Trans America Trail: A month's journey in a 96 Jeep XJ.
- Thread starter NHenson
- Start date
GeorgiaBill
New member
Erin and Nathan, great read. I hope the fourth year is in our future.
I can't figure what tent you are using. Would you be able to provide some details, or point me to any spot in your blogs where you described the tent.
Bill
I can't figure what tent you are using. Would you be able to provide some details, or point me to any spot in your blogs where you described the tent.
Bill
Flash Gordan
Overlanding Student
Can't wait to read the next installment. The TAT is on my bucketlist of trips I hope to do someday.
greg.ubernerd
New member
Great adventure and great story . Thank you for sharing. This gave me the confirmation I needed that it's possible for a 4x4 and I'm planning my own trek over the TAT in my Wrangler.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
houndofmeath
Observer
This has been such an amazing and inspiring read thank you for sharing! My girlfriend and I are planning to do a large portion of this trail when we move out west this summer.
DeepAboveSurface
New member
This has been an awsome trip! I love how real this trip is and not another "EPIC" journey! Subscribed... (BTW) this is my 1st subscription to any post ever.
TacomaJack09
Observer
Great trip report guys!
NHenson
Observer
TAT IV Day 1: Monday, July 18, 2011
HOLY THREAD REVIVAL. Sorry for the long absence. Here is the completion of our trip - NH.
Yesterday we drove to Winnemucca, NV to pick up what, barring fiasco, we expect to be the last leg of the Trans-America Trail. Somewhere in Oregon, the fuel pump in the Jeep began to fail us. The Jeep died and refused to start. We sat on the edge of the interstate pondering what to do. Finally, after a good cool-down period, the Jeep started, and when filled with gas, made it the rest of the way to Winnemucca.
So this morning, our first task was to find someone to replace the fuel pump. In a town very busy with miners and people who are apparently putting in some huge pipeline project, and all of whom seem to break their vehicles pretty often, it was tough, but a kindhearted mechanic named Steve (at All Pro Automotive) agreed to do the job for us, though it wouldn't be done until afternoon. Since NH has a fair amount of homework that has to be turned in (apparently his school doesn't recognize our vacation as universal), we saw it as a good time to study.
We strolled in the pleasant early morning weather to find a coffee shop, and the first building we passed was called the Winnemucca Hotel. I peered in and wished that the place was still open--one of those 3 story brick buildings with the wonderful high ceilings and tall windows. Best of all, the sign out front said that they served Basque food. In Winnemucca! I was intrigued, but as aforementioned, the place was closed down.
We didn't get a photo of the coffee shop on that day, but found this one posted by a reviewer on FourSquare
We did find a coffee shop--Deliciozo's Global Coffee--and soon NH was burrowed deep in legal issues pertaining to firefighters, and I was bored. So I decided to explore Winnemucca. I visited the nearby antiques and gifty-type shops, and found in one of them a Basque cookbook by a woman named Martin who grew up near but not in Winnemucca. Curiouser and curioser. Also, some great recipes.
Back to the coffee shop, and NH was still busy. I walked back in the pleasantly warm morning to the visitors' center, where I picked up a map for a local history walking tour. I probably like walking tours of tiny old towns far more than the average person, but I loved finding the historic houses, churches, and hotels, and imagining who used them 100 years ago. Also, I found the Martin Hotel, across town from the Winnemucca Hotel, which is still open, as a restaurant and bar anyway, and which also serves Basque food.
Of course, NH and I had to eat lunch there. And the Basque food was, in fact, very good. We saw pictures and read accounts of the people who originally settled the town (French, several Basque families), and what it was like in the early 20th century there.
After lunch we hoofed it back in the baking afternoon sun to do some more computer work at the coffee shop (NH), and to visit the local history museum (me). I trudged over the bridge and up the hill to the museum, found it to be very interesting--Winnemucca, besides having Basque families, boasts of having had one of its banks robbed by Butch Cassidy back in the day. I sat in there some time trying to recover my cool before venturing back out.
Finally I figured the Jeep might be done soon, so I trudged back in the scorching sun to find that NH had left the coffee shop. So I soldiered on through blistering heat to meet him at the Jeep. By that time I felt, quite frankly, Winnemucca-ed out.
This creek was a lot deeper than it would appear. It had a couple of holes in it that I went up to my waist in, so we found another place to cross.
It was good to get back on the trail. Which we did, picking back up in the dusty, hot, sagebrush-filled terrain where we left off last year. Today seems now to have gone pretty quickly, though we did have to drive some miles out of our way to cross a creek (yay, wading!) in a spot wide enough for a Jeep, not just a motorcycle.
Supper with Erin.
By evening we made it into meadowy, hilly greenness, and here we are camped. The bugs are very attracted to the computer screen now, but they keep getting lost in my clothes and hair, so I'm going to quit now. Good night from the trail! - Written by EH.
Sunset with Nathan setting up the tent.
HOLY THREAD REVIVAL. Sorry for the long absence. Here is the completion of our trip - NH.
Yesterday we drove to Winnemucca, NV to pick up what, barring fiasco, we expect to be the last leg of the Trans-America Trail. Somewhere in Oregon, the fuel pump in the Jeep began to fail us. The Jeep died and refused to start. We sat on the edge of the interstate pondering what to do. Finally, after a good cool-down period, the Jeep started, and when filled with gas, made it the rest of the way to Winnemucca.
So this morning, our first task was to find someone to replace the fuel pump. In a town very busy with miners and people who are apparently putting in some huge pipeline project, and all of whom seem to break their vehicles pretty often, it was tough, but a kindhearted mechanic named Steve (at All Pro Automotive) agreed to do the job for us, though it wouldn't be done until afternoon. Since NH has a fair amount of homework that has to be turned in (apparently his school doesn't recognize our vacation as universal), we saw it as a good time to study.
We strolled in the pleasant early morning weather to find a coffee shop, and the first building we passed was called the Winnemucca Hotel. I peered in and wished that the place was still open--one of those 3 story brick buildings with the wonderful high ceilings and tall windows. Best of all, the sign out front said that they served Basque food. In Winnemucca! I was intrigued, but as aforementioned, the place was closed down.
We didn't get a photo of the coffee shop on that day, but found this one posted by a reviewer on FourSquare
We did find a coffee shop--Deliciozo's Global Coffee--and soon NH was burrowed deep in legal issues pertaining to firefighters, and I was bored. So I decided to explore Winnemucca. I visited the nearby antiques and gifty-type shops, and found in one of them a Basque cookbook by a woman named Martin who grew up near but not in Winnemucca. Curiouser and curioser. Also, some great recipes.
Back to the coffee shop, and NH was still busy. I walked back in the pleasantly warm morning to the visitors' center, where I picked up a map for a local history walking tour. I probably like walking tours of tiny old towns far more than the average person, but I loved finding the historic houses, churches, and hotels, and imagining who used them 100 years ago. Also, I found the Martin Hotel, across town from the Winnemucca Hotel, which is still open, as a restaurant and bar anyway, and which also serves Basque food.
Of course, NH and I had to eat lunch there. And the Basque food was, in fact, very good. We saw pictures and read accounts of the people who originally settled the town (French, several Basque families), and what it was like in the early 20th century there.
After lunch we hoofed it back in the baking afternoon sun to do some more computer work at the coffee shop (NH), and to visit the local history museum (me). I trudged over the bridge and up the hill to the museum, found it to be very interesting--Winnemucca, besides having Basque families, boasts of having had one of its banks robbed by Butch Cassidy back in the day. I sat in there some time trying to recover my cool before venturing back out.
Finally I figured the Jeep might be done soon, so I trudged back in the scorching sun to find that NH had left the coffee shop. So I soldiered on through blistering heat to meet him at the Jeep. By that time I felt, quite frankly, Winnemucca-ed out.
This creek was a lot deeper than it would appear. It had a couple of holes in it that I went up to my waist in, so we found another place to cross.
It was good to get back on the trail. Which we did, picking back up in the dusty, hot, sagebrush-filled terrain where we left off last year. Today seems now to have gone pretty quickly, though we did have to drive some miles out of our way to cross a creek (yay, wading!) in a spot wide enough for a Jeep, not just a motorcycle.
Supper with Erin.
By evening we made it into meadowy, hilly greenness, and here we are camped. The bugs are very attracted to the computer screen now, but they keep getting lost in my clothes and hair, so I'm going to quit now. Good night from the trail! - Written by EH.
Sunset with Nathan setting up the tent.
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NHenson
Observer
TAT IV Day 2: Tuesday, July 19, 2011
I am so tired…but good tired. This morning we packed up from camping on the trail just past Paradise Valley. It was a beautiful morning, and the temperature today has been far nicer than one would expect for Nevada in July. NH said he thought we must be driving on the moon, for all the soft, fine dust boiling up behind us, reaching its fingers in through our windows to choke us if we didn't outrun it.
We continued to rise in elevation pretty quickly, and by 9:00, we were up high enough that the sagebrush was a pale minty green rather than the dusty grey-green of sage lower down, and there were tufts of green grass and beautiful wildflowers in between bushes. The wind was cool, too, and we saw snow on the peaks not far away. If you have to spend considerable time driving in Nevada in July, sans air conditioning, I would recommend sticking to the higher elevations. Slower going, to be sure, but cooler, and so much more beauty.
My view of Erin closing the gates. She was a trooper about doing these. - NH
I had my fill of opening and closing gates. Mostly the “gates” admitting entrance to and exit from the ranges are strands of barbed wire wrapped around sticks and old fence post, connected with loops of wire or rope to the fence. They are incredibly sticky to open, especially for a runt such as myself, and pretty splintery, as well. If ever anyone should be lauded for an invention, it is the person who invented the cattle guard. I cannot thank you enough for your contribution to modern ranching, and transportation.
Nathan, Just after putting our last 5 gallons from the can into the Jeep.
The views were incredible, too. The only damper was that we soon discovered that we were going to be short on gas before making it into McDermitt. We drove over some beautiful hills, past streams and pools in brilliant green grass, hardly seeing the surrounding beauty for fear of having to hike through ten or fifteen miles of it with a gas can to fill up the Jeep.
Just about five miles short of McDermitt, and coasting on what must have been the last fume, we overtook a couple of surveyors who were working on an attempt to settle a dispute between the Fort McDermitt Reservation and the U.S. government as well as local residents of McDermitt. The surveyors were pinpointing the exact boundaries between the reservation and the surrounding BLM land and national forest. More importantly for us, however, they also had a can of gas (about 3 gallons of stale gas, but very welcome). They kindly filled our tank and sent us safely on our way. (We made it to the gas station and put 19.8 gallons in our 20 gallon tank).
Long two-track sections with no civilization to spot for miles. . . perfect - NH.
From McDermitt, we headed back out into pasture-land, where the trail is a lot of rocky two-track, rough and slow riding. Still, the elevation was pretty high, the scenery was beautiful, and the temperatures were comfortable all day. We pushed our way down into Denio Junction, where, after seeing three fellow TAT-travelers, we decided to camp in the grass near the local motel/bar/gas station.
We had a great supper, enhanced by wonderful conversation with Kevin, Ken, and Richard, who are riding the trail in the manner for which it was designed, on duel-sport motorcycles.
Well, since I am, in fact, so tired, I'm going to bed. Good night everyone. - Written by EH.
Creek crossing.
I am so tired…but good tired. This morning we packed up from camping on the trail just past Paradise Valley. It was a beautiful morning, and the temperature today has been far nicer than one would expect for Nevada in July. NH said he thought we must be driving on the moon, for all the soft, fine dust boiling up behind us, reaching its fingers in through our windows to choke us if we didn't outrun it.
We continued to rise in elevation pretty quickly, and by 9:00, we were up high enough that the sagebrush was a pale minty green rather than the dusty grey-green of sage lower down, and there were tufts of green grass and beautiful wildflowers in between bushes. The wind was cool, too, and we saw snow on the peaks not far away. If you have to spend considerable time driving in Nevada in July, sans air conditioning, I would recommend sticking to the higher elevations. Slower going, to be sure, but cooler, and so much more beauty.
My view of Erin closing the gates. She was a trooper about doing these. - NH
I had my fill of opening and closing gates. Mostly the “gates” admitting entrance to and exit from the ranges are strands of barbed wire wrapped around sticks and old fence post, connected with loops of wire or rope to the fence. They are incredibly sticky to open, especially for a runt such as myself, and pretty splintery, as well. If ever anyone should be lauded for an invention, it is the person who invented the cattle guard. I cannot thank you enough for your contribution to modern ranching, and transportation.
Nathan, Just after putting our last 5 gallons from the can into the Jeep.
The views were incredible, too. The only damper was that we soon discovered that we were going to be short on gas before making it into McDermitt. We drove over some beautiful hills, past streams and pools in brilliant green grass, hardly seeing the surrounding beauty for fear of having to hike through ten or fifteen miles of it with a gas can to fill up the Jeep.
Just about five miles short of McDermitt, and coasting on what must have been the last fume, we overtook a couple of surveyors who were working on an attempt to settle a dispute between the Fort McDermitt Reservation and the U.S. government as well as local residents of McDermitt. The surveyors were pinpointing the exact boundaries between the reservation and the surrounding BLM land and national forest. More importantly for us, however, they also had a can of gas (about 3 gallons of stale gas, but very welcome). They kindly filled our tank and sent us safely on our way. (We made it to the gas station and put 19.8 gallons in our 20 gallon tank).
Long two-track sections with no civilization to spot for miles. . . perfect - NH.
From McDermitt, we headed back out into pasture-land, where the trail is a lot of rocky two-track, rough and slow riding. Still, the elevation was pretty high, the scenery was beautiful, and the temperatures were comfortable all day. We pushed our way down into Denio Junction, where, after seeing three fellow TAT-travelers, we decided to camp in the grass near the local motel/bar/gas station.
We had a great supper, enhanced by wonderful conversation with Kevin, Ken, and Richard, who are riding the trail in the manner for which it was designed, on duel-sport motorcycles.
Well, since I am, in fact, so tired, I'm going to bed. Good night everyone. - Written by EH.
Creek crossing.
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NHenson
Observer
TAT IV Day 3: Wednesday, July 20, 2011
We left Denio Junction this morning by 8:00. Several interesting things happened today. The first was crossing a lake. I’m not sure, but I think it was the bottom of Continental Lake . We were crossing the marsh below the lake, on a dirt road that rose above the water. The water was full of cattails, shrubs, and so many birds that I hope it’s a sanctuary. If we had a better camera, we would have taken pictures. I didn’t recognize many of the birds, but they were absolutely beautiful.
At first I didn't realize that the body of water below would have to be crossed. Continental Lake.
Helping a fellow traveler.
Crossing the lake, we caught up with Ken, Richard, and Kevin, the three guys we camped with last night. Got some fun pictures of them crossing the parts of the road that went under water. NH waded a couple of the pools for them, since he was wearing shorts, and they were in riding pants and boots. He picked up a couple of leeches, and he came out looking like a swamp monster.
Some curious onlookers.
Aside from the birds, we had a decent wildlife day. We haven’t seen bears or mountain lions, and even more impressively, I have not seen a single snake on the entire TAT. I’m not sure if there is a lack of snakes, or if it’s just a little gift from God, but either way, I’ll take it. What we have seen are jackrabbits. Lots of them. And too many lizards to count. Several coyotes, lots of deer, and a roadrunner. That was the coolest. He was running on the road ahead of us, kicking up dust, and we weren’t coming close to keeping up. Also, though we spent most of the afternoon driving across an antelope preserve, we saw only three antelope. However, we saw probably a dozen donkeys. Go figure. I also saw a family of quail. If you have not seen baby quail, they are quite possibly the cutest specimen ever invented. They look like fuzzy ping pong balls rolling across the road.
Found just the tiniest bit of snow before Fort Bidwell, CA
Dismal Swamp
Hit Fort Bidwell, CA just before four this afternoon. Fort Bidwell is a beautiful, tiny little dying town. Many historic ghost-towny buildings. Then we drove up into Fremont National Forest, which has some of the best camping in the U.S. If you were to camp at Dismal Creek, you would find that it is not the least bit dismal. In fact, it’s absolutely beautiful.
Staying tonight in Lakeview, OR, another beautiful little town. Will write more tomorrow. - Written by EH.
We left Denio Junction this morning by 8:00. Several interesting things happened today. The first was crossing a lake. I’m not sure, but I think it was the bottom of Continental Lake . We were crossing the marsh below the lake, on a dirt road that rose above the water. The water was full of cattails, shrubs, and so many birds that I hope it’s a sanctuary. If we had a better camera, we would have taken pictures. I didn’t recognize many of the birds, but they were absolutely beautiful.
At first I didn't realize that the body of water below would have to be crossed. Continental Lake.
Helping a fellow traveler.
Crossing the lake, we caught up with Ken, Richard, and Kevin, the three guys we camped with last night. Got some fun pictures of them crossing the parts of the road that went under water. NH waded a couple of the pools for them, since he was wearing shorts, and they were in riding pants and boots. He picked up a couple of leeches, and he came out looking like a swamp monster.
Some curious onlookers.
Aside from the birds, we had a decent wildlife day. We haven’t seen bears or mountain lions, and even more impressively, I have not seen a single snake on the entire TAT. I’m not sure if there is a lack of snakes, or if it’s just a little gift from God, but either way, I’ll take it. What we have seen are jackrabbits. Lots of them. And too many lizards to count. Several coyotes, lots of deer, and a roadrunner. That was the coolest. He was running on the road ahead of us, kicking up dust, and we weren’t coming close to keeping up. Also, though we spent most of the afternoon driving across an antelope preserve, we saw only three antelope. However, we saw probably a dozen donkeys. Go figure. I also saw a family of quail. If you have not seen baby quail, they are quite possibly the cutest specimen ever invented. They look like fuzzy ping pong balls rolling across the road.
Found just the tiniest bit of snow before Fort Bidwell, CA
Dismal Swamp
Hit Fort Bidwell, CA just before four this afternoon. Fort Bidwell is a beautiful, tiny little dying town. Many historic ghost-towny buildings. Then we drove up into Fremont National Forest, which has some of the best camping in the U.S. If you were to camp at Dismal Creek, you would find that it is not the least bit dismal. In fact, it’s absolutely beautiful.
Staying tonight in Lakeview, OR, another beautiful little town. Will write more tomorrow. - Written by EH.
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