Camping with the Godfather of Nevada ghost towns

Tami’s Travels: Full posts to follow

When the godfather of Nevada ghost towns, Stanley Paher, author of Nevada Ghost Towns & Mining Camps, invited me on a four-day camping ghost town trip in White Pine County, I jumped at the chance. Who could resist four days with a walking encyclopedia of ghost towns who is also one of the nicest people you will meet?

Our trip was moved by a day, and I had an appointment I couldn’t reschedule. So, that morning, I took my time packing the Jeep, adding the cooler at the end. As soon as I finished with my appointment, I headed out.

Loneliest Road in America

Driving east, I watched the thunder storms building across the desert. I crossed my fingers that the lightning didn’t cause fires.

Darn it; Honey Badger is still having an electrical issue. Periodically, it throws a code, and I am limited to 3500 rpm or sloth snail speed. It resets when I turn off the Jeep. It happened so many times; in the beginning, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to continue even though the shop had cleared us for the trip. Thankfully, the issue decreased, and I continued across Nevada.

Roadside treasures

Reading the new issue of Nevada Magazine, I saw an article on Jason’s Art Gallery in Austin. As I departed later than I wanted, I didn’t want to stop other than for gas. But I wanted to see the local turquoise and jewelry, and they would be closed on my drive home. I decided to make the time; a girl has to have priorities;)

Jason’s had a vast selection of Nevada turquoise along with other stones. The owners mine, design, and craft beautiful jewelry. It was difficult not to buy everything. I selected a necklace for myself and one for my daughter.

Home away from home

After almost five hours of driving, plus my shopping spree, I arrived at the turnoff. As I left Highway 50, the storm broke over the mountains where we were camping. I had a few sprinkles but missed the deluge that hit the camp.

The first night, there were three of us camping: Stan, Steve, and I. Scott joined us the next morning. We each had our own campsites with a group firepit in the middle. It was a great setup as we each had our own space yet were together. There are benefits to being the only girl; I got the most private site.

My site was narrow but wide enough for the Jeep and tent. Honey Badger was close enough to deploy the batwing awning for protection from the sun or rain.

I arrived later in the day than I wanted but set camp up before dark. Unplanned, my chosen campsite faced west and had beautiful sunsets.

Stan admired my license plate. I love my plate, but friends in law enforcement suggested it was better to hide it online. Anyone who sees it in person will know it is mine, even if they didn’t recognize Honey Badger.

Maybe it is quirky, but wherever I spend the night is my home. I like to have everything arranged functionally and have it a pleasant place to stay. My family laughed about my LED star lights, but I loved them. I had enough light to read with the stars and a lantern.

Tami’s Diner

My new purchases worked great. I had the stove started in no time, and a glass of wine poured. Not necessarily in that order. 😉

The Tailgater Tire Table gave me a great space to prepare meals. The table is light, set up quickly, and was easily removed when I head out each day. I am glad I purchased the large size in aluminum, it was light and had enough space for meal prep. The Eureka Stove worked great. It took only a minute to have unpacked and ready to cook. I learned each butane canister would last about two meals.

I planned an easy or freeze-dried dinner the first night but decided to try out my gear. So I made jambalaya with andouille sausage and shrimp. As I had pre-cut the veggies and sausage, it was super easy to cook and a delicious dinner at the end of the day. I will add this to our regular family dinners; I used pre-cooked rice while camping but used riced cauliflower for my trial run at home.

We ended our day around the firepit and headed to bed to prepare for a full day of ghost towning.

Ghost Towning Day 1

When one of my favorite ghost town websites, Forgotten Nevada, not only tells me to make biscuits and gravy but sends me their recipe, I have to do it. I don’t think there is any way to take a good picture of biscuits and gravy, but they sure were a great start to the day.

Hamilton

Hamilton started with a bang in 1868 in a colossal mining rush. Within a year, several thousand miners moved to Hamilton, and soon the town had a population of 10,000. Despite heavy winters, miner’s toughed it out, often living in caves, tents, and even in hay bales.

The town grew to include banks, stores, and services. Hamilton even organized a school before any child was living in Hamilton. White Pine County was created in 1869, and Hamilton as named the county seat. Hamilton continued growth, and it was thought the town might rival San Francisco.

Hamilton declined as rapidly as it boomed. By 1870 the district had only 6800 residents. Arson in 1873 and 1885 destroyed much of the town. The county seat was relocated to Ely in 1887, and Hamilton became a ghost town.

Even today, it is one of the last ghost towns to open for the season. Snowdrifts block the road well into spring.

Picotillo

Platted in 1868, Picotillo did not start until the following year. The town was never large enough to be awarded a post office. With the mining decline in 1870, the town was ghosted.

We didn’t spend much time exploring Picotillo, but I didn’t see any ruins. Instead, multiple mines mark the area, along with wild horses.

Treasure City

I loved Treasure City, but it would take a full day to explore due to the terrain. As Stan’s book relays, Treasure City is so steep “…a Kangaroo might climb, but not a human being.”

Treasure City’s first cabins were built in 1867. A town developed and became White Pine’s first commercial center. Despite the inhospitable slope and heavy winters, the town grew to forty-two stores and a population of six hundred. Unfortunately, much of the town was lost to fire in 1874. With the declining mining activity, by 1880, only fourteen voters remained in Treasure City.

It took a little exploring to find the Treasure City cemetery. I sent the drone, but we couldn’t locate anything from the air. Scott located the general area from a topo map, and we hiked around the hillside looking for graves. Finally, Scott located the cemetery at the very top of the ridge.

The cemetery is the last place I thought it would have been, on a steep rocky slope. I’m not surprised I couldn’t locate the cemetery with the drone. Aside from one footstone, the graves were marked only with collapsed fences and indentations in the earth.

Only one marker remains, a footstone. While a headstone is at the head of the grave, the footstone is opposite, at the foot. While headstones usually contain a name, date of birth and death, and personal details, a footstone usually contains initials only. Find-a-Grave has a notation of a cemetery at Treasure Hill but no information on the number of graves.

White Pine City

Stan didn’t mention the name of this adorable cabin, but I checked my friend’s site, Nevada Expeditions, and found it was White Pine City. “City” might have been a little ambitious for the settlement’s name, but it never grew to a significant size. The town dates to the 1860s and the rush to the White Pine mining district.

Stan can be a bit of a ham. He decided he would enter and leave the cabin through the window right next to the door.

Eberhardt

Eberhardt got its start in 1869. The largest mill, the Eberhardt, was said to have silver sparkling from the walls and ceilings and that mine visitors had their shoes and clothes with fine silver. One vein was of such high quality that it did not require milling.

When the White Pine district ended in 1870, Eberhardt expanded. By June 1871, the booming town had a post office, stores, blacksmiths, and saloons. Eberhardt was a happening place until 1873; the town declined for several years but had a rebirth in 1876. For almost ten years, the town was busy, but when the milling ended, residents abandoned Eberhardt.

Shermantown

Shermantown was one of our big stops of the day. The ghost town has terrific ruins, and Steve was familiar with the ghost town as he taught archeology there one summer.

With abundant water, the location was ideal for milling. Called initially Silver Springs, the name was changed to Shermantown in 1869. Eight mills operated around Sherman town, a total of sixty-nine stamps. Beautiful locally quarried stone was used to construct the buildings, some as tall as three stories.

As desirable as the town was, it was tied to Treasure Hill. As a result, Shermantown was abandoned in 1870 with the collapse of Treasure Hill.

Swansea

We left Shermantown later than expected. On Stan’s last visit, the shortcut between Shermantown and Hamilton was washed out. We decided to give it a try as it was four miles vs. twenty. That also meant we could visit Swansea.

In 1869, Swansea was thought to be the new darling of the region, even more, significant than Shermantown. The unique name came from a smelting region of Whales. Unfortunately, Shermantown annexed the burgeoning town and its mills before the town was awarded a post office.

The road still had numerous washouts. Steve and I walked the first section and decided on the best lines to take. Meanwhile, Stan and Scott hiked up the road to check the conditions. Ahead the road split in two, Stan wasn’t sure which one was correct. Not that it mattered, they said one road was impassable, and the other was questionable. As it was late in the day, we decided to take the long route back. Had it been earlier in the day, we might have attempted the cut-off, but no one wanted to get stuck so close to sunset.

Day 2

California Mill

Stan arrived at camp early the first day and spent some time exploring. He located this mill, the 15-stamp California Mill. We missed the turnoff on Day 1, so we started Day 2 at the mill.

Eberhardt Tunnel, mill, and townsite

Our next stop was the Eberhardt Tunnel. The road wasn’t bad, but it was severely overgrown, not even a vehicle wide. I kept apologizing to Honey Badger for the new scratches and hoped my new awning would survive.

The Eberhardt Tunnel was amazing. I have never seen a portal like it; most are simply an opening in the earth. Eberhart was at least seven feet tall and ten feet wide. The portal is topped with stacked stone.

The mine had an aerial tram connected with the mill below, a three-mile span. The tram cable lays where it fell, but the tram towers are gone.

We spent some time exploring the mill below Eberhardt Mine with Stan reading from his book and resources.

Stan’s research said the town was below this mill and wrapped around the hill. Unfortunately, we did not have time to walk the area, but we believe we could spot several rock ruins and the layout of the roads.

Green Springs

On a cursory look, I am not finding information on Green Springs. This surprised me as it was one of my favorite stops, and I am glad we made the detour.

We enjoyed lunch under the giant cottonwood trees, then explored the ranch. We kept our eyes on the cloudburst and thunder in the distance.

The name is very fitting; Green Springs is an oasis in the middle of the desert. The cottonwood trees can be seen for miles beckoning travelers. Above the buildings is a reservoir, large enough for a kayak or canoe.

The ranch appears to have structures from several periods. The main house was spacious, with a covered roof, and a smaller cabin sits behind the main house and across the irrigation ditch. In addition, there are two stone buildings, along with ranch outbuildings.

Darn it!

Heading from Green Springs to our final stop of the day, Belmont Mill, Stan was riding with Steve and heard what he thought was a flat tire.

It turns out it wasn’t a flat tire but a metal shard that had embedded itself in the tire. With each tire rotation, the fragment cut into the Jeep. Thankfully we were on a wide smooth road.

Steve decided to use his spare instead of trying to repair the tire. Unfortunately, his bottle jack didn’t work; thankfully, I also had one. That is why it is great to travel with two vehicles.

Steve had planned on visiting Belmont but decided it was best to head home immediately and Scott followed him back to Eureka. After seeing the road to Belmont Mine, he made the right decision not to continue without a spare. He didn’t know until later that the shard tore up the inside of the tire, and it had to be replaced.

Belmont Mill & Mine

I have seen pictures of Belmont Mill for years and was so excited to visit. As I had driven for two days and Steve and Scott headed home, Stan drove in his Grand Cherokee. The excitement to see Belmont lasted until the final portion of the road leading to the mine. I’m glad I saw Belmont Mine once; I might never drive to the mine again.

People kept telling me the road was “sketchy,” but no worse than what I had driven all weekend. According to my friend who owns the Colonnade Hotel, up until a few years ago, it was drivable with a dually 2-wheel drive truck.

You could probably still drive the road without 4-wheel drive, but not with a dually. The road was severely overgrown and ripped a few pieces off Stan’s Grand Cherokee. The sketchy section was at the top of the mine road. I am okay with tight, narrow, and overgrown roads. However, I’m not okay with roads barely wide enough for one vehicle, especially when there is a 500′ drop-off on my side. Worse, the road was washed over, putting us off-camber and me staring over the abyss. When the Jeep tilted more, navigating over a rock, I reached down to grab the center console and accidentally unlocked it, flipping up the lid. It wasn’t a conscious move but a reflex… because holding on to a piece of plastic would have done a lot of good if we had gone over the side.

We survived and reached the top. A surveyor was at the mine, repairing the damage to his truck. His side mirror had been ripped off, and a boulder rolled down the mountain, hitting the side of his truck on the “sketchy” section; I am so thankful that didn’t happen to us.

The evening at the campfire, Stan looked over at me and said, “I didn’t want to say anyting then, but that scared me too.” Thank you, Stan; that made me feel better.

Driving back to camp, we relaxed while listening to music. “A White Sport Coat” came on, and Stan reached over to turn up the music. He reminisced about the same song playing on his first major ghost town road trip in Nevada. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Final Campfire

On the final night, it was just the two of us. That night was my favorite and a great way to unwind at the end of the trip. After dinner, Stan and I relaxed at the firepit. We talked about my journey with ghost towns and following Stan’s book for over twenty years.

The last night in my tent was the most comfortable. It was warmer, the rain stopped, and the wind died down. I hadn’t tried the Mountain House freeze-dried ice cream sandwiches recommended by Mojito Adventures, so I had to open one. The texture was different; after one bite, I read the label to ensure it wasn’t supposed to be reconstituted. Nope. So I tried another bite again, debating the texture; before I knew it, the bar was gone. They will be on my next camping packing list.

Day 3

Belmont Mill

The prior day the light was waning, and my anxiety was through the roof, so I went back to Belmont Mill for more photos and to fly the drone. Stan asked if I was going back to the mine; no way.

As Stan headed to Las Vegas, we broke camp early. I used my Spardar 12-volt tea kettle to make a freeze-dried breakfast. Friends recommended Peak Refuel as the best brand of freeze-dried meals, and the breakfast skillet didn’t disappoint.

Hoosac Canyon Cabin

I spotted this little stone and brick cabin not far outside of Eureka. It wasn’t far off Highway 50. I’m looking for information. The road leads up Hoosac Canyon. Shannon Station is close but, based on the map is on the other side of the highway.

Ruby Hill

On my spring trip to Eureka, most of Ruby Hill was blocked by drill rigs.

Ruby Hill was established in the 1870s as it was closer to the mines than Eureka. The town increased to an astounding two thousand five hundred residents. It had everything a person could want, stores, hotels, restaurants, and a railroad linking to Eureka.

With a drop in mining activity, Ruby Hill declined in the 1880s but had a revival in the early 1900s. The resurgence lasted until a thunderstorm washed out the railroad in 1910.

Rogue Wheat Paste Installation

Ruby Hill has a unique outdoor museum. Deon Reynolds and his wife installed large format images of local families in structures around Eureka. The art is bio-degradable and will fade over time. You can learn more about the project at Nevada Humanities.

Cold Springs

Cold Springs is in three sections: Cold Springs Overland Stage Station, Cold Springs Pony Express Station, and Cold Springs Overland Telegraph station. Due to time constraints, I only visited the stage and telegraph stations. When the weather is cooler, I want to hike to the Pony Express Station.

Le Beau Grave

Laying in a vast and empty alkali flat along Highway 50, “The Loneliest Road in America,” sits the loneliest grave. It is believed to be the final resting place of Jeannie, Louise, and Emma, ages 9, 6, and 3, respectively. The three young sisters died of diphtheria in 1864 or 65. Some say a boy, Wilson Turner, was buried in the same grave.

In 1940 a cloudburst resulted in two of the sister’s remains being unearthed. Information is conflicting, but it appears two sisters were re-interred at this location, half a mile from the original grave.

While it was a somber end to my trip, I am glad I could stop and pay my respects to the pioneer children who didn’t survive the journey to the promised land.

Here and gone

I got home Sunday night. I cleaned up Honey Badger for my birthday trip, “Ghost Towns & Treats.” My Jeep ladies and I had a great day visiting Chemung, Masonic, Jordan, and Conway Ranches. We had treats at Kim’s donuts and Jolly Cone and rounded out the day with drinks and dinner at JT Basque restaurant.

(I’m not paid for reviewing anything. If someone wants to give me money or cool stuff to try while exploring, I’m more than happy to accept!;))

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