Hot Springs Swing: 2500 Miles Of Nevada Dirt

[WoodsChick]

Enjoying your trip

Thank you!

Tami, your ride reports are the best! I can't wait to see what adventures were in store for you on the rest of your trip.

Hah! Thanks! It was a pretty trouble-free trip, but we did see some really neat stuff

... well, I have another hot-spring to look for ...

I think the Gerlach locals call the one I'm thinking of "frog springs" ...
I thought it was just another name for Trego ... it's maybe ten
miles from Gerlach and 500 yards from the railroad tracks ...
has a little discreet pool and
wooden ladder and trees ... Hobbs has a pic in one of her RRs
and I thought you guys do too ...
(edit, found my pic)

... anyway, carry on!

Oh yeah, Trego and Frog Pond are different. Frog Pond is on Jungo Rd, I think? We stayed to the south of that after leaving Trego.

I love that you stopped for the wild horses.

While it sucks your ride got diverted it looks like things turned out pretty well for the most part of your day.

Oh, yeah, it was no issue! I just felt antsy spending another day in the Winnemucca area, which doesn't feel very exotic or exciting to me
And I always stop for the horses! Also the pronghorn and anything else we see out there. I know some folks like to see them run but I don't like stressing them out, especially before winter comes.

It's amazing what sorts of fun routes and adventures can be had by taking the time to speak with the local folks. Great stuff. Oh, and I also love booies.

Oh, yeah, there is no substitute for local knowledge. Plus, it's always fun to get the local perspective. And, really, who doesn't love booies??




WC

 

[SFMCjohn]

Oh yeah, Trego and Frog Pond are different. Frog Pond is on Jungo Rd, I think? We stayed to the south of that after leaving Trego.

I see it now ... wow, I'm hopeless ...

... the locals gave me an idea there were
two hot springs out that way, and I looked
for Trego for a couple hours before giving up ...

... maybe someday I'll learn
your travertine trick ...

 

[WoodsChick]

I see it now ... wow, I'm hopeless ...

... the locals gave me an idea there were
two hot springs out that way, and I looked
for Trego for a couple hours before giving up ...

... maybe someday I'll learn
your travertine trick ...

I just followed Jungo Rd west to the playa on my computer and there it is...I didn't realize Frog Pond and Trego were so super-close! I also didn't realize the road was considered Jungo that far west! Looks like we both learned something today



MapChallengedChick

 

[WoodsChick]

We left the unsoakable hot springs and headed east through the saddle in the East Range, only to come upon another unsoakable springs. This time, it was the "Private Property," "No Trespassing," and "No Parking" signs that prevented us from soaking rather than the temperature of the water. This spring had always been on private property, but was always available to the public. Not anymore. A little bit of subsequent research upon returning home showed the ranch that the springs are located on was sold not too long ago. I almost cried when I found out it sold for a paltry $250k. ARRGGHHH!!! Why did I not know it was for sale??

To make ourselves feel better about a lost opportunity, we decided to treat ourselves to a 15-mile route through the next mountain range that we probably shouldn't have been on. Whee!!

This is a big uphill. Yeah, I know it doesn't look like one. I know it looks tame to all my "real dirt bike" riding friends. I feel like a loser pointing out that stuff never ever ever looks as steep in a photo as it does in real life, but I'm putting it out there anyway because, well, it's true!

Note: I do not always make the best decisions regarding my personal safety and/or common sense on the trail. I think my looong list of injuries will attest to that. I also don't cotton to the idea of someone riding my bike for me through anything. I had already decided pre-departure, though, that I would be cautious and careful, knowing I was a long ways from home on a big heavy bike that could hurt me.

Anyway, I watched Eric get a little squirrelly at the top, where it turns to funky white dirt, before he disappeared over the top. I sat there a minute, and then saw him reappear on foot. Hey! Maybe I don't have to ride it up the hill! I then realized he was waving me on with one hand and holding a camera in the other.

What looks like a downhill behind me is actually an uphill in front of me…

I am a little person on a big bike. My big bike is loaded for camping, heavy in the rear with a tank bag sitting right where my lady parts should be when going up a steep hill…

Ah, well, I made it to the top with no real drama, just a few unplanned and inelegant wheelies. We sat at the top laughing and having a good time, and then it was time to get going as the day was quickly slipping away.

What goes up must come down. It was all 2-track but you can't see the individual tracks at the top because it was all rock…

We got down to the valley just as the sun disappeared. We headed north so as to be closer to fuel in the morning and set about looking for a place to bed down for the night. We were accompanied in our quest by a big beautiful moon…

WC

 

[two wheel tramp]

Your reports always have such great photos!!!! I love the colors in your pictures, too.

We should go in on a BARF hot spring. I love some hot water.

 

[WoodsChick]

Your reports always have such great photos!!!! I love the colors in your pictures, too.

We should go in on a BARF hot spring. I love some hot water.

Thank you! It's not me, it's my cameras and the beautiful landscape. I just press the little button on the top.

I'd totally be down with the hot springs thing, but good luck with that. Properties like this one don't come up for sale very often. That's why I'm so disappointed…no, make that pissed off…that I missed the opportunity




LandlessChick

 

[Lunch Box]

Good stuff, T. I wish we had known about it. Maybe a little BARF Adv group buy would have been in order. Bummer....

 

[m0t0_ryder]

Fly Ranch Hot Springs is another one that got sold recently.
It was bought by Burning Man org.

I like natural hot springs.
While looking for some new ones I stumbled on this story about Fly Hot Springs Near Gerlach Nevada.
The article is from 2009...
Burning Mans Plans

I then looked at the Fly Geyser Wiki listing.

Fly Geyser is located on the private Fly Ranch in Hualapai Flat, about 0.3 miles from State Route 34. The ranch was purchased by the Burning Man Project in 2016. There is a high fence and a locked gate topped with spikes to exclude trespassers. The only access is a dirt road, but it is large enough to be visible from the road.

Fly Geyser was accidentally created during well drilling in 1964 while exploring for sources of geothermal energy. The well may not have been capped correctly, or left unplugged, but either way, dissolved minerals started rising and accumulating, creating the travertine mound on which the geyser sits and continues growing. Water is constantly released, reaching 5 feet in the air. The geyser contains several terraces discharging water into 30 to 40 pools over an area of 74 acres. The geyser is made up of a series of different minerals, but its brilliant colors are due to thermophilic algae.

To bad burning Man's purchase has (for now) closed access to this cool/hot place.
I'd like to visit it.

 

[2strokeYardSale]

First of all, they are feral horses.

Second, I know how to spell fine, I was just low on red paint.

Great report and pics!

 

[Lunch Box]

At least you didn't skimp on the visual portion of your message, 2SYS.

 

[SFMCjohn]

I just followed Jungo Rd west to the playa on my computer and there it is...I didn't realize Frog Pond and Trego were so super-close! I also didn't realize the road was considered Jungo that far west! Looks like we both learned something today

MapChallengedChick

I think I learned I need to take two weeks for
my next Nevada trip ...

Interesting tire choices you all made ...

 

[WoodsChick]

Fly Ranch Hot Springs is another one that got sold recently.
It was bought by Burning Man org.

Don't even get me started on the whole Burning Man, Inc. thing.
Their purchase and subsequent locking up of the Fly Ranch geyser is just the icing on a very bitter cake for me. I'm sure it will be open to a select portion of the public someday...for a hefty price.

First of all, they are feral horses.

Second, I know how to spell fine, I was just low on red paint.

Great report and pics!

Thanks, YS!

At least you didn't skimp on the visual portion of your message, 2SYS.

He knows what's important!

I think I learned I need to take two weeks for
my next Nevada trip ...

Interesting tire choices you all made ...

Not my choice! Not at all! I wanted full-on knobbies but I ultimately ended up having to run what was on there, which were almost-new Pirelli Scorpions. They're great tires, and I had no issues, but still...

Eric uses his Heidenau K60 Scouts for everything!



TireSnobChick

 

[m0t0_ryder]

Don't even get me started on the whole Burning Man, Inc. thing.
Their purchase and subsequent locking up of the Fly Ranch geyser is just the icing on a very bitter cake for me. I'm sure it will be open to a select portion of the public someday...for a hefty price.

Totally with you on this.
My take is that they fenced it in to keep the hordes of burners out.
The occasional hot spring enthusiast would not/ should not be a problem.
Most HS fans I met are very good at pack-it-in, pack-it-out.

Also agree that, like burning man, they will turn it into a limited clientele profit center.

 

[oobus]

Totally with you on this.
My take is that they fenced it in to keep the hordes of burners out.
The occasional hot spring enthusiast would not/ should not be a problem.
Most HS fans I met are very good at pack-it-in, pack-it-out.

Also agree that, like burning man, they will turn it into a limited clientele profit center.

Was one of my bucket list items to see this year. Got there and the fence and gates kept us out.

 

[WoodsChick]

Totally with you on this.
My take is that they fenced it in to keep the hordes of burners out.
The occasional hot spring enthusiast would not/ should not be a problem.
Most HS fans I met are very good at pack-it-in, pack-it-out.

Also agree that, like burning man, they will turn it into a limited clientele profit center.

You mean the hordes of burners that they themselves are responsible for unleashing into the deserts? Yes.

Was one of my bucket list items to see this year. Got there and the fence and gates kept us out.

That was your Crater To The Sea ride, right?



WC

 

[OaklandF4i]

Thank you for taking us along on another epic adventure WC!

Cough... we could use someone with your photographic and storytelling skills on a certain trip south this winter.

 

[WoodsChick]

For stumbling around in the dark the night before, we did a pretty good job of finding a nice spot to camp. It had been beautiful in the moonlight, and it was just as beautiful in the morning, showcasing what I love most about the desert... utter silence and stillness...

Turns out it was near an old mine so we went for a walk in the morning to check things out…

Gold Run 8. I took the accordion'd paper out of the little pill bottle and it was a list of names on the mining claim, looked like an extended family out of Sparks…

Cruised north out of the valley, took dirt all the way into Golconda in hopes of filling our thirsty tanks with fuel. No such luck. The only viable business left in Golconda, it seems, was the post office. The nice lady behind the counter really reminded Eric of someone he used to work with many years ago. She had a blue Harley at the time. When we left Eric spied a blue Harley in the parking lot! Anyway, we went back into Winnemucca…AGAIN!…and fueled up the bikes and ourselves, hit Sonoma Cycle for a bottle of oil, and then adios, pavement!

Too bad this place was a few months away from opening...

Ahhh…what a pleasant sight on a warm sunny day!

Dee-licious!! Perfect temp for the sunny day!
[youtube]zRyLid-L0iE[/youtube]


Heading east, we ran across another big ol' pile of water, Willow Creek Reservoir, and decided to stop and enjoy the last light of a fantastic day…

Goodnight, Pelican. Goodnight, Moon...

LuckyChick

 

[WoodsChick]

Thank you for taking us along on another epic adventure WC!

Cough... we could use someone with your photographic and storytelling skills on a certain trip south this winter.

I'd love to go!
All depends on my driver/mechanic/boss/cat-sitter/paycheck/health/family/etc.






BajaLoverChick

 

[1962siia]

Woo hoo!

 

[HadesOmega]

Wow looks like my kinda adventure!