Located near Red Rock Canyon National Park in the Mojave Desert, you will find tunnel built by William "Burro" Schmit. While driving along the 395, a small dilapidated sign will lead you to his former camp. Schmit was a loner (some say hermit) prospector living over 32 years of his life at Last Chance Canyon, single-handedly drilling a tunnel nearly 1/2 mile through solid granite. He is known as "The Human Mole" by Ripley's Believe It or Not. Schmit moved to California, the land of sunshine and promise, after six bothers and sisters died of consumption in the state of Rhode Island. When questioned regarding why he was building the tunnel, his only answer was he needed a short cut to bring his gold ore to market. When a new road was built making this unnecessarily, he continued on with his grueling work. Sadly, there is no known record of any gold strike that ever existed. Although he never found gold, he certainly found his drive. He broke ground with pick, hammer and hand drill and moved granite with canvas bags. Later he managed to install a mining cart and utilize dynamite. After 32 years he finally broke through the other side of the Copper Mountain and his job was complete. Yet, oddly enough, shortly after completion, he left his mine deeding it to a fellow miner. He then packed his bags and moved to a nearby town until his passing in 1954. Many believe he was a crazy hermit and few understood his way of life or motivation, but that never deterred him. He never married nor had children, he shared his life with the desert.
His camp remains today with his house that appears barely standing. Although vandalized, his walls display their original decorations of newspaper articles and advertisements. I would love to someday take a stroll down his tunnel and appreciate his hard labor of love? obsession? :)
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