Year-End/New-Year Far-Eastern Nevada Trip of MarkBC

[Gormley Green]

Mark, me thinks you must have been a polar bear in a past life-a polar bear on a never ending quest for that big slow elephant seal that is out there-somewhere in that great white and wonderful world!


Well that about sums that up! Great TR and photography, fantastic and lonely landscapes.

 

[MarkBC]

Thanks, all who commented, and "you're welcome" to anyone else who enjoyed the report.

It's kinda funny that my plans for more-remote camping were thwarted by too much snow on this trip...funny because in my 2012 early-January trip to central Nevada I was complaining (mildly) that the lack of snow made the scenery less photogenic. And yet, in that "less photogenic" trip I was more photographically inspired and took more photos. Some people just can't seem to get what they want...or don't really know what they want, do they?
Oh well...guess I just have to try, try again -- take more trips -- until I find out what I want and am satisfied.

 

[Foy]

Mark,
Here's another belated Thank You and a simultaneous Dang You for yet another splendidly written and photographed TR. The Dang You is because I'm supposed to be consumed with helping the Federal Gummint raise tax revenues this Saturday morning, and instead I'm blowing a half-hour on Wandering the West vicariously through you!

Your perspective on the wind farms is interesting. I think a lot of renewable energy proponents (which generally includes yours truly, despite my mineral exploration and mineral development background and current interest in same) don't fully appreciate the impact of large wind and solar energy facilities on Western/desert landscapes. There is truly no such thing as a free lunch, is there?

Thanks again for the report and pics.

Foy

 

[MarkBC]

Mark,
Here's another belated Thank You...
Foy

You're welcome, my pleasure.

...There is truly no such thing as a free lunch, is there?...
No, there isn't.
But there is a way to stop the rising price of "lunch" and eventually see the price drop -- by reduction of demand: stabilization of world population and eventual reduction through natural attrition. That is our only realistic hope for a West -- and a world -- that is still worth Wandering.

 

[Foy]

You're welcome, my pleasure.


No, there isn't.
But there is a way to stop the rising price of "lunch" and eventually see the price drop -- by reduction of demand: stabilization of world population and eventual reduction through natural attrition. That is our only realistic hope for a West -- and a world -- that is still worth Wandering.


Having come of age in the late 60s/early 70s, I identify with the ZPG movement: Zero Population Growth. It's difficult to imagine any core human challenges which cannot be resolved by the simple matter of not loading so many mouths to feed into the system.

Foy

 

[100acrehuphalump]

So, if not at a motel, where was I going to spend the night...along I-80? At a Rest Area.

This would be my first time camped at an Interstate Rest Area.I stopped at the Beowawe rest area, but the only place to park was in a regular parking spot with all the cars -- no room to get off by myself. So I continued on and the Valmy rest area was much more suitable -- a big area off pavement where I could be out of the flow of traffic.I put my wireless outdoor thermometer outside (on the cab roof, under the cabover), and spent the evening listening to an audiobook ("Super Freakonomics") and watching the temperature drop. It got down to -10°F when I last looked before falling asleep.When I woke at dawn I saw the minimum temp reached -- which was also the current temperature, was -16°F

!
Wow! That was the coldest temperature by far that I've ever camped! So an otherwise utility-grade campspot earned a special distinction in my camping history.

It was another beautiful clear (which was why it got so cold at night) sunny day, and my drive home was routine...but beautiful.
Here's where I turned west off US 95 onto state route 140. It's technically Nevada 140, but when it crosses into Oregon it's still called "140" so I'll just call it SR 140.

This is what the really high (at 6000+ feet) high desert of Oregon looks like, about a mile after 140 enters Oregon:

Full-size version: Pano-11 The long ridge showing above the horizon in the right half of the image is Hart Mt, and further to the right the white cone-shaped feature is Beatty's Butte.
While standing next to the highway shooting the pics for the panorama above, I heard a jet -- loud and very low (for a jet). Some kind of military craft, I guess...

Doherty Summit is -- by my reckoning -- the highest year-round through-road (not a dead-end) paved road in Oregon. I stop here almost every time I pass over, west-bound anyway. A great view:

Full-size version: Pano-12 Hart Mt again visible -- closer this time -- on the right.
-------------------------------------------
This was another fine trip to one of my very favorite, special places.

THE END.

Thank you for posting these particular pictures. It was nice to revisit Doherty Pass again. I was there last year during summer coming back from Oregon into Nevada. What a sight of exhilaration. Man, what a long steep road up the side of the mountain, and breath taking view at the top. Thanks for sharing!

 

[clikrf8]

Nevada is on our list of "Most Favored States" because of the vastness of landscape. One of our favorite places to explore are the gravel/dirt roads between highways 50 and 6 in the N-S mountain ranges and the valleys. Nothing but ranches and cattle drives and wild horses and antelopes. We have also seen some wind towers in the most obscure places in Nevada. I think we won't visit in the winter, though. Waaay too cold. Doherty pass is spectacular, especially the view returning to Oregon (can't remember if Doherty is in OR or NV). Thanks for the TR and photos.

 

[MarkBC]

... Doherty pass is spectacular, especially the view returning to Oregon (can't remember if Doherty is in OR or NV). ...

Doherty summit, on 140, is in Oregon -- one of the very highest (6240 ft) points you can reach on paved year-round through-roads in Oregon.

If you've ever wondered what it would be like to drive a big-rig/semi up that grade on OR 140, here's a link to a YouTube video (the driver and his narration are Russian -- or some kinda of Slavic).

 

[clikrf8]

We were headed into Oregon from Nevada. It is always the back roads for us. Thankfully, traffic was light and we were on the inside. Other hairy rides are 191 southbound into Vernal, UT. Crazy haulers for Simplot would ride your tail all the way down the steep grade and switchbacks. We pulled into every overview just to get them off our backs. Then there was the idiot in a white pick up who passed us and a big fifth wheel and left a shaking family in a pull out coming up the hill. Also, the barely passable road into Delamar ghost town. Narrow, steep, winding and one lane with a drop off on one side and a bank on the other. The road into Silver City, ID and the one to McGee canyon in the Eastern Sierra are a few more. Is there a thread on nerve racking roads? I should do a search.