Hike to Hensen Well Mill & Pushawalla Pass, Joshua Tree National Park, California

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Hensen Well Mill most likely did custom milling for the local mines in the area and is known to have been in operation as late at 1914. The hike to Hensen Well Mill starts at the trailhead for Pinyon Well Canyon, located at Stop #15 of the Geology Tour Road. The hike should include a stop at Pinyon Well, which is located 1 miles up a canyon. Continue up the canyon about 50 yards and look for bedrock mortars, indication Native Americans once spent time in the area. The next site along the trail is is a large blue rock with the wide pinkish band. Next to it is hard-packed dirt, but is actually pavement - part of the old Pushawalla Canyon Freight Road. At the 1 3/4 mile mark the canyon comes to a fork. Up the right fork is The Guzzler, a device that provides water for animals to drink. This one is different in way of mcollecting water and the size of the catch system. The water flows down the sheet metal, into a rain gutter. And from the rain gutter, a pipe drains the water into the large structure with water tanks and then onto a small trough. This particular guzzler was constructed in 1978 by the National Park Service, mainly to provide a water source during drought months for Bighorn Sheep. About 1/3-mile beyond the guzzler, the wash will take a turn directly south. Next will be a few small cairns that mark a side trail that heads west from the wash to Pushawalla Pass, where there is a number of interesting mines and Pushawalla Plateau. A little further on is another rock cairn that marks another mine. Look for other markers along the wash to indicate other sites. Continue on for a little and start loooking for the old road on the side of the wash. This leads to Hensen Well Mill. There are five stone building ruins I was able to locate at the site. This hike to Pushawalla Pass follows traces of the old Pushawalla Canyon Freight Road and an old mining town. Past the seeping water, the trail ascends to Pushawalla Plateau for excellent views of the Coachella Valley and Palm Springs. The pass is about 3 miles from the trailhead for Pinyon Well Canyon. Pushawalla Plateau-bound hikers will look for an old mining road about 200 feet east of the pass. The rough, very steep road passes some mining ruins and leads a mile to the 5,200-foot plateau.

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