RESN&GB4x4 Trips:The Fringes of Death Valley:Guiding The Old Trailmaster Around the Gold Mountain Country

RECONNOITERING IN THE EASTERN SIERRA NEVADA & GREAT BASIN
BY 4-WHEEL-DRIVE
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RESN&GB4x4 Trips:

The Fringes of Death Valley:
Guiding The Old Trailmaster Around the Gold Mountain Country

For some months previous to March, 2008, I had been corresponding regularly with a certain Steve Greene, aka “The Old Trailmaster” of Death Valley. This marauding Mojave maverick currently resides in the Oregon coastal region, and though now far removed mileage-wise, continues to be seen roaming the dusty roads and trails of Death Valley on occasion. It is widely reported that he travels alone through the region's obscure canyons, mountains, and valleys ... yet, as I was soon to learn, he is not adverse to taking on a companion or two.

Late in 2007, I suddenly received an email from the previously unknown Steve with comments on the Steele Pass and Lippincott grade roads. Replying and subsequent emails found that Steve and I had much in common, and so we continued nearly daily dialog back and forth via electronic mail medium.

Steve runs his own Death Valley based website, as well as a published author of several books. A veteran of Death Valley travel, Steve has taken many roads in the Death Valley in his series of 4WD vehicles, including his latest, a 2005 Nissan Xterra with the factory off road package.

The Old Trailmaster himself.

One area of Death Valley that Steve had not yet visited was the northernmost region of the valley. This area includes the Tule Canyon, Oriental Wash and Gold Mountain country that lies primarily in Nevada, thus outside of Death Valley National Park, yet still is considered part of the Death Valley region. Due to the area's remoteness and distance from available gas stations, Steve felt that a knowledgeable guide might prove beneficial to reduce his potential of running dangerously low on fuel in a region that is known as a labyrinth of unmarked dirt roads. Since gas has not been available at Scotty's Castle, and there seems to be no evidence that it will again be in the foreseeable future, Steve would have to fill his rig at Stovepipe Wells, thereby reducing further his reserve in the secluded Nevada landscape. Being a fellow who methodically keeps his risks to a minimum, he sought my experience in the area. He wanted to go, especially since he had one book out on Death Valley and another – at this point only a set of ideas floating in his brain cells – on the must do list, so he felt he really needed to visit and photograph the region

Detailed in one of Steve's emails about February of 2008 was the need to visit family in southern California and on such trips he generally tries to include time and mileage in Death Valley. He inquired that since I was living nearby, would I / could I guide The Old Trailmaster in and around the Gold Mountain country? Sure! Why not? Through a volley of emails, we finally settled on March 18^th, 2008 on the calendar and the Nevada state line east of Crankshaft Crossing for our meeting.

My friend Graham C. and his dog Toby are always eager to get out of the house and exercise the front axle on his silver 2000 Toyota Tacoma TRD 4WD pickup, so a phone call to Graham gave me an affirmative reply for his company in which to take a reconnoiter over to Crankshaft Crossing country east of our homes in Big Pine, California.

So it was, on a cool morning on March 18^th, 2008, that Graham and pointed the noses of our white and silver Tacomas eastward for the relatively short jaunt to Crankshaft Crossing east of our Owens Valley village. Graham and I had CB radios, Steve did not. Steve had a GMRS radio with FRS capability, Graham and I each also had FRS 2-way radios; so Steve and I while in our planning stage had settled on a particular FRS channel to hail each other when we got within range.

To facilitate photo placement, I will break down this travelogue into sections. As usual, my photos will be thumbnailed. Clicking on any thumbnail image will open the photo to full size in a separate window.

Part 1: Big Pine to the Nevada State Line

Entering Death Valley near Crankshaft Crossing.

At 6:25 AM, I pulled out of my driveway to cover the two miles over to Graham's house. Beginning mileage on my Tacoma was 115,398 miles and I zeroed both trip odometers. My first quarter mile was spent fighting with my Delphi NAV200 navigator, which often has a mind of its own and does what it wants to do instead of what it's told to do. In addition, I also had my Garmin eTrex along and functioning alongside the Delphi. Otherwise, the weather was nice, clear and a mild 41° registered on my outdoor thermometer.

Graham was ready and waiting when I pulled up to his house, his Tacoma warming up outside in his driveway. I had been experiencing some transmission quality problems with my CB radio and we tried various microphones that Graham and I had among our spares to see if this would help. But we still got away from Graham's house by 6:37 AM even with the tinkering.

The road across the Inyo Range on the Big Pine-Death Valley road proved to be of no challenge, as snows had been relatively meager this past winter and the recent weather warm enough to melt much of what had fallen. Only patches on the shady slopes at the summit of the range whitened slightly the ground between the piñons.

At a point 35.9 miles since leaving my home, and at 7:25 AM, Graham and I reached the end of the pavement in Eureka Valley and stopped to air down our tires. Both of us like to run approximately 18 psi on our B.F. Goodrich All Terrain T/A off road tires, which aids in smoothing the ride over the washboards and rocks while out in the backcountry. I noticed that there was a new Death Valley National Park sign at this point. The DVNP boundary is actually way up near the summit of the Inyos, but over the years I've noticed that the sign tended to wander around a few times as politicians and bureaucrats and geographers try to make up their mind if the Big Pine-Death Valley road is actually a cherry stem or fully within Death Valley National Park. No big deal, by 7:40 Graham and I rolled our twin Tacoma caravan forward.

The road across Eureka Valley was relatively smooth and washboard free, although to avoid eating my dust, Graham chose one side of the road, I the other. If viewed from above, we probably looked like a couple of military jets in formation. The crossing of the Last Chance Range, though, was not washboard free, which prompted soapbox comments from both of us via our CB radios. Some of those comments were foul enough that our mother's would have used some soap from that soapbox to wash out our mouths ...

At 8:06 AM, as Graham and I crossed over the summit of the Last Chance Range, a faint but tangible transmission coming from Steve Greene greeted us. He was awaiting us at the state line as planned, a position about six air miles from ours. Steve had his radio turned on awaiting the first blips of radio signal indicating our advancement in his direction; and when he heard us he hailed out that he was awaiting us at the planned meeting point.

At a point 55.1 miles and 1 hour and 47 minutes since leaving my house, Graham and I turned off the Big Pine-Death Valley Road at Crankshaft Crossing and onto the road running across the northernmost edge of Death Valley itself. Twenty one minutes later, we had a visual on Steve and his Nissan parked just a few yards inside California and Death Valley National Park.

CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO OPEN Running along the Big Pine-Death Valley road – destination the California / Nevada state line in northernmost Death Valley.	Graham C. following behind as we travel eastbound on the Big Pine-Death Valley road. The snowy Sierra Nevada is seen in the background.	Airing down our tires in Eureka Valley.	Climbing the Last Chance Range with Graham following behind. Eureka Valley in the background.
The view southward down the length of Death Valley from the road between Crankshaft Crossing and Tule Canyon. Here Death Valley is of relatively high elevation – generally in the 4,000 foot range along the road east from Crankshaft Crossing. The legendary furnace hot portion of Death Valley and resort areas known to most tourists lie more than 50 miles to the south.	Steve Greene in my rear view mirror watching the twin Tacoma caravan as we approach his location.	Our meeting point at the California / Nevada border. I'm standing inside Nevada, the vehicles, Steve and Graham are in California. The view west to the Last Chance Range. Here the state line is also shared with the boundary of Death Valley National Park.	Steve (left) and Graham, as we stand about at the state line discussing our vehicles, four-wheeling and other common activities.

Part 2: Nevada State Line to Stateline, Nevada Ghost Town Site

Oriental Wash, looking west to the Sierra Nevada Range, with the Last Chance Range and Inyo Range in between. Steve Greene's Nissan and Graham's Toyota are coming up to a stop to enjoy the view with me.

Graham, Steve and I stood around for 1 hour and 30 minutes exactly at the state line and got acquainted, compared vehicles and enjoyed the quiet and solitude that the spot affords. Then we decided it was time to reconnoiter. Our first destination was discussed as we began our way a bit further east to access the mouth of Tule Canyon and it was determined the first stop of the day would be the ghost town of Stateline. Stateline sat northeast of us, a few miles south of the semi-ghost of Gold Point, at the western end of Slate Ridge.

Our byway just entered the mouth of Tule Canyon, then we immediately turned out of the canyon on another road to follow a traverse road across to Oriental Wash. The roads were newly bladed by Esmeralda County, Nevada and were in fine shape. However, at some point in the past, the road's direction was changed – instead of heading sharply south to less than a quarter mile from the state line, it now angled southeast to access the road up Oriental Wash considerably east of its original junction. My Delphi navigator, which showed the original road, now showed my location as being in the middle of the desert. But the new road did cut off some distance and soon the road up Oriental Wash came into view – both visually with my eyes and digitally with the Delphi's satellite guided “eyes”.

Traveling up Oriental Wash, I noticed that the Joshua trees were in their beginning stages of bloom. The view in my rearview mirror also revealed a spectacle of the mountain ranges – the Last Chance, Inyo and Sierra Nevada – stacked up and covered with snow and the vistas were very scenic. So I stopped our caravan and we all went up on flat shoulder of the wash to enjoy some photography.

We restarted our caravan to continue ahead to Stateline ghost town. Along the way, I noted this into my ever present microcassette recorder, based upon our radio conversations:

“I think Graham forgot to bring lunch. ... Steve quipped that we could eat at the Burger King at Stateline. Graham said that sounded good to him. I came back that I’d rather eat at the Tokop Taco Bell.”

At a point 75.1 miles since leaving my home, our party arrived at the headframe at Stateline. Our group scattered and coalesced repeatedly as we each sought our own photographic and philosophic experiences at the town. I've visited this site numerous times, Graham has a time or two, this was Steve's first.

At 12:31 PM, our group made good on the movement to have lunch, so we circled our wagons around the headframe and enjoyed our lunch with a view of Gold Mountain and the intervening upper Oriental Wash country in between. Our lunch menus proved quite diverse – I had half a tuna sandwich, some Fritos, a piece of beef jerky and a donut; Graham had hard boiled eggs, chicken pieces, chips and dip; Steve had soy nuts and a V-8 juice. Steve, being from Oregon, shared with us a seasonal Cliff health food bar – iced gingerbread – for a bit of desert. I'm sure it was far healthier than my donut. Lunchtime conversation ran rather droll – our various painful operations and autopsies. Steve spent many years in law enforcement and dead bodies and autopsies were routine in his line of work; I aided on two of them during my years working with Mono County, California in the 1970s and 1980s.

At 1:36 PM, we elected to move on. Still being late winter, darkness would come fairly early and we were burning daylight. Our next destination was about six miles away at Oriental ghost town site.

CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO OPEN On the road to Tule Canyon. At this point, the road turns south a bit, for a view down Death Valley.	Entering Tule Canyon at its mouth where it empties into the northern end of Death Valley.	Graham's dog, Toby, is looking at me out “his” window. Taken just inside Tule Canyon.	Steve and his Nissan Xterra exiting Tule Canyon on the traverse road over to Oriental Wash. View westward.
Our caravan in Oriental Wash. The view to the snowy Sierra Nevada peaks dominates the view.	The Sagebrush Reconnoiterer (left) and the Old Trailmaster side by side in Oriental Wash.	Stateline ghost town. View westward.	Steve walking among the mine ruins at Stateline. The view is eastward into the Tokop region of Gold Mountain and along the Slate Ridge.
Stateline view west to the Sierra Nevada.	Stateline.	Left to right: The Sagebrush Reconnoiterer, Graham C., and the Old Trailmaster. At the cabin at Stateline.	Graham's dog, Toby, checks out a Stateline makeshift “honey pot”, apparently left behind by a former camper. Toby's arrow straight tail says he's got his nose into something ...
Graham and Steve check out one of Stateline's numerous stone ruins.	One of Stateline's ruins.	Lunchtime at Stateline.	A Stateline ruin with Gold Mountain in the background.

Part 3: Stateline, Nevada Ghost Town Site to Oriental Ghost Town Site

Steve Greene at the end of the ore cart track run, enjoying the view down Oriental Wash all the way to the Sierra Nevada, in the distance.

It is a quick run over to Oriental from Stateline, and both are within sight of each other. Stateline, though its elevation is 6,000 feet, is still ensconced within the desert – with scant brush, scattered and stunted desert brush and Joshua trees; Oriental sits just inside the piñon forest belt, although there are still a few Joshua trees present mixed in with the piñons as well. The route takes one along through a thick and scenic Joshua tree forest. History runs along this road also - the sharp eyed may spot a few 4”x4” posts broken off near the ground – these were once the main power line poles that carried electricity from Bishop Creek – southwest of Bishop, California and Rhyolite, Nevada.

My trip odometer read 81.1 miles when we pulled into “downtown” Oriental. In the shady areas, snow still lingered about. A sad note that I found is that the only remaining wooden cabin – reportedly the post office, had fallen. I had witnessed it's deterioration over the years, but it was still standing when I last visited in 2004.

Graham had recently been to Oriental and told us about a neat mine that was quite safe, so we head over to that location for a look-see. Graham is really into exploring old mines; I don't like being in them but do reluctantly go just for a photo or two and get out quickly; Steve falling somewhere between these two comfort zones.

A short distance across the gulch was a ridgeback splitting Oriental Wash into two parts. In the ridgeback was a deep bore with large, flat tailings and ore cart trackage extending out to the end of the dump. Atop the ridgeback were several newer vehicles and a drilling rig setup, indicating that exploratory work was in progress. Graham, Steve and I grabbed our respective flashlights and entered the bore into the ridge.

Ribbons hanging from the ceiling had numerals indicating the distance from the portal of the adit. The last one I saw was indicating that we were in 300 feet. About 150 feet beyond that ribbon, the adit took a sharp 90° left turn and it was there I nearly lost my lunch ... the ore cart tracks crossing an unprotected vertical drop of an undetermined depth! I was so busy following my flashlight beam ahead that I nearly stepped into the maw of death deep in the bowels of the earth. Beyond were Graham and Toby in a large hollowed out section of adit, that looked to have been blasted out but not mucked out.

It was nearly 3:00 PM by the time we exited the adit. Daylight was burning fast and there was still so much to do and see.

CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO OPEN On the road to Oriental from Stateline. View west across Death Valley to the Sierra Nevada.	Graham and Steve check out some of Oriental's ruins.	This cabin was still standing the last time I was here, about 2004. Time and elements have taken their toll.	Steve and Graham return to their vehicles at Oriental. The lofty White Mountains are in the distance.
Steve in the deep mine adit at Oriental.	Oriental.	I just happened to simultaneously snap this shot the same time that Steve took a shot with his camera and flash.	Steve at the sharp turn deep inside the Oriental mine tunnel.
A deep vertical shaft deep within the tunnel. I nearly stepped into this ...		Graham and Toby deep within the Oriental mine tunnel.

Part 4: Oriental Ghost Town Site to Tule Canyon

Roosevelt City, Tule Canyon, Nevada.

It was time to leave Oriental. But I first wanted to see if I could access a canyon that cuts the ridgeback on its east side to access Oriental's main mine – the Empress. Along the canyon below the mine are scattered ruins and mill foundations. And that road would allow us to access the main road up to the site of Tokop. There at Tokop are found numerous ruins, plus the mountaintop views are grand.

However, as soon as I turned up the road from our position, I encountered deep snow. So our plans changed and our goal was now to run back down into Death Valley and into the mouth of Tule Canyon, then the length of the canyon to its summit, then try to run down Cucomungo Canyon and into Eureka Valley. That would leave Steve with the option of camping the night near the sand dunes in Eureka Valley with an easy egress out of Eureka either into Big Pine on US395 or head north via North Eureka Road into Fish Lake Valley and the small ranch town of Dyer, Nevada, either of which would put precious petrol into his tank.

Our caravan turned down Oriental Wash and followed it back to the cross-over road to Tule Canyon. Then we turned up that historic wash that cuts south into Death Valley from the high slopes of Magruder Mountain. My truck's outdoor thermometer was reading a pleasant 74°.

Three-tenths of a mile after dropping back into Tule Canyon, the first ruins come into sight. On the east side of the road is an old Caterpillar bulldozer, parked next to a mine adit. Across the roadway and on the canyon's west side are several stone foundations. We stood for a while talking and enjoying the nice balmy weather, pondering such scientific anomalies as why the back of Steve's Nissan Xterra gets so dirty on dirt roads while the back end of both my truck and Graham's stay relatively clean. After we discussed that topic at length, Steve suddenly blurted out - “Let's boogie!”

Roosevelt City townsite was the next stop of our Tule Canyon train; it coming on the 101.5 mile mark on my trip odometer. Seeing the main cabin at the site deteriorate badly over the 15 years that I've been coming by in fairly regular fashion made me wonder if it had met the same fate as the Oriental post office. But it was still standing, but looking more spare and weak than it had been on my last visit.

Midway up Tule Canyon the traveler has a choice – either continue straight ahead and through a 1990s era placer operation; or exit the canyon via a short detour and up on the edge of Lida Valley. The placer operation has been reclaimed, but the road through there is still very rough as the original road was removed during placer operations. We elected the latter – exit the canyon. However, midway through the placer operation is the site of Rachfords, an old stage station.

Exiting the canyon, our group got out of the confines of Tule Canyon and enjoyed the wide open vistas of Lida Valley. Finding the main road running between the semi ghost town of Gold Point and Tule Canyon, we dropped back into the canyon to see Rachfords. At that point, I had covered 108.3 miles and it was now 4:32 PM. Just after we turned off our engines and exited our vehicles, a gorgeous ruddy and golden colored fox sauntered off a short distance and then watched us through the sagebrush.

After satisfying the appropriate quota of digital pixels expended on the stage stop, we elected to backtrack the quarter mile to Lida Valley, then continue north on the bypass. As that road follows the brim of Tule Canyon around the apex of its turn from a north-south to an west-east trend, we had gorgeous views both up the canyon or down the canyon and across to the snowy peaks of Death Valley's Panamint Range.

Dropping back into the canyon at the northern end of the placering operation, we resumed up the original road through Tule Canyon. The site of Senner was the next standing ruin to see – only Senner wasn't standing anymore. Like Oriental, heavy winter snows and age finally took its toll. By the time we hit Senner, we were also starting to hit more and more snow, now starting to impinge on the road as well. Our thoughts turned to wondering if we could make Tule Summit. And if we did, could we make it along the roads north or across and down Cucomungo Canyon. The piñon forests run thick north of Tule Summit and in the uppermost stretch of Cucomungo Canyon; the road traversing the country between Tule Summit and the head of Cucomungo Canyon is faint; and to boot the trend of the land is sloping to the north, away from the sun's snow melting rays. And the sun's warmth was getting pretty close to the horizon as well.

A mile or so past the site of Senner, Tule Canyon constricts and becomes heavily wooded. The snow increased in depth and coverage as our caravan continued to probe its upper depths. All of us had trepidations as to what lay ahead. In what appeared to be the last sunny spot we would hit in a long time, we stopped to scratch our heads and probe our options. I decided to continue ahead and have a look-see as to what might be around the next bend.

What was around the bend was axle to door deep snow.

Steve and I walked a bit further up the road and determined very quickly it was futile to attempt any further forward movement. Sundown wasn't that far away (in fact it had already occurred at the spot we were at) and the risk of one or all of our trucks digging in was too high. So we turned our wagons around and head back down Tule Canyon. A big, nearly full moon was rising out over Lida Valley.

CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO OPEN Leaving Oriental for Tule Canyon. Gold Mountain in the background.	The view down Oriental Wash to the Sierra Nevada.		An old Caterpillar bulldozer in Tule Canyon.		Graham and Toby arrive at Roosevelt City in Tule Canyon.
Steve at the old cabin at Roosevelt City. This cabin has deteriorated greatly since I first laid eyes on it in 1995.	Driving northbound up Tule Canyon, with the snowy slopes of Mount Magruder in the distance.		Who's having the roadside chat? Toby and Steve, or Graham and Steve? Or is this a Tule Canyon conference between all three? Stopped on the bypass road around central Tule Canyon. Magruder Mountain in the background.		Steve and Graham can be seen down below me running up the upper portion of Tule Canyon. My position is on the northern bypass route just as it starts its drop into Tule Canyon. The view is westerly, as Tule Canyon curves here. The reclaimed placer workings from the middle 1990s can be seen also.
Snow starts impinging on the road in upper Tule Canyon.		Our caravan in upper Tule Canyon. Graham's Tacoma is in the lead, with Steve's Xterra in the middle of a Tacoma sandwich.		End of the road. We were only about a half mile from Tule Summit, but with deep snow likely on the remainder of the road and beyond made us decide to turn it around.
At the end of the road in Tule Canyon. A nearly full moon rises over Lida Valley in the distance.

Part 4: Tule Canyon to Wiley Road @ NV266

Looking down the length of lower Tule Canyon and into Death Valley, with the snowy summits of the Panamint Range in the distance.

Retracing our path down Tule Canyon was easy, and we exited the canyon at the northern bypass. Evening shadows made for beautiful views south into Death Valley, with snow capped peaks and crystal clear vistas, which made us all stop to admire the gorgeous views. A check of the map allowed me to show Steve the small community of Dyer, Nevada, over in Fish Lake Valley; it's gas pumps at the Esmeralda Market; and the way north up US95 and to access Reno via US50 Alternate into Reno. Steve decided he'd make a beeline for home with an overnight stop somewhere after driving as long as he could stand it.

The smooth dirt roads of Lida Valley allowed an easy 55 miles per hour saunter across Lida Valley so that Steve could catch a glimpse of Gold Point, with all three of our trucks leaving a contrail of dust lingering in the calm air very visible in the setting sun to the west. A stop at the edge of Gold Point – bathed in the last rays of the setting sun – allowed us to snap a few photos, then we all made a beeline out Wiley Road northwest toward Lida and NV266.

At NV266, my trip odometer read 135.3 miles and it was now 6:09 PM. The sun was just setting for good as I pulled up to a stop. The dust trails of Steve and Graham were still two or three miles behind me. After Steve and Graham caught up with me at the junction, we all discussed our day briefly. Then Steve – itching to get going – bid us goodbye and raced off on NV266 Dyer bound. Steve had a long way to travel for home in Oregon – far from Gold Point and Dyer.

Graham and I aired up or respective tires, then make our way west on NV266 as well. It was 6:45 PM by the time we started our trucks and head west.

CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO OPEN Heading back down Tule Canyon. Lida Valley is in the distance.	Steve consults his maps for the best route home.	Running a smooth 55 across Lida Valley toward Gold Point. Stonewall Mountain in the center left distance.	Running toward Mount Dunfee and Gold Point, with Graham in the lead.
Gold Point.	Gold Point.	The sun is setting on my Tacoma as I stop at the junction of Wiley Road and NV266. Steve and Graham are still far in the distance.	Steve and Graham catch up at the junction of Wiley Road and NV266.
Steve waving goodbye as he heads west on NV266 for the long trip home to Oregon.

Part 5: Wiley Road @ NV266 to Big Pine

Entering California on the way home to Big Pine. 14,242 foot high White Mountain is directly over the road in the distance.

An hour and nineteen minutes later, I pulled into my driveway. My truck had traveled a total of 202.3 miles and it now had 115,600 miles on it.

A couple of days later, I got an email from Steve. He had arrived at the Esmeralda Market in Dyer, found it closed for the night. But he was able to make Hawthorne, Nevada with plenty of petrol in his tank. Since he was still in driving mode, he forded on, finally crapping out south of Mount Shasta in the early morning hours. After a chilly nap in his Xterra for a couple of hours, he made it home by late morning.

The Old Trailmaster has finally filled in one of the last remaining gaps in his quest to see every nook that Death Valley has to offer.

CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO OPEN Lida Summit and the view west to the Sierra Nevada.	Range cows grazing in southern Fish Lake Valley.	Driving into the increasing dusk westbound on CA168 in Deep Springs Valley.

Part 6: Further Reading

Click to Go To Steve Greene's Exploring Wild Death Valley Website
Click to Visit Steve's Blog. /The Death Valley Journal Welcome to the ever-enchanting and mysterious Land of Legend …

For information or purchase on Steve's books, go to his website, which can be accessed by clicking on Steve's masthead above.

Click on either book's image to take you to Alan Patera's website for information or purchase of these two books.

Other Books on the Region's History

Exploring Wild Death Valley, a Primordial World of Discovery and Adventure
by Steve Greene

INSIDE MATTER: Preface, Introduction, Foreword, Cautionary Notes, Ten detailed chapters of actual Death Valley excursions, Road Classification Guide, Essential Gear, About the Author, Afterword, Reference, Index, and several original Death Valley poems by the author

SYNOPSIS: Leave behind the concrete and crowds of typical reality to journey where few will ever go. This book will interest the dedicated Death Valley backcountry enthusiast who loves to travel the most primitive backroads, hike secluded trails, and live in the outback for several days at a time. The core of the journal consists of ten chapters detailing hundreds of miles of travel, along with hikes to some of the more popular destinations, including to the top of Telescope Peak. Most of the chapters are written in a chronological day-by-day fashion, telling what it is like to actually take these extended trips into the outback. As each safari progresses, brief history of the particular areas is discussed, the natural world is described, and terrain detail is provided in the event that the reader wishes to attempt the outing personally. More than a typical turn-to-turn mileage guide of the area's roads, this journal includes a healthy portion of philosophy, the love of nature, and emotional highs that come along with experiencing this type of notably remote territory. Through the reading of this book, one will have a powerful feel for the country that is essentially bounded by Death Valley National Park ... it is the next best thing to actually being in the backcountry personally.

Death Valley Book of Knowledge: A Comprehensive Compendium & Reference for the Death Valley Territory
by Steve Greene

Coming Spring 2009.

Gold Mountain, Nevada
Including Oriental (Old Camp), Tokop, Thorp and Bonnie Clare
by Alan H. Patera

Gold Mountain, situated near U.S. 95 midway between Goldfield and Beatty, and just a few miles south of Gold Point, invites you to explore its camps and canyons.

Its colorful history includes mining stock frauds, stagecoach robberies and a cast of historical figures ranging from scam artists and lawmen to shop keepers, miners and hermits. In addition to the townsite of Gold Mountain, a number of other towns sprung up in support of mining activity, such as Bonnie Clare and Willow Springs.

The area is rich in abandoned buildings and structures but none more mysterious than a substantial rock wall whose origin and uses remain unknown. There are interesting ruins, beautiful vistas, and much to see, and this book tells you all about it. Maps and historical coverage includes Oriental, Tokop, Thorp and Bonnie Clare.

Hornsilver/Gold Point, Nevada
Silver turns to Gold
by Alan H. Patera

Thirty miles SW of Goldfield, Hornsilver boomed in the spring of 1908 after the Great Western mine made a series of rich ore shipments. Within a few months it had 700 people, then it declined nearly as fast; but there were those who never gave up as it went through a series of ups and downs. From 1915 to 1920 J.W. Dunfee made the Orlean mine pay handsomely, but litigation turned the 1920s into lean years

In 1931 the name of the town and post office was changed from Hornsilver to Gold Point, as the Ohio Mines Corporation was formed to work the Great Western and Orlean mines. While its mill was operating, Gold Point enjoyed its most prosperous years, with a population of about 200. After World War II mining was sporadic; the town declined till only postmaster Ora Mae Wiley was there at times - but Gold Point has never been without a resident population.

There are many original buildings in Gold Point, and it's a fascinating place to visit. This publication, number 26 in the Western Places series, tells you its most interesting story.

Page Revised: 02/11/2009