Solo Nevada High Desert Run

30 miles North of Winnemucca on 95 turns onto 140 West headed for Leonard Creek Road junction about 40 miles away. It was here I got a strange radar warning that turned out to be a low flyin ...

2009-02-22T04:19:00Z

cyb
30 miles North of Winnemucca on 95 turns onto 140 West headed for Leonard Creek Road junction about 40 miles away. It was here I got a strange radar warning that turned out to be a low flyin ...

Leonard Creek Road starts from Hwy 140 as paved road

2009-06-03T05:25:20Z

cyb
Leonard Creek Road starts from Hwy 140 as paved road

but turns to gravel in a few miles. This is crossing what was once white playa but now has some growth on it. Lowered my tires pressures for gravel and dirt running, about 25 to 30 psi hot.

2009-06-02T22:13:24Z

cyb
but turns to gravel in a few miles. This is crossing what was once white playa but now has some growth on it. Lowered my tires pressures for gravel and dirt running, about 25 to 30 psi hot.

cyb's photo

2009-06-03T05:23:27Z

cyb

Then the road starts to head into the mountains. About 4000ft elevation here

2009-06-03T05:07:35Z

cyb
Then the road starts to head into the mountains. About 4000ft elevation here

Leonard Creek Ranch in the distance. I chatted with the owner there and he didn't know some of the roads I was planning on taking because he'd never been that far West through the mountains ...

2009-02-22T04:18:09Z

cyb
Leonard Creek Ranch in the distance. I chatted with the owner there and he didn't know some of the roads I was planning on taking because he'd never been that far West through the mountains ...

Turn off from Leonard Creek Road to Pearl Camp/Pearl Creek Road heading NW

2009-06-03T05:07:10Z

cyb
Turn off from Leonard Creek Road to Pearl Camp/Pearl Creek Road heading NW

Nice roads

2009-06-03T05:37:50Z

cyb
Nice roads

cyb's photo

2009-02-22T04:17:14Z

cyb

Border crossing officials. Had to show them my papers.

2009-02-22T04:17:49Z

cyb
Border crossing officials. Had to show them my papers.

cyb's photo

2009-02-22T04:20:02Z

cyb

Desert was pretty with all the green. Elevation climbing. About 5000ft here

2009-06-03T05:21:27Z

cyb
Desert was pretty with all the green. Elevation climbing. About 5000ft here

Pearl Camp Road changes into Summit Lake Road and loops West then SW.

2009-02-22T04:21:10Z

cyb
Pearl Camp Road changes into Summit Lake Road and loops West then SW.

Road just goes on and on.....

2009-06-03T05:30:22Z

cyb
Road just goes on and on.....

Big country. Camera doesn't capture it, but it was definitely eye candy.

2009-02-22T04:14:28Z

cyb
Big country. Camera doesn't capture it, but it was definitely eye candy.

Elevevation about 6500ft

2009-02-22T04:21:04Z

cyb
Elevevation about 6500ft

cyb's photo

2009-06-02T22:04:07Z

cyb

Entering Sheldon Antelope Preserve

2009-06-03T05:49:21Z

cyb
Entering Sheldon Antelope Preserve

Passing through the Summit Lake Indian Reservation. Never saw a single person or vehicle on the whole gravel road trip.

2009-06-03T05:12:06Z

cyb
Passing through the Summit Lake Indian Reservation. Never saw a single person or vehicle on the whole gravel road trip.

Yep, that's snow just a few thousand feet higher. Temps still in the 90's

2009-06-03T05:36:11Z

cyb
Yep, that's snow just a few thousand feet higher. Temps still in the 90's

Summit Lake

2009-06-03T05:40:59Z

cyb
Summit Lake

I've never seen the desert mountains so green.

2009-06-03T05:25:32Z

cyb
I've never seen the desert mountains so green.

These destinations might be familiar to some. This junction is smack in the middle of the hills, NW of Summit Lake

2009-06-03T05:17:53Z

cyb
These destinations might be familiar to some. This junction is smack in the middle of the hills, NW of Summit Lake

All those sparkly rocks are sharp broken and crushed obsidian (black volcanic glass) I worried about my Tourance tires just a bit while running many miles of this. Obsidian is sprinkled libe ...

2009-06-03T05:43:08Z

cyb
All those sparkly rocks are sharp broken and crushed obsidian (black volcanic glass) I worried about my Tourance tires just a bit while running many miles of this. Obsidian is sprinkled libe ...

Roads got a little rougher, some sandy washes and talc/silt filled mud ruts. The Tiger had it's own mind in some of those sections, but I kept it pointed in generally the right direction.

2009-06-03T05:19:39Z

cyb
Roads got a little rougher, some sandy washes and talc/silt filled mud ruts. The Tiger had it's own mind in some of those sections, but I kept it pointed in generally the right direction.

Cave formations

2009-06-03T05:23:26Z

cyb
Cave formations

cyb's photo

2009-06-03T05:57:43Z

cyb

At this point I'm beginning to think it would be a LONG walk out if something broke down I couldn't fix, and it was still hot! Feeling pretty remote. About 70 miles into the hills from Hwy 1 ...

2009-06-03T05:19:02Z

cyb
At this point I'm beginning to think it would be a LONG walk out if something broke down I couldn't fix, and it was still hot! Feeling pretty remote. About 70 miles into the hills from Hwy 1 ...

Across that valley was the 'smaller' road I would soon turn onto. This viewpoint is from what is called the Cedarville Road from Summit Lake, heading NW

2009-06-03T05:16:30Z

cyb
Across that valley was the 'smaller' road I would soon turn onto. This viewpoint is from what is called the Cedarville Road from Summit Lake, heading NW

This was my turnoff from "main" dirt roads onto ones only shown on old '99 Roads & Rec GPS data. City Select gives up here.

2009-02-22T04:18:08Z

cyb
This was my turnoff from "main" dirt roads onto ones only shown on old '99 Roads & Rec GPS data. City Select gives up here.

One of the better sections. I was too busy stand-up riding through the rough stuff to stop and take pictures. Lots of sharp volcanic rocks, deep chuckholes, ruts deeper than my axles where a ...

2009-06-02T22:54:42Z

cyb
One of the better sections. I was too busy stand-up riding through the rough stuff to stop and take pictures. Lots of sharp volcanic rocks, deep chuckholes, ruts deeper than my axles where a ...

Scenic road beds. Saw a lot of antelope running across the sagebrush at amazing speeds. Too fast to get out my slow digital camera.

2009-02-22T04:18:11Z

cyb
Scenic road beds. Saw a lot of antelope running across the sagebrush at amazing speeds. Too fast to get out my slow digital camera.

Wonder when somebody drove here last?

2009-06-03T05:42:21Z

cyb
Wonder when somebody drove here last?

One of the very few streams in the high desert hills.

2009-02-22T04:21:49Z

cyb
One of the very few streams in the high desert hills.

Are we there yet?

2009-02-22T04:19:02Z

cyb
Are we there yet?

Rest stop.

2009-06-02T22:52:08Z

cyb
Rest stop.

Nope, we're not there yet.

2009-02-22T04:16:58Z

cyb
Nope, we're not there yet.

2 track into 1 track. Still nothing really that difficult. There were some volcanic rock ledges with 1 to 2ft drop offs and similar, so the Tiger had to be ridden stand-up "trials-style" t ...

2009-02-22T04:18:09Z

cyb
2 track into 1 track. Still nothing really that difficult. There were some volcanic rock ledges with 1 to 2ft drop offs and similar, so the Tiger had to be ridden stand-up "trials-style" t ...

Finally! Hanging Rock Canyon opens up over this ridge. The planted wild grass field is part of my Dad's ranch in this area. Almost to my destination for the evening!

2009-02-22T04:18:42Z

cyb
Finally! Hanging Rock Canyon opens up over this ridge. The planted wild grass field is part of my Dad's ranch in this area. Almost to my destination for the evening!

Hanging Rock Canyon getting closer

2009-06-03T05:27:54Z

cyb
Hanging Rock Canyon getting closer

Wild Mustangs in Hanging Rock Canyon valley

2009-06-03T18:10:09Z

cyb
Wild Mustangs in Hanging Rock Canyon valley

Amazing what a little water will do to the road!

2009-02-22T04:13:02Z

cyb
Amazing what a little water will do to the road!

I made it! About 90 miles of gravel and dirt road. The Hanging Rock Cow Cabin where my Dad and my Nephew were waiting for me with a BBQ steak dinner! Now that's roughing it.

2009-06-03T05:25:41Z

cyb
I made it! About 90 miles of gravel and dirt road. The Hanging Rock Cow Cabin where my Dad and my Nephew were waiting for me with a BBQ steak dinner! Now that's roughing it.

L->R...Me (Clif), Dad (Stu), Nephew (Justin) at the trout pond behind the cabin.

2009-02-22T04:20:05Z

cyb
L->R...Me (Clif), Dad (Stu), Nephew (Justin) at the trout pond behind the cabin.

R...Me (Clif), Dad (Stu), Nephew (Justin) at the trout pond behind the cabin." title="L->R...Me (Clif), Dad (Stu), Nephew (Justin) at the trout pond behind the cabin." style="border: 1px solid #000000;" />

One side of the Hanging Rocks. Indians camped here for many generations because of the water in this hidden canyon, in the middle of the dry high desert. Evening light.

2009-02-22T04:19:26Z

cyb
One side of the Hanging Rocks. Indians camped here for many generations because of the water in this hidden canyon, in the middle of the dry high desert. Evening light.

6am morning light, after a good sleep.

2009-02-22T04:15:24Z

cyb
6am morning light, after a good sleep.

Cowboy cooks workin' on breakfast.

2009-02-22T04:17:52Z

cyb
Cowboy cooks workin' on breakfast.

Trout pond. The spring runs from a few miles up the narrow valley behind me, through here and out into the valley, which makes it so green. My Dad carefully watches the land and water resour ...

2009-02-22T04:16:36Z

cyb
Trout pond. The spring runs from a few miles up the narrow valley behind me, through here and out into the valley, which makes it so green. My Dad carefully watches the land and water resour ...

Entrance to Hanging Rock Canyon

2009-02-22T04:15:33Z

cyb
Entrance to Hanging Rock Canyon

Sadly I must go and head for home. I stopped at one of the ranch camps called "Coyote Camp" where they filled me up with 5 gallons of gas. I was running low and still quite far from any gas ...

2009-02-22T04:20:15Z

cyb
Sadly I must go and head for home. I stopped at one of the ranch camps called "Coyote Camp" where they filled me up with 5 gallons of gas. I was running low and still quite far from any gas ...

Now back on the "main" road 8A heading N and NE to connect back to Hwy 140 towards Adel, OR

2009-06-03T05:39:27Z

cyb
Now back on the "main" road 8A heading N and NE to connect back to Hwy 140 towards Adel, OR

Mighty picturesque. 8A heading towards Hwy 140

2009-02-22T04:21:04Z

cyb
Mighty picturesque. 8A heading towards Hwy 140

Back on pavement again after about 130 miles of gravel and dirt. I pumped my tires back up to paved road pressures settings from my dirt settings which are 10 to 15 PSI lower than street.

2009-06-03T05:32:02Z

cyb
Back on pavement again after about 130 miles of gravel and dirt. I pumped my tires back up to paved road pressures settings from my dirt settings which are 10 to 15 PSI lower than street.

Where 8A meets Hwy 140

2009-02-22T04:19:46Z

cyb
Where 8A meets Hwy 140

cyb's photo

2009-06-03T05:26:12Z

cyb

Heading down the valley on 140 into Oregon and Adel in the distance. This spot was where 31+ years ago I was driving here going up this grade and a 18-wheeler truck had gone off the stee ...

2009-06-02T23:23:57Z

cyb
Heading down the valley on 140 into Oregon and Adel in the distance. This spot was where 31+ years ago I was driving here going up this grade and a 18-wheeler truck had gone off the stee ...

447, Jungo Road and the High Desert Run section. A 10 hour day ride.

2009-06-02T22:21:45Z

cyb
447, Jungo Road and the High Desert Run section. A 10 hour day ride.