Ibex Springs/Talc Mines
FS3. Location/Access:(35o 46.244’N, 116o 24.638’W) This site is located approximately 9.8 miles north of Saratoga Springs and 5.3 miles west of Highway 127. Coming from Saratoga Springs, one needs to keep left at the junction of the main road back to the Harry Wade Road. This road is very sandy and four-wheel-drive is a must. This route gives you the closest access to the Saratoga (Ibex) Dune Field (see Site FS1). The other road, westerly from highway 127 near the microwave tower is shorter and of better surface. However, west of the junction of these two routes, there are several severe washouts which have at times been repaired by four-wheel-drive- clubs to a passable state for such vehicles.
Best Time: Any time of day in the cool half of the year.
Geology: There are a few old buildings left from this camp’s high point as a talc mining center in the 1950’s. You may even notice a few patches of asphalt left as roadbed on the way in. If you continue up the road, keeping the camp on your right, one can gain access to several talc mines further up the canyon. If you proceed up the road east of the camp, one can gain access to the diabase sills that are near vertical due to post-injection folding and faulting. A fair amount of non-native vegetation is still around the springs at the head of the wash near the camp. Geologically, the area is nearly identical to Saratoga Springs (Site FS2) (Wright, 1968).
