# The Mystery of the Mojave **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 21, 2025, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-mojave/1025905 "2025-12-21T00:33:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-mojave/1025905/1 "2025-12-21T00:33:27Z")
I like to follow this guy, Steve. He goes to some interesting places. In this video, he discovers what looks like to be a bear canister with a set of numbers in it. I don’t believe it’s a plant by Steve. But these days, who knows. What’s the Mystery of the Mojave!? Link to video (skip to the 11:00 minute mark if you are impatient). [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/A5vp8TtGVcg/maxresdefault.jpg "A Mystery of Google Maps - What is the Yarrow Ravine Rattlesnake Habitat?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5vp8TtGVcg) And here’s a screenshot: [https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/f3d679d6-a055-4a5d-9aaf-6d878c3a7835\_l.jpg/](https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/f3d679d6-a055-4a5d-9aaf-6d878c3a7835_l.jpg/) As I was posting this, I stumbled across the apparent answer: > **[Post from Sidetrack Adventures](https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxIwrxeb07KoAKS1lArQ2vSSSvRh50Nv2t)** > > Hi everyone. I wanted to post an update from our latest video. In that video we found this canister near the top of a mountain in the Yarrow Ravine Rattlesna... But why? It’s not popular enough to be viral marketing, not enough people see it. Any ideas to the purpose of this? ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-mojave/1025905/2 "2025-12-21T00:37:32Z")
I screwed up the video link. [it’s here.](https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxIwrxeb07KoAKS1lArQ2vSSSvRh50Nv2t) ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-mojave/1025905/3 "2025-12-21T02:50:56Z")
👍 👏 Yeah! Steve is one of my favorite YouTubers. His series up Hwy 395 was epic. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-mojave/1025905/4 "2025-12-21T16:46:42Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Any ideas to the purpose of this? Humor and whimsy. Why does there have to be more to it? ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-mojave/1025905/5 "2025-12-21T16:53:04Z")
That’s a lot of effort for fun and whimsy. Maybe that’s the answer for song lyrics, but I’ll bet there’s more to it in this case. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-mojave/1025905/6 "2025-12-21T17:13:36Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > That’s a lot of effort for fun and whimsy. Not everybody needs an incentive like the need for YouTube content to climb a hill. Some people just like to climb hills, and some of those people have a whimsical nature. FWIW, back in my geocaching days cyphers were common among the contents. And we weren’t expending “effort” simply for the joy of scoring a find or hiding a cache. We did it because we liked hiking and exploring. It was just part of the fun of a good hike. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-mojave/1025905/7 "2025-12-21T19:52:38Z")
The alleged “rattlesnake habitat” is no longer on Google Maps. Clearly that name was part of the jest. Google Maps allows users to insert their own input. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-mojave/1025905/8 "2025-12-21T20:14:05Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Humor and whimsy. Why does there have to be more to it? Yeah, the phone booth on Zzyzx- came to be pure whimsy. One hiking group I belonged to long ago had a journalist that wanted to go along- so they brought along a whole cold watermelon and made like that was a common thing to eat at the end of the trail. In Outside magazine, there was a story about some guys (something like this has to be males, right?) brought a couch to the top of a mountain. Whimsy. But there is weird shit in that desert. Patton did maneuvers there, and you used to be able to see in the 70’s- tank tracks left over. We found a ww2 jeep in an arroyo, upside down, but otherwise not bad (engine compartment pretty smashed). We took the jeep tools. Looks like the GIs could have walked away- if they were lucky. A lot of semi-precious gems, we were doing rockhounding. A weird tunnel that went thru a mountain- it is still there- for whimsical reasons. Abandoned mines. Burnt out VW vans (VW van vs tumbleweed). Etc. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-mojave/1025905/9 "2025-12-21T21:49:29Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > A weird tunnel that went thru a mountain- it is still there- for whimsical reasons. Can you provide a cite that the tunnel is for whimsical reasons? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-mojave/1025905/10 "2025-12-21T22:00:33Z")
As a point of reference, this showed up atop one of our local morros about ten years ago. It’s full-cow sized and made of thick fiberglass. It must have taken 3 or 4 guys a couple of hours to get it to the top of Islay Peak. [![](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS7lzXfLBpy4WOK9N3jIiMpr4-c7r43YWfjnBLSHDxbTtvdjTIwMAKzVqqx&s=10) ](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS7lzXfLBpy4WOK9N3jIiMpr4-c7r43YWfjnBLSHDxbTtvdjTIwMAKzVqqx&s=10) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-mojave/1025905/11 "2025-12-21T22:04:23Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Can you provide a cite that the tunnel is for whimsical reasons? Thanks wiki- T_he historical **Burro Schmidt Tunnel** is located in the [El Paso Mountains](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Paso_Mountains "El Paso Mountains") of the northern [Mojave Desert](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojave_Desert "Mojave Desert"), in eastern [Kern County](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kern_County,_California), [southern California](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_California "Southern California")._ We paid our small donation, and walked thru it having had a long talk with it’s then owner. Altho it may have started as a mining tunnel, he just kept going, and it ends high on a mountain side, and the tunnel has no use whatsoever. Never did. > **[Burro Schmidt Tunnel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burro_Schmidt_Tunnel)** > > The historical Burro Schmidt Tunnel is located in the El Paso Mountains of the northern Mojave Desert, in eastern Kern County, southern California. > It is a 0.5-mile (0.80 km) mining tunnel dug with hand tools and dynamite over a 38-year period by William "Burro" H. Schmidt (1871–1954). in the El Paso Mountains of eastern California. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-mojave/1025905/12 "2025-12-21T22:21:18Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > As a point of reference, this showed up atop one of our local morros about ten years ago. That’s at the end of a road, not a long hike up to a trail-less spot in the middle of nowhere. And that’s irrelevant anyway. There’s not code to be deciphered on the cow. The paper in it actually say it’s a mystery. As of right now there’s no definitive answer. You’ve given your opinion. And that might be it. But it also might be a solvable riddle. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-mojave/1025905/13 "2025-12-21T22:22:56Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > The paper in it actually say it’s a mystery. And it’s not. That is what’s known as a prank. And watching that video, it didn’t look like a particularly arduous or long hike. It’s not in the middle of nowhere; it’s rather close to a highway. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-mojave/1025905/14 "2025-12-21T22:30:03Z")
For anyone interested in exploring the region I recommend the two-volume set of _“Bill Mann’s Guide to 50 Interesting and Mysterious Sites in the Mojave”_ ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-mojave/1025905/15 "2025-12-21T22:33:20Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > And it’s not. That is what’s known as a prank Your opinion is noted. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-mojave/1025905/16 "2025-12-22T00:42:07Z")
_“Weird scenes inside the gold mine_” is my cite ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-mojave/1025905/17 "2025-12-22T03:24:01Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But there is weird shit in that desert. Indeed. One of the weirdest is the [Mojave Megaphone](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mojave-megaphone). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-mojave/1025905/18 "2025-12-22T03:42:18Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Indeed. One of the weirdest is the [Mojave Megaphone](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mojave-megaphone). Good one, and in that vein [https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/travelers-monument](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/travelers-monument) Also a number of those old “airmail arrows”. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-mojave/1025905/19 "2025-12-22T03:52:06Z")
I think my favorite adventure in the Eastern Mojave was a Thanksgiving week hike to Fort Piute. The ruins of the fort were cool, but the best part of the hike was through Piute Creek Gorge with its narrow, picturesque rocky walls, petroglyphs and dense willow forest. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-mojave/1025905/20 "2025-12-22T06:59:45Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > And that’s irrelevant anyway. There’s not code to be deciphered on the cow. > > The paper in it actually say it’s a mystery. > > As of right now there’s no definitive answer. You’ve given your opinion. And that might be it. But it also might be a solvable riddle. Dude, you _gave_ the absolutely accurate, correct, definitive answer in your own OP. It is a copy of the “secret code” from the movie _A Christmas Story_. > **[Be Sure to Drink Your Ovaltine – Robert Lerner](https://robert-lerner.com/be-sure-to-drink-your-ovaltine/)** [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-mojave/1025905.md?page=2)