2000+ Miles Exploring the Great Basin

[OTG_1]

Day 1: Virginia City to Stillwater Wildlife Refuge
Miles traveled: 142

Starting on October 11, I met up with a small group of folks Virginia City to head out on the 2,000+ mile Great Basin Heritage Trail over the course of 14 days. The trip would take us from Virginia City up to the Jarbidge Mountains, out through the Bonneville Salt Flats and to Eureka (UT), to Great Basin NP, and through the central NV Basin Ranges like the Toiyabes, and finally through the Walker River watershed along the 395 corridor.

Rolling into Virginia City at 8:30am, the rumble of loud trucks could be heard around town. Driving through the main strip, a large inflatable archway denoted the official start of the race. Taking a quick tour of town, I met up with our small group of folks.

In order to make up a bit of town, we opted to skip the normal route and instead took the rather trail over the pass that goes by the old Como mining camp. This section of trail was incredibly rocky and rather slow going. Finally making it past the slow going sections, we hit a series of BLM and county dirt roads, regularly cruising along at 40-50mph. Along the way, we stopped at the Mad Max playa (we deemed this an appropriate name given the burnt out, abandoned vehicles), and another stop at an old Pony Express station with the corral still in place, and remnants of the old water tank and possibly living quarters.

Finally making good time, we set our sites for the Stillwater Wildlife Refuge outside of Fallon. Late in the afternoon we finally made it to the Wildlife Refuge. Running short on daylight, we found a beautiful spot upslope of the regure, with inredible views of the many lakes an playas that dotted the valley. The sunset camp was the best I've seen in a long time!




The Gold Rush truck race would be kicking things off on Saturday. Ironically, we followed a good chunk of the first 75 miles of the race course on day 1!


Nevada, the Silver State.


Old hydraulic wheel in Como.


We dubbed this the Max Max playa from the pair of burnt our cars we found.






Just like the Australian Outback, expect a lot of dust in the American Outback!


Looking out over the Stillwater Wildlife Refuge. There's a lot more water in the Great Basin than most folks realize. It just never makes to to the ocean


We were blessed with a truly epic sunset on day 1.

 

[OTG_1]

Day 2: Stillwater Wildlife Refuge to Willow Creek Reservoir
Miles traveled: 349

As the sun rose over the massive basin, we could see what we thought was a massive lake, was actually a playa stretching several miles across. We hit the road at 9a sharp headed northward towards the Jarbidge Mountains, which we'd hopefully reach by day 3. Our first big stop of the day would be at the old Midas ghost town, which isn't much of a ghost town afterall. While there are many old buildings, Midas still has 11 residents. Pulling into the old mining camp, we were surprised to see a dozen or so people gathered outside the Bighorn saloon. We parked and made our way over. Turns out there were so many people in "town" for a celebration of life. We had a libation, and chatted with one of the locals Paige who filled us in on the goings on in town. The population would soon be to 9, as two of the residents head down to Arizona for the winter.

We said our good byes and continued northward once again. The planned itinerary would put us somewhere in the vicinity of Willow Creek reservoir. The roads were in good condition and we were blazing along. By the time we made it to Willow Creek, the sun was just above the horizon. We found a nice spot overlooking the dam and lake and settled into camp. We were once again treated to another sunset for the ages!


Rolando treating the group to tamales for breakfast.


We made good time on the way to Midas!




Having a quick libation at the Bighorn saloon. Be sure to ask for Paige if you drop in.


Given the population of Midas is 11, they have a damn nice saloon!


On the way to Willow Creek Reservoir.


Camp overlooking the reservoir.




Another epic sunset.

 

[OTG_1]

Day 3: Willow Creek Reservoir to the Bruneau River (Jarbidge Mountains)
Miles traveled: 458
I'd been waiting for this day for quite some time. Why? Well, Jarbidge and the Jarbidge Mountains have been on my to do list for quite some time. I also knew that the Jarbidge Mountains would provide quite a change in scenery from the sea of sagebrush that we'd been traveling through for the last several hundred miles. The reason we chose to run the route in reverse starting with segment 3 was due to favorable weather forecast that showed mild temperatures and no precipitation in northern Nevada. So off to Jarbidge we headed!

Our first big stop of the day was at Tuscarora ghost town. Tuscarora was founded after a local Shoshone had shown a settler a gold nugget in the late 1860s, and by 1870 Tuscarora was an official town. Like Midas, Tuscarora isn't much of a ghost town as several residents still live there, but there's nothing like the Bighorn Saloon like you'll find in Midas. Rolling through on a Sunday in the off season, no one was out and about. We kicked off the tour of Tuscarosa by making a stop at the old graveyard. We found headstones from the19th century, and even one from 2024!

We wandered throughout town and up the mountain to an old brick tower. Apparently, this was the chimney of the Independence Mill towers that overlooks the main part of town. After spending about an hour in the cemetery and town, we decided to head north towards the Jarbidge Mountains.


Like the Australian outback, the American outback is filled with lots and lots of dust!




I wonder, was Adele born in Tuscarora? 42 years young, RIP Adele!


This impressive chimney overlooks the town of Tuscarora.


Blazing a trail through the sea of sagebrush. Are we in Jarbidge yet?


Making our way through the foothills of the Jarbidge Mountains.


Camp along the Bruneau river.


Pete playing around on his HAM radio setup.


Pete playing around on his HAM radio setup.

 

[OTG_1]

Day 4: Bruneau River through the Jarbidge Mountains and to Slide Creek
Miles traveled: 540
We awoke to a thick frost and temps in the high 20s. Shasta's dog bowl had a thick layer of ice. Being nice and comfy in my camper, I had no idea that a good chunk of the night had been in the mid to high 20s. Needless to say, we were a bit slow to get rolling as we waited for the sun to peak over the mountains and shed its warmth into the canyon.

Day 4 would find us climbing higher into the Jarbidge Mountains. But before we could make it to the outpost of Jarbidge, we'd need to traverse the narrow and overgrown shelf rode through the Bruneau River Canyon. I'm sure if I was in my old land cruiser this track would've have been so bad. But for 10+ miles, the road is barely wide enough for my full size, many sections have steep drop offs, and to make matters more frustrating, a good portion of the track is overgrown with all kinds of trees and shrubs. I managed to pick up hundreds of new pinstrips, including a big one across the top of my hood! Now I see why the boys in the southeast use limb risers!

We finally made it through the canyon and onto the main thoroughfare that passes over Bear Creek Summit. The road up and over the summit is wide and graded, easy enough for a Prius! We zoomed up the mountain taking in the changing colors of the aspen. I had no idea the Jarbidge mountains were filled with so many fall colors. While we managed to catch a fair bit of yellow and oranges, many of the aspens had already lost their leaves. It seems like early October would be the best time to witness fall colors in this corner of northern Nevada. Upon making it to the pass, we took a side road to a nice knoll overlooking some of the higher peaks in the Jarbidge Mountains, and to the north of us stood the barren Snake River plain.

Dropping down from the pass was rather easy, and about 30 minutes later we were pulling into Jarbidge. With only one fuel pump in town, we lined up taking our turns to refuel at just under $7 per gallon-- right about what we expected! The guys went down to the only open establishment in town for ice cream, and others for burgers. The folks in Jarbidge were all rather friendly, and I've gotta say, the mountains are spectacular! Leaving town we drove through an impressive canyon with many hoodoos dotting the landscape. Unfortunately, I didn't capture any photos but I definitely have some video that'll make it's way onto the video route guide

After making our way out of the Canyon, we began climbing higher and higher up a massive hill. We decided to check out Slide Creek Campground and determined it would make a suitable camp for the night. Having the entire campground to ourselves, the coyotes sung their feral lullabies in the distance. We gathered around the fire, wondering if another early winter night would pay us a visit-- we were camping at 8500' after all!




Most of the trail along the Bruneau River was narrow, overgrown two-track.


Fall colors in the Jarbidge mountains.


Somewhere above Bear Creek Pass approaching 9,000 feet.


Looking north towards the Snake River plain.


They say Jarbidge has the most remote post office in the lower 48!


The famous Red Dog saloon doesn't reopen til November, when the winter crowds begin visiting Jarbidge.


The folks in Jarbidge aren't big fans of the Federal Government. Google "jarbidge shovel" and you'll get the full story!


A view of the Jarbidge crest above camp.


Camp at Slide Creek.

 

[OTG_1]

Day 5: Jarbidge Mountains to Bonneville Salt Flats
Miles traveled: 540
At 8500', we had expected the same bitter cold that we'd experienced along the Bruneau River-- except it never arrived. Upon waking up to the soft golden light of the rising sun, there was no frost to be found. And best of all, since we weren't tucked into a deep mountain gorge, the sun rose over the high sagebrush hills not long after the expected sunrise according to my Garmen watch. Before making our way towards the Utah border, we drove up the hill to snap some photos of the Jarbidge Crest, the highest peaks of which are well over 10,000 feet.

After leaving the Bruneau River gorge behind, the roads were wide and well manicured, and I expected them to stay that way as we departed camp. Except they didn't. Travel was slow going as we bounced along on a rocky and pock marked filled road. Pete radioed back that he needed to stop to investigate some squeaking. Turns out his Yakima rack was failing. With some quick roadside engineering, we were able to secure the rack with some tiedown straps. The plan was to monitor how the rack was holding up and then figure out what to do if it wasn't. Following behind Pete, I could see the rack hoding, but it was swaying side to side in a way that was certainly putting stress across all four of the support bars. After a dozen or so miles of bouncing along, Pete decided there was no way he'd be able to finish another 8+ days on the trail with the rack in its current condition. Pete planned to hit the hardware store in Wells and engineer a much sturdier fix.

We wished Pete well as he set off down the highway. We followed the same stretch of pavement for a few miles before jumping off onto the dirt once again, and onto the lands of the massively large Winecup Gamble Ranch. The rolling hills sagebrush covered hills were once again in front of us, but this time odd mesas and other geometric shapes topped many of the hills. The three of us kicked up dust while averaging 50+ mph as we ripped across the desert. Soon enough we were on a bumpy county road and closing in on the Utah state line. But before we could cross into Utah, we'd need to drive a short stint on the Interstate that would bring us to the twin cities fo West Wendover/Wendover. After filling up on some much needed fuel, we made a beeline for the salt flats where I launched the drone and took photos of the alien landscape that we were driving on. And then I got the call from Pete, who rolled out onto the Salt Flats a few minutes later!

After our fun on the salt flats, we set off looking for camp. We ended up at a great spot on BLM land overlooking the salt flats, with some impressively craggy cliffs behind us.


Camp at Slide Creek.


Not bad for 5 days of mostly dirt!


The Jarbidge Crest. Can you spot the Matterhorn?




Lots of bumps led to...


Trailside engineering at its best.


Will we make it to Utah today?


Pilot Peak in the background, Utah only a few short miles away!


Yep, we made it to Utah alright (Bonneville Salt Flats).


Camp overlooking the salt flats on a warm fall's night.

 

[GR8ADV]

Cool stuff.

Thinking of doing this on a sidecar. Do you have a gps track?

 

[OTG_1]

@GR8ADV

Google Great Basin Heritage Trail. It's one of our proprietary routes at OTG.

 

[OTG_1]

Day 6: Bonneville Salt Flats to Lookout Pass (start of Segment 2)
Day 6 would find us near the start of segment 2 of the GBHT. Pete determined his trailside engineering wouldn't be able to sustain several more days of washboards, so he opted to head off to Salt Lake City around 6am to buy a new rack. The morning was rather mild, and as soon as the sun rose, the temps began climbing immediately. After breakfast and tea/coffee, we were on our way once gain. After fueling up, we decided to make a quick stop at the historic Wendover Airfield. After leaving town we hit a decent stretch of pavement and then found ourselves following in the horsetracks of the historic Pony Express trail. There are numerous old monuments, markers, and even old stations along this stretch of the trail. Some of the stations are decrepit rock walls that are falling apart, while the one at Simpson Springs had been renovated with a completely new roof!

As we traversed the Pony Express, the massive Salt Lake Desert could be seen in the distance. Such an immense and white basin is an impressive sight! As we made our way along the PNX, we passed through Fish Springs Wildlife Refuge and stopped by the hot springs cave. Humans have been inhabiting the area for 11,000 years, and the cave happens to be a Native American heritage site that is barred off to prevent any vandalism or degradation of the site. The nice thing about the stretch of trail through the wildlife refuge is that it fallows at the base of the hills, with the massive basin directly on your left stretching dozens of miles off into the distance-- pretty neat!

Eventually we began closing in on the town of Eureka, and we got a ping on the Zoleo that Pete had installed the new rack and wanted to know where abouts we'd be camping. I told him we planned to camp within 20 miles of Eureka. We found a nice site amongst the Juniper near Overland Pass a few short miles from the highway that leads to Eureka. Pete ended up rolling into camp with about 30 minutes left of light. He was properly greeted with a cold beer and we commenced building a fire. Rain was in the forecast, and drizzles and light rain began to move in around 8:30pm, at which time we vacated the fire to our tents and vehicles.


Sunrise over the salt flats.


Historic Wendover Airfield




The PNX station at Overland Canyon wasn't in great shape, but the view atop the hill is fantastic.


Ripping through Fish Springs Wildlife Refuge.


Hot Springs Cave. Humans have occupied the cave going back 11,000 years.


This renovated PNX stations at Simpson springs was the most impressive that we've seen on our trip.


I love reading the inscriptions on these T-markers that are found all across the west.


Camp for the night. Rain would be coming soon!

 

[the deputy]

Okay, looks like l'm the one that's going to have to ask...

Who is Christina and why does she have top-billing over your mom and dad on call list...lol.

All joking aside, great report and pictures. Nice job on the field-repair, glad Pete was able to repair/eventually replace/and continue on. Thank you, for sharing!

 

[OTG_1]

Finally wrapped out part I of our time along the Great Basin Heritage Trail, which covers days 1-7 (Virginia City to Eureka, UT).

 

[OTG_1]

Day 7: Lookout Pass to Notch Peak Wilderness
A week into our trip, I got a ping from Scott the previous day that he planned to join us today. Scott had run into some major issues with one of his wheels while in Virginia City, and for the past week was relegated to sourcing the needed parts to fix his Bronco. With his Bronco rolling again, he planned to meet us in Eureka, UT. Good news, as we were camped lass than a dozen miles from town.

A light rain moved in over night, which actually turned out being a bit of a blessing as it did wonders to tamp down all the dust we'd been kicking up since departing from Virginia City. Rather than seeing a cloud of smoke screen like dust in my side mirrors, I could actually see who was behind me now! We hit Eureka and met Scott at the local gas station. After a brief tour through town, we headed for dirt once again, and like magic, no dust! The goal for the day was to make it to Notch Peak, which would require burning well over 100 miles.

Before hitting the mountains, we made a quick stop to the old Topaz Interment Camp. For whatever reason,Gaia GPS and many historical sites list this as the Topaz Relocation Center-- that's certainly one helluva whitewashed euphemism if I ever heard of one! While not must is left at the Topaz Internment Camp, visiting is still a rather somber experience. White signs mark the former locations of various buildings like the sentry and administration buildings. A memorial with an American Flag tells the story of those who were imprisoned at the Topaz site during WWII and recognizes the many young Japanese men who served and died in WWII and the Korean War. While this grand country of ours has rather lofty ideals, we don't always live up to them. And like a stain on history, the imprisonment of 125,000 Japanese, many of whom were American citizens, is a reminder that we must not forget or try to sweep these dark events from our memories, or we may be doomed to repeat them. The Germanu certainly learned the value of teaching its citizenry the horrors of the holocaust. I do wonder why it's so difficult for so many Americans to grapple with the darker events of our own history...

As we weaved through the mountains, Marjum Canyon caught us by complete surprise. This was the most impressive canyon we'd driven through since the start of our trip, and a place I'd definitely like to visit one day. I hurriedly called out instructions on the radio to the group, taking one camera shot after another. The canyon had be completely enamored-- I darn near forgot about one of the discovery points I wanted to check out, the old Hermit's Cabin. Luckily Pete called it out on the radio. We made the short 200 meter hike up a side canyon to the Hermit's cabin. Apparently an old fellow by the name of Bob Stinson broke down while traveling the old highway, and wandered up the canyon eventually making a home in the canyon. Within the narrow canyon and nearly vertical walls, it's one heck of a place to call home! The government even paid Bob to keep the road clear of debris. When a paved highway was completed nearby, Bob's government job came to an end.

Exiting Marjum canyon, we began the search for camp. I had a couple of sites marked, both of which should have had excellent views of Notch Peak. Unfortunatley, the first was taken by a large 5th wheel, and the second one didn't seem to be in suitable condition for a group of 5 vehicles. Luckily, I did some exploring of my own and scored a beautiful site just big enough for our group overlooking the basin, with a series of fantastic rock formations (giant boulders) filling the rugged mountains behind us. If you've ever been to the Mojave Preserve, it felt a bit like Caruthers Canyon. Weather reports indicated a chance of snow or frozen mix, so we hunkered down, not knowing what to expect the following day.


A little bit of rain helps dampen the trail dust.


Group photo in Eureka. We met up with Scott in town (Bronco on 40s).




Memorial at the Topaz Japanese Internment Camp.




Marjum canyon caught us off guard, but was a welcome surprise!


The Hermit's Cabin in Marjum Canyon.


The Hermit's Cabin in Marjum Canyon.


This will do!



Sunset over the basin.

 

[AbleGuy]

Wonderfully well done trip report. A new classic for keeping with the intent of Expo!

You gave us an entertaining, informative and thoroughly enjoyable mix of pictures, text description and vids. And best yet, highlighted an area very few folks have toured.

Thanks for making the effort to share this with us. 👍🏻

 

[the deputy]

Wonderfully well done trip report. A new classic for keeping with the intent of Expo!

You gave us an entertaining, informative and thoroughly enjoyable mix of pictures, text description and vids. And best yet, highlighted an area very few folks have toured.

Thanks for making the effort to share this with us. 👍🏻

Did you have problem with the sound? Could barely hear the commentary. Great footage though and historical value.

 

[AbleGuy]

I’m 73…I always have a problem hearing stuff😁

But no, vid sound was fine (on an ipad).

 

[OTG_1]

Day 8: Notch Peak Wilderness to Ward Mining District
Going to bed the night before, we know the forecast called for the possibility of snow overnight. I had hoped to launch the drone in the morning to get capture some epic photos of videos of Notch Peak, but that was dashed up seeing dark, grey skies sretching across the horizon. Camp had gotten a light dusting, with the higher peaks seeing a few inches more. It was cold, but not nearly as cold as our night at the Bruneau River. My guess is that it had been subfreezing for perhaps a few hours looking at the minimal amount of ice in Shasta's dog bowl.

So while I may not have gotten those epic drone shots of Notch Peak, which was shrouded under a thick layer of mist, the winter wonderland did create some fantastic photos and videos as we departed camp and climbed through the mountains across the basin. We weaved our way through the mountains, gawking at the snow covered canyons and hills. Eventually our track put us on a short stretch of pavement that would take us back into Nevada and into the Pacific time zone. With an hour regained, we deiceded to make a quick sidetrip to Great Basin National Park.

Great Basin NP is Nevada's only National Park that's fully contained within the states, and one of the least visited National Parks in the west. We had hoped of doing the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive, but due to the snowfall, the road was closed a few miles up from the visitor center. Instead, we decided to take the gravel road that goes up past Grey Rocks. Wheeler Peak was beautiful, but I really do hope to go back one day and do the scenic drive and perhaps a bit of hiking as well.

After our quick stint at Great Basin NP, we continued westward through the mountains. Wheeler Peak dominates the mountains in this part of the state, and if you didn't know you were in Nevada, you might mistake it for a high peak in the Colorado Rockies. Our travels would take us past the old Osceola ghost town, which is still privately owned and fenced off from the public. Old mining equipment, buildings, and warn down vehicles dotted the landscape below us. The road past Osceola would put us back on the pavement once again that would lead us to Ely.

I'd been looking forward to making it to Ely. Ely had public showers at the local aquatic center and a Napa Auto Parts store, which I hoped had an air filter in stock for my truck. That pesky check engine light had persisted off and on ever since it first appeared just outside of Eureka a few days before. We'd hit the fuel station first, then it was off to the aquatic center. I'm still in disbelief they only charge $2 to use the public showers, which were quite nice and clean! After freshening up, it was off to Napa. Upon putting the air filter in, the check engine light disappeared, but would it stay that way? We decided to hit a local burger joint within one of the casinos that turned out to be quite good (Smash n Grab).


After freshening up, filling our fuel tanks and our bellies, it was off to find camp. I had some leads on spots around the old Ward Mining District. A cold, brisk wind was pushing through the basin where Ely sits, so anywhere down in the valley seemed like a precipitous choice. So up the mountain we went, first past the old cemetery and eventually to the end of the road right below the old core sample warehouse. The wind was still howling, but at least it seemed we had some cover between two ridges. We settled into camp, using some old tin siding to protect our fire from the wind. I'd read that Ely has one of the shortest growing seasons in the contiguous United States (77 days I believe). I wondered if we'd be subjected to freezing temperatures once again.


Honestly, I was a bit excited to wake to the snow covered truck!


Notch Peak was under the same cloud layer a few miles down trail.

Departing camp, westward we go!


A winter wonderland in the Great Basin!


I got some fantastic drone footage as well!


Our limited visit to Great Basin NP.




Climbing through the mountains west of Great Basin NP.


Wheeler Peak, Nevada's second highest peak shrouded in mist.


Camp below the old core sample warehouse in the Ward Mining district.