturdy fire place and bed frame.

Our first summit - Point 4959.

​Three types of rock:  great example of gneissic banding - a textural lineation of minerals in metamorphic rock created by pressure and intense heat (foreground).  Malapai Hill in middle of valley created by magma.  Valley rock is monzogranite.

Looking at Lost Horse Mountain from the slopes of Point 4959.  You can see Lost Horse Trail as it climbs to the saddle on its northeast ridge.  Hike that ridge to the summit.

Lost Horse Mine stamp mill

Columnar basalt

5/28/84 "Hi There James"

Some cool stuff on the trail.

Summit of Lost Horse Mountain

From Lost Horse Mountain's ridge:  a view of Lost Horse Mine.

Lost Horse Mine stamp mill through chain-link fence.

Walking up to Point 5196.

Beavertail cactus just before the blooms.

Columnar basalt on Point 5196.

References
California Geology. 1998.  Department of Conservation, Division of Mines and Geology.
Dilsaver, L.M.  2015.  Joshua Tree National Park:  A History of Preserving the Desert.  Prepared for National Park Service, Joshua Tree National Park, Twentynine Palms.
Joshua Tree Geology Tour Road.
​Joshua Tree National Park Geology - Rock Types.  Digital-Desert:  Mojave Desert.
​Trent, D.D.  Geology and History of MInes, Joshua Tree National Park.