Marked safe from Burning Man

Marked safe from Burning Man, playa mud and dysentery.

I didn’t want a big party for my 50th birthday, but several smaller events, including a Labor Day camping trip. Nevada Expeditions and I hit rain, cloudbursts, hail, lightning and even snow on the peaks. The storm made for beautiful pictures. It was chilly and challenging camping in the cold rain, but it was a great and memorable trip.

Burning Man

Burning Man attracts 75,000 people to the desert. It is supposed to be an art event, but from what I hear is more of a hedonistic free-for-all. This year it turned into a gigantic muddy mess, with vehicles trapped, no supplies, and dysentery running through the camps.

I’ll take the isolated Nevada desert and history any day over a festival and “peopley” event.

Middle of Nowhere

Our original plan for my birthday trip with Nevada Expeditions was to return to Birch Creek and visit the ghost towns we missed on our last trip with Stan Paher, the Godfather of Nevada ghost towns. Due to the impending weather, we debated where to go. Our schedules were busy so rescheduling wasn’t an option. We thought of heading south to Goldfield, but it seemed the storm would hit all of Nevada. We decided to chance the weather in Big Smoky and Monitor Valleys. As our previous camping site was on a creek at the mouth of a canyon, it wasn’t the best place with a threat of flash floods.

We headed out, not knowing where we would make base camp. I saw the sign for Toquima Cave, and we remembered they have a campground. I usually like throwing up a tent on undeveloped BLM land, but given the weather, there were benefits to an established campground. It worked out great; there was only one other campsite used, and they left, I assume, due to the weather.

The first night went well; we got camp set up and I cooked steak bites, potatoes and peppers. We relaxed and prepared to head out early the next morning.

The next night was another issue. That afternoon a major rain and lightning storm hit while we were in Manhatten. We got back to the camp to find everything drenched.

We debated if we should pack up or tough it out. The lightning had moved farther away and the rain decreased from a torrential downpour to a drizzle. It was decided if we could start a fire, we would stay. Austin amazingly got a great fire going while I deployed Honey Badgers bat-wing awning. It was hot dogs and smores for dinner.

The second night was one of the coldest night I’ve ever spent. I expected to wake to snow covering my tent. I slept in what seemed like a million layers: hat, scarf, baselayer, sun shirt, sweatshirt, down vest, leggings, fleece pants, and two pair of socks. I was in a 3-season sleeping bag, with several blankets. I don’t think it was the temperature, but the humidity and leaky tent made me so cold.

We spent three days exploring Big Smoky and Monitor Valleys. Stone House was the highlight of the trip. Our last stop was the 1860s ghost town, Amador. Working around the weather was interesting, like trying to land the drone when lightning and a cloudburst hit, but it made for some beautiful pictures. Below are some of the highlights my cell phone.

Kingston

Kington was having a BBQ for the volunteer fire department. They had a huge turnout; it was probably the event of the year. The steak and hamburger smelled delicious but as we had a late start and didn’t know where we were camping, we headed out.

Toquima Cave

Toquima cave was used by the Western Shoshone between 1,500 and 3,000 years ago. While many sites have petroglyphs, the cave has pictographs that are drawings instead of carvings. The pictographs are some of the best in the continent.

Potts Ranch

Oddly, this 1870s ranch in the middle of nowhere was the one place we could get cell service.

Diana’s Punchbowl

I hoped for better color when I flew the drone, but the shadows interfered. Diana’s Punchbowl is 600 feet in diameter. The water is 30 feet below the edge of the cauldron. The water ranges from 140 to 180 degrees so Diana’s Punchbowl is not a soaking hot spring.

The Monitor

Monitor Valley was named after the USS Monitor. We heard there was a geological feature that looked like the Monitor, thus the name. We didn’t know where the formation was, but I remembered the appearance as the ghost town of Monitor, California, was also named after the ship. As we drove into the valley, I looked off and knew this had to be the Monitor.

Springfield Mining District

The district was only active for one year, between 1875 and 1876.

One of the cloudburst

The weather would be sunny and warm, then the skies would darken out of nowhere, and a cloudburst drenched us. Sometimes the sun came out, and a cloudburst still hit!

Northumberland

Darn it, the road to the townsite was blocked. There was an interesting tram system outside of the gate.

Pine Creek

Pine Creek had a post office from 1873-1875 and again from 1879-1881. It is now a private ranch.

Stone House/Smith’s Station

Stone House has been high on my list to visit for a while. It was just a little windy!

The two-story station was built in the 1860s. It served the stage line from Austin to Belmont.

Belmont & East Belmont

As we had both been to Belmont and it is easily accessible, we didn’t spend much time in this amazing ghost town.

Breyfogle

A small camp grew following the discovery of gold. Little was produced and the camp soon faded.

East Manhatten

Not much is left of this mining camp aside from boilers.

White Caps

Manhattan

The lightning started in earnest while we were in Manhattan, so we only took a few photos out of the window.

Hercules

Who knows where were two Hercules ghost towns in Nevada? The other Hercules is in Churchill County.

We had a brief break in the storm and thankfully, Hercules wasn’t in a canyon.

Cape Horn Station

Cape Horn was an Overland Stage Station and possibly served the Pony Express.

Amador

Amador came to life in 1863. A town was laid out and soon had all the usual businesses. As ore played out, the town died by 1866.

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