Wandering in Nevada - March 2022 - Part One

 

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Solitudius Maximus

 

Our plans changed because of a coming heat wave. Temperatures were predicted to spike 20° above normal. Spot forecasts for where we planned to explore in Death Valley had highs in the mid nineties. Too hot. With the truck and camper ready, we instead headed into Nevada with no destinations in mind. We know our adopted state, Nevada, so well, where to go would easily come to us.

 

Traveling in Nevada offers other side benefits. We filled up with gas at Smith's in Gardnerville. The price per gallon was a shocking $4.69. Shocking because gas at home is $5.89, a difference of $1.20 a gallon. We also wisely filled our 3 gallon red rotopax gas container.

 

We turned off of highway 208 onto an unmarked dirt road. The Lady, as always, had our maps on her lap.

"This is the correct road." she assured as we wandered thorough and along fences as we headed onto public land. 

"It's up on the base of that mountain." The Lady pointed up the long, narrow road running to the southwest.

 

 

 

 

 

As I've pointed out in past narratives, our maps are marked up with many waypoints. The one we now headed for I found on an old USGS list of geothermal sites - Wilson Hot Springs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was no surface water but several fumaroles venting steam. Wilson Hot Springs was a small but interesting place.

 

We topped off the gas tank in Hawthorne at the Chevron station on the north end of town. The posted price was $5.19, but with $0.20 off with "Safeway Gas Rewards"  we kept to our joking goal of keeping gas under five bucks a gallon on this trip.

 

"Let's head over into Gabbs Valley," the Lady suggested as we pulled out of the Chevron station. "You know where I want to camp tonight!"

Yes, I did.

 

"What's this mark on the map?" the Lady asked. It was now one in the afternoon as we cruised down the wide graded dirt.

"An old mining camp," I answered. "There's a turn off into a small wash. The road leads up near a high saddle in the mountain range. Want to check it out?"

"The turn is right here," The Lady pointed out the narrow opening in the graded berm. "Let's see what this road is like."

 

After a mile, the road turned up another, smaller, drainage. We passed several old ore bins, head frames, and ruins of long gone buildings. We found a perfect spot to park, a place with a view.

 

 

 

 

 

After spending an hour or so wandering the high prospect holes and old stacked mining claim markers, we returned to the truck and drove down to the central operations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We noted the inside construction of the building. The walls were lined with newspapers and magazines for insulation and then covered with decorative wallpaper.

 

 

 

 

 

The faux crown mounting was a very "upper crust" touch.

 

 

 

 

This was the most impressive of the remaining ore bins.

 

 

 

 

 

We returned to the main route and dropped into Gabbs Valley but then turned up another road that climbed to the southeast into an adjacent broad valley. Speed Goats (Pronghorn) watched our progress as we passed.

 

I knew where the Lady wanted to camp for the night. A little over a year ago we had hiked up a long canyon on the east side of the Gabbs Valley Range. At the crest of the range we encountered a narrow dirt road that climbed to the crest from the opposite side. The Lady said at that time, "I wonder if we could drive up this road and make it up here to camp sometime?"

 

Today was the day we'd find out. The road started up with an extremely steep climb. It was very narrow as we wound through tight pinyon and juniper "Nevada Pinstriping" the sides of the camper. There was no place to turn around if we encountered a wash out or impassable spot. A lot of backing downhill would be involved if we did.

"It's looking good. Keep going," the Lady directed. "I think we're near the top!" At the crest I turned on a short spur road to a high point. I slowly maneuvered the truck until it felt right.

"The camper is perfectly level right here," I stated as I stopped the truck. "How's this for a 'Julie Camp'?" The Lady was thrilled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The scent of sage, pinyon, juniper, and wet earth hung in the air, rich with life. It was a perfect spot for us. A cold wind reminded of our success in avoiding the heat wave. Coyotes sang as we wandered in the evening light.

 

 

 

 

 

Quiet is a precious thing. With observing fellow travelers, we are convinced most are afraid of quiet, nervous and unsure in a world bereft of the noise of man. Their noise and racket in a place like this is worse than a loud fart in church. The Lady and I yearn for quiet and seek out the sounds only nature can provide. On this trip the Lady coined a phrase to define what we search for and embrace - Solitudius Maximus.

 

The call of a Western Screech Owl woke us as dawn came. We wandered all the nearby highpoints with our morning coffee and took in the vistas. A pair of Mountain Bluebirds shared their home with us as we sat out and ate our simple breakfast.

 

We packed up, carefully drove back down the road, and embarked on the day's wandering. What would we find?

 

Our first spot was the Gillis Springs Cow Camp. The corral is still used by the current cattle grazing permitee. Two old buildings remain, a cabin and a shed.

 

 

 

 

 

The cabin is well kept and welcomes visitors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A poem is framed and hangs on the wall.

 

 

 

 

"Guest you are welcome here. Be at your ease...

Get up when you're ready, go to bed when you please.

Happy to share with you such as we've got.

The leaks in the roof and the soup in the pot.

You don't have to thank us or laugh at our jokes.

Sit deep and come often, you're one of the folks."

 

This was such a nice expression of backcounty hospitality. How are visitors repaying this hospitality? The outhouse has been destroyed, literally shot to shit.

 

 

 

 

 

The surrounding landscape was colorful with several prospect holes for cinnabar.

 

 

 

 

 

This location is a few miles from the old cinnabar mining camp at Poinsettia.

 

North of Rhyolite Pass, we wandered about the ruins of Midway. This appears to be a mid 1800's way station between Mina and Rawhide. The structures were stacked rock construction built into the hillside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next spot we stopped at has been "on the list" for many years - the ruins of Wedell Hot Springs on the edge of the Gabbs Valley playa.

 

 

 

 

This is all the information I've found on this old resort -

 

"The earliest known white man was thought to be William Woodruff, a surveyor, who stayed there for a short period. In 1910 during the Rawhide boom, Mike Wedell and his wife built a health spa for the use of the hard working miners who needed to 'get the kinks out'. Mike put up some cabins and bath houses for the use of his customers, who came to enjoy the waters of the spring, and he also had mining claims and a few cows to help him and his wife Anna survive. On September 8, 1925 Mike died from gangrene in his foot and Anna was left alone. In spite of her discouraging circumstances she decide to hang on, catering to bathers, working the mining claims, chickens, cows and her garden. Protecting her chickens and garden produce from varmints was a never ending battle for her. Anna loved the desert and her home and lived there until 1952 when she sold the property and at 84 years old returned to Wisconsin to be with family. Anna lived to be 103 years old."

 

I do not know the source or accuracy of the information above. I would expect that Anna's garden was not here in this alkaline soil. The mention of Mr. Woodruff, a surveyor, caught our attention because here we found one of the oldest dated benchmarks we've seen.

 

 

 

 

 

There are remains of large buildings and the insulated piping that once supplied them with hot spring water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One large source is fenced and it supplied water to outdoor pools.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The hot spring water - from my USGS geothermal list - is stated to be 145°. It is hot and care should be taken when visiting this site. A soaking pool - pictured in the above photo - has been recently set up here. The water flowing into the blue round tank is almost scalding, dangerous to drop into. A yellow container sits close by.

 

 

 

 

 

It appears the directions are to use the water in the yellow container to cool down the water in the blue tank to a safe temperature and you should refill the yellow container with hot water (the only source) and allow it to cool down for the next soaker. The water has a slight sulfur smell.

 

The pool was used the night before by one or two people, most likely driving a Subaru (Geolander tire thread, very common on new Subarus). They had a dog that pooped around the pool that was not picked up. They enjoyed large strawberries, biting off the stems and spitting them onto the ground. We put the time of their visit as the night before based on the relative "freshness" of the strawberry stems and dog poop. It reminded us of that outhouse back at Gillis Springs.

 

Backcountry travelers, you can do better. Please do.

 

A fence line remains along with several invasive salt cedar trees.

 

 

 

 

 

There is also a new geothermal well recently put in at this site by Ormat.

Ormat has a large geothermal generating plant close by in Gabbs Valley along with many others across Nevada. Other wells have been put in since our last visit to this area a little over a year ago. With the continuing switch to "green" energy, I expect that Wedell Hot Springs will soon be gone, replaced by a large generation plant.

 

Ormat is currently in a battle over the generation plant they are building at Dixie Valley Hot Springs. The Dixie Valley Toad - that exists only at that site - has just been listed as endangered and the local Indian tribe claims the hot springs and meadows as a sacred cultural site.

 

Recently Ormat has been required to restore the Jersey Valley Hot Spring that was de-watered by their nearby Jersey Valley generation plant.

 

Nothing is without consequences.

 

Our wanderings in Nevada were just beginning. Our next stop was at what we consider the most beautiful place in Nevada.

 

The story continues, please click here for - Part Two.