What was Burro Schmidt Really Tunneling For?

William "Burro" Schmidt, the human mole, spent 38 years tunneling through solid granite to complete his "shortcut" tunnel. This is the story that leaves many questions, in particular, Why?

***check out THE map of every video***

Playlists:

_____________________________________________
burro schmidt, burro schmidt tunnel, el paso mountains, abandoned california, burro schmidt tunnel california, human mole, ripleys believe it or not, gold mine, silver mine, miner, mining, last chance canyon,

[MasonObscura]

***check out THE map of every video***

[dzlfreek]

Nearly 70 years since his death and people are still talking about him. Thats his legacy.

[AKAKiddo]

I spent 30 years working in a cubicle, accomplished less, and couldn't get anybody to go on a tour afterwards. Who's insane?

[_CAT-lgsr]

I went there once around 1987. Mrs. Seger told me the story of "Burro" Schmidt. She offered flashlight rentals for $2 or $3 dollars. I felt for the woman and gave her $20, her being out in the middle of nowhere with not many resources.
I believe she said he was from one of the Scandinavian countries, was diagnosed with TB and was advised to move to a drier, warmer climate.
He figured if he only had a shorter time to live, he would pursue his dream to go to the American South West for the climate and become a gold miner.
He found an outcropping of gold bearing quartz and began his journey of chasing the vein into the "mountain". She said he was able to find enough gold to sustain himself and his burros with enough left over to purchase dynamite, rails, an ore car and other basic mining supplies.
He never found enough to make him rich, he only found enough to keep the "gold fever" going and enough to pursue the endeavor. You've got to give the guy credit for persistence and determination! I only wish he had found his fortune and become rich, he certainly deserved to.

[SidetrackAdventures]

I went out there around 1999 and a woman lived in the cabin next to the tunnel. She organized tours of the tunnel for maybe $5 and there was maybe 10 people in it with us. She was in her 90s too, but she owned the property after Burro Schmidt and had no connection to him. Really cool to see it again.

[Le_Comte_de_Monte_Felin]

He had a choice between tunnelling and listening to someone nag him about drapes, carpet and 'why don't you get a better job'!

Yeah - 'Burro' Schmidt made a good choice!

[viaductman]

Thanks for the details especially the old topo map. As an old surveyor I visited the tunnel today 6-23-24. I like your poetic concept and my thinking and I would a quote from a Mark Knofler tune "it was my fate from birth to make my mark upon the earth" Burro Schmidt definitely did that

[higgs]

A friend and I walked through the tunnels more than 30 years ago. My friend knew the woman who owned the property so we brought groceries and household supplies for her.

[bryce]

This fellow reminds me of a story I read about a farmer in Saskatchewan Canada who for decades collected rocks in his field 8hours a day and arranged them to make a large wall .It was referred to as the Great wall of Saskatchewan . Why he did it we can only speculate, but as this man that loved tunnelling another picked rocks .I think that some people find them selves at a cross road in life and when their original purpose or desires are met or reached they just find something new to occupy their time even if it is strange to us .

[proto]

I ride my motorcycle, sail my boat, and play video games, among many other fruitless pursuits. It is human nature to expend time getting lost in activities that might have no practical end. This happened to be Burro's mindless bliss.

[slatanicslayerfan]

I went there about 20 years ago and am still fascinated by it. You only spoke of (and showed) the little shed, but there is a house there with a livingroom/bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. There are also interpretive signs that talk about his wife living there with him???

[EricksonEtc]

So many interesting things got built because of TB diagnoses... I believe that was the same reason Boyce Gully left his family, moved to Phoenix, and built the Mystery Castle.

[georgew]

If he was clinically insane spending his life digging a tunnel was probably far better than being locked away in an asylum--at least I think so. He had his burros and a purpose to get up every morning.

[UnclassicRoadTrip-hjpv]

Greetings from Burro Schmidt Tunnel. We enjoyed this historic and important place. Appreciate your work. I just posted a video of this unique tunnel. I started my own travel channel in January and look forward to hitting 1000 subs and the 4000 watch hours. I love the challenge and especially enjoy sharing this gorgeous country with as many people as I can. I have gobs of information and experience because I’ve traveled this country fulltime for over 31 years and been to over 250 National Parks, hundreds of State Parks and other public hiking locations. Safe travels to you. Edit on!

[krislarsen]

I read about Schmidt's endeavor... I had to go out and check that place out... that area has a few good stories... fun place to visit

[shazmosushi]

Woah this video blew up: 128, 000 views.

It's crazy how a some of your videos suddenly get picked up by the algorithm. I hope you're theorizing about patterns in the topic selection, script, or the thumbnails and title and then running the experiments on your future videos. Even modestly improving your hit ratio will greatly assist your subscriber count growth and give you more opportunities to gain more "sticky" patreon supporters to!

[BrunnerFoundry]

Today we spend our free time staring at our phones. I'm kind of jealous that Burro found something real he was so passionate about.

[wheelsmcdealsace]

you know when it is cold. a good days work will keep you warm.

[jackprier]

Great well-presented poetic story, thanks-

[paulmurray]

Great video, I have been there several times and formed similar opinions. We would sometimes walk through and return over the top, about the same effort needed.