The Bandit of Balarat

[Danger Dave]

Kind of a cool read if you've been out in the desert around Death Valley.

http://www.jasonkersten.com/Bandit%20of%20Ballarat.pdf

 

[TBulger]

Just read it, thanks for posting, love those stories.

 

[poncho]

Cool story.

 

[mothershipper]

I remember when that happened. We did a trip out to Ballarat just after that guy robbed the place.

 

[LHC30]

Thanks. Awesome on so many levels.

 

[jetboatperformance]

Good read !

 

[stephenkatsea]

Interesting story. As a very young man, my Dad once worked in the mines of Darwin CA, not far from Death Valley. He always said there were some very unusual, extremely independent people in that area.

 

[QC22]

Deep into this read now. We just did an overnight trip from Ballarat, up South Park Canyon and down Pleasant Canyon. I HIGHLY recommend this trip to anyone who has never been there.

This is Ballarat Store mentioned in the article:

 

[mothershipper]

Deep into this read now. We just did an overnight trip from Ballarat, up South Park Canyon and down Pleasant Canyon. I HIGHLY recommend this trip to anyone who has never been there.

This is Ballarat Store mentioned in the article:

View attachment 1240771

Are the telephone pole bridge and chicken corner still in decent shape?

 

[QC22]

Are the telephone pole bridge and chicken corner still in decent shape?

Elaborate. We may have seen that, but were only in Ballarat for a few mins before heading up to South Park.

 

[mothershipper]

Elaborate. We may have seen that, but were only in Ballarat for a few mins before heading up to South Park.

If you went up South Park, you passed up Briggs Cabin and just after that is the bridge and corner I mentioned.

 

[QC22]

If you went up South Park, you passed up Briggs Cabin and just after that is the bridge and corner I mentioned.

Yes. Did both. Chicken corner freaked the wife out pretty bad. She watched from behind! I thought you meant actually in Ballarat. Briggs Camp is pretty amazing all by itself. There were some shady characters staying in the upper one. They had a long bed square body pickup. We realized later that they went around Chicken Corner up and down with that truck while we were scared in Jeeps. Crazy.

 

[mothershipper]

Wow, I wouldn't go over that bridge with anything bigger that a Tacoma or an XJ. That bridge is only rated for 3 tons i think. when we came down from South Park canyon in the mid 2000's, Chicken corner was reinforced with nothing more than some chainlink fence buried in layers in the apex of the corner. My brother, who does not scare easy was white knuckled going downhill around that corner. At one point when we were guiding him, his right wheel was 20% in the air over the corner. That's a long way down..... It looks a lot better now. Everyone in the group walked from the corner down to Briggs camp. Not me, I was on my YZ250, which made it fun. There are some shady people that frequent that area which sucks for the overall experience. Did you drive the ridge over looking Striped Butte Valley? I'm jealous of the over night trip you did. There's to much to explore up there for the day trips iv'e done. Where did you stay for the night?

 

[QC22]

Yeah we looked into the Valley from a kind of culdesac type overlook deal. We camped near the top of Pleasant Cyn. There’s a cabin there but hasn’t been maintained. We slept in the Jeep and others in tents. Three vehicles, 6 adults and two kids. It was a really good trip.

 

[mothershipper]

Yeah we looked into the Valley from a kind of culdesac type overlook deal. We camped near the top of Pleasant Cyn. There’s a cabin there but hasn’t been maintained. We slept in the Jeep and others in tents. Three vehicles, 6 adults and two kids. It was a really good trip.

View attachment 1240843

That's the same spot I wanted to hang for the night if I did an overnighter.

 

[QC22]

That's the same spot I wanted to hang for the night if I did an overnighter.

Nice and flat. You could sleep in the cabin, but it was pretty beat up.

 

[mothershipper]

Another fun loop to do is from the road to racetrack then back to Teakettle junction through hidden valley then up and over Hunter mountain. I've wanted to do an overnighter on that trip to because of all that there is to explore in the Hunter mountain area. i know there's a cabin up in that area kind of like the one at Briggs to stay in. But since it's up in the trees it would be just fine to tent it too. We've done this trip a few times. Lots to see.

 

[QC22]

Another fun loop to do is from the road to racetrack then back to Teakettle junction through hidden valley then up and over Hunter mountain.

That loop does look cool. Thanks!

 

[thedan]

I sent this article to my father in law who 4x4s out there at the mines and cabins with a group of guys. One of his buddies replied with this:


thanks it was nice to read this again . I only had read a shorter version . The day we think we ran into him we had come down from the Briggs mine cabin to Ballarat and there was a huge group of law enforcement ( of all types) and i asked them if there was something we should know and they told us they were headed up to the Briggs ( he had taken food and belongings to someone that was there earlier in the week while they were on a hike) and other places to look for the Ballarat bandit ( gave us some background) turns out they were going the wrong way...lol.. . We left and headed to the Minnietta Mine cabin . At the bottom of the grade just before the road to the cabin he came driving up on a old trail type motor cycle with an empty milk box on the back ( nothing else , no gas , no water.). We stopped and talked with him. He said he was following the Nadeau history and roads ( what connected him later was a tattoo on his shoulder and description.) He talked with us and drove off towards the Highway. When we started up towards the cabin I looked back and at the crest of the hill on the road the front of a truck appeared and then backed out of sight . A sad tail for sure

 

[Dana757]

Desert Shadows is another good read. About Charlie Manson’s time out there.

This is the still Rocky had behind the store. Drank right out of the copper at 8AM. lol

 

[SoCalDave]

Excellent read, thanks!

 

[mothershipper]

Desert Shadows is another good read. About Charlie Manson’s time out there.

This is the still Rocky had behind the store. Drank right out of the copper at 8AM. lol

View attachment 1241215

First time I explored this area was when I was stationed in China Lake in the early 90's. I had a couple of buddies that were familiar with the history concerning the Manson gang and the area. Sad that Barker ranch has been mostly burnt down. But I have a feeling that the folks at Myers ranch just up the dirt road were tired of the attention and took things into their own hands. I have no recollection of it because I was not born yet when manson did the f-up shit he did, but whenever we did the Mengel pass trip with a side trip to Barker ranch, my Aunts and Uncles would be a bit on edge due to the fact that they remembered very vividly how scared everyone was when the La Bianca and Tate murders happened. Fun area to explore, but it sucks that a freak douche like manson and his fucked legacy and followers had to taint the place.