Black Rock Desert 2011

[Gotrovr]

Official thread for the 2001 Black Rock Desert trip

 

Trip Dates: August 10th thru 14th 2011

 

Trip Leaders: Kevin & Lucinda Suttle

Enrique Gomez

 

Members wanting to join this trip, post up your commitment to attend and include your vehicle and number of individuals in your party.

 

Tentative trip schedule and routing are and included as pdf’s and subject to change

[KSuttle]

This post will always contain the most up to date itinerary and map. Hopefully this makes it easy to find the most current information.

 

Now included is a GPX file. The file contains Waypoints and Tracks. Many of my waypoints come straight from Chuck Dodd's book/CD and thus retain their naming (ie: A-###). We will only be traversing A-000 to A-418. Tracks for each day are titled "NCLR Day #". .There are separate special waypoints for Day 1 to get us from camp to the Ghost Town and Fuel before we begin with A-000

[KSuttle]

Now that it's official, I'm going to steal shamelessly from Chuck and ask the same set of questions he asked at the beginning of his trip. I'll ask each of the people going on the trip introduce themselves and their rigs. There is some basic information about everybody I want to gather as well so please respond to the following questions:

 

1) Who is coming on the trip with you?

 

2) What sort of rig do you drive?

 

3) What size tires/wheels will you be using? (to see if we will have

multiple spares in emergency)

 

4) What spare parts (if any) will you be carrying with you?

 

5) Have you ever wheeled in the area before?

 

6) Do you have HAM, CB, Both, Neither?

[KSuttle]

Responses to my own questions:

 

1) Who is coming on the trip with you?

There will be 5 of us. Me, Lucinda, Halle (11), Kylie (8), and Maci (6)

 

2) What sort of rig do you drive?

2005 LR3 Coiler, RS Stage 1 Sliders, Rasta Engine & Transmission Skids, Snorkel, ride height is between standard LR3 height and off-road height.

2007 LR3 Air, RS Stage 3 Sliders, ARB Bumper (no winch yet).

We will also have a pair of sand/bridging ladders.

 

3) What size tires/wheels will you be using? (to see if we will have multiple spares in emergency)

2005 LR3 has Cooper LTZ 285 60R18 + full size spare of same

2007 LR3 has Hancook 265/65R18 + full size spare of same

 

4) What spare parts (if any) will you be carrying with you?

Brake switches (2), Fluids (oil, PS fluid, brake fluid), Rear Toe Rod Bolts (2), Lug Nuts (2), Rear brake light bulbs (2)

Considering getting a spare belt and maybe a MAF sensor

 

5) Have you ever wheeled in the area before?

Yes in 2009

 

6) Do you have HAM, CB, Both, Neither?

Both

[KSuttle]

NIGHT 0 OPTIONS

 

For the night of our drive up to Nevada, we have a couple of options for the 1st night.

 

1) There are some small hotels/motels in Lovelock, NV. Lovelock is about 50 miles South of our last gas-up and start of the trail

 

2) Camp at Rye Patch State Recreation Area (http://parks.nv.gov/rp.htm). This is a developed camp site with restrooms & showers. It is about 20 miles South of our last gas-up and start of the trail.

 

3) Camp off the side of the trail somewhere and backtrack in the morning for last gas, etc.

 

MORNING 1 OPTIONS

 

1) Spend about an hour at Thunder Mountain Monument (http://www.thundermountainmonument.com/). This is in Imlay and is just off of I-80.

 

2) Spend some time at Humboldt City Ghost Town (http://silverstateghosttowns.com/humboldtcity.html). About 12 miles round trip trip (30% off-road)

 

What options would people prefer here?

[DiscoChef]

It is just a couple weeks away, YYYIIIPPPPEEEEE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1) Who is coming on the trip with you?

 

Son Sebastian 13 & daughter Isabel 5

 

2) What sort of rig do you drive?

 

06 LR3 with winch, Hi-Lift

 

3) What size tires/wheels will you be using? (to see if we will have

multiple spares in emergency)

275 65 18 Hankooks

 

4) What spare parts (if any) will you be carrying with you?

Nrake light switch (need to buy (where kKev?) )

5) Have you ever wheeled in the area before?

 

6) Do you have HAM, CB, Both, Neither?Both

[DiscoChef]

NIGHT 0 OPTIONS

 

For the night of our drive up to Nevada, we have a couple of options for the 1st night.

 

1) There are some small hotels/motels in Lovelock, NV. Lovelock is about 50 miles South of our last gas-up and start of the trail

 

2) Camp at Rye Patch State Recreation Area (http://parks.nv.gov/rp.htm). This is a developed camp site with restrooms & showers. It is about 20 miles South of our last gas-up and start of the trail.

 

3) Camp off the side of the trail somewhere and backtrack in the morning for last gas, etc.

I'm good with either #1 or #2...easier to get going in the AM if we don't have to break up camp.

MORNING 1 OPTIONS

 

1) Spend about an hour at Thunder Mountain Monument (http://www.thundermountainmonument.com/). This is in Imlay and is just off of I-80.

 

2) Spend some time at Humboldt City Ghost Town (http://silverstateghosttowns.com/humboldtcity.html). About 12 miles round trip trip (30% off-road)

 

What options would people prefer here?

 

I'd go for the ghost town since we've already been to Thundermountain.

[KSuttle]

DiscoChef,

We've got 2 spare brake light switches. So prob no worries there. I bought them from British Atlantic.

[HMBRover]

This trip is coming up fast. Guess I'd better sign up. <grin> We have a commitment on Wednesday morning so we won't be able to get away as early as I anticipated. We'll probably be on the road by noon or a little before. Here are the particulars:

 

1) Who is coming on the trip with you? Nancy and I

 

2) What sort of rig do you drive? 2004 DII, lifted, sliders, bumpers, winch, Hi-Lift jack and recovery gear

 

3) What size tires/wheels will you be using? (to see if we will have

multiple spares in emergency) 255/70R16 on DII stock rims.

 

4) What spare parts (if any) will you be carrying with you? My usual crate of spares including top-up fluids, brake light switch, rotoflex and serpentine belt, etc.

 

5) Have you ever wheeled in the area before? yes

 

6) Do you have HAM, CB, Both, Neither? Both, plus a pair of FRS and a 2 meter HT. Primary transceiver is all mode/all band and will support long distance HF comms.

 

I vote for the ghost town, too.

[KSuttle]

Brian,

 

Glad to see you can make it too! We haven't worked out a departure time yet, so for now noon is probably fine. Since we run on Suttle time, I was going to aim for 9am (which means we'd leave Tracy by noon ). We'll firm this up some more in the next few days.

 

Do you have a preference on that first night? State Recreation Area, hotel/motel, or side of the trail (hopefully not in cow-pie-ville like last time). If all goes well, DiscoChef and I will have rooftop tents for this trip :-)

 

-Kevin

[KSuttle]

Just took a look at Black Rock conditions.

 

Gerlach is reporting highs in the mid-90's for the next several days and lows in the low 60's.

 

Friends of the Black Rock Desert report:

========================

July 27 11:41am: Black Rock playa conditions:

 

There is still a lake out there.

 

Check the daily infrared MODIS satellite image

 

Fri 6/10: report of deep mud ruts, near High Rock Lake?

 

Soldier Meadow Road is reported to be in bad shape, go slow. There is a particularly bad spot about one mile north of the Mormon Dan playa entrance road.

 

There is still a lake in the middle, and likely unpassable in many areas! Please travel with caution.

 

See the daily infrared satellite picture - on the playas shades of blue indicate moisture, bright blue indicates water or snow

========================

 

And of course Codynt's recent report: http://nclrclub.org/forum/showthread.php?1403-Black-Rock-trip-just-returned&highlight=black+rock

[DiscoChef]

Should be fun and challenging!!

 

Glad Brian & Nancy are coming!!

[KSuttle]

Any additional interest in this trip? Right now I have:

 

1) Kevin

2) Lucinda

3) Enrique

4) Brian & Nancy

[KSuttle]

Bring your Digital SLRs, a tripod, and a way to charge batteries on the road and I'll go over some techniques for shooting the stars and meteors. Bring your manual if you have it.

[HMBRover]

It probably won't be a great viewing time. Unfortunately the moon will be in the way. Here are moon rise and set times for Northern Nevada:

 

August 10 - Rise 1806 Set 0217 78% full

August 11 - Rise 1845 Set 0322 85% full

August 12 - Rise 1919 Set 0426 92% full

August 13 - Rise 1948 Set 0530 99% full

August 14 - Rise 2015 Set 0633 94% full

 

Unfortunately the peak Perseid meteor shower night is August 13 - when the moon is full.

 

But will bring the camera anyway.

[KSuttle]

Brian...you killjoy

 

It'll be a challenge, but I hope we can come away with some fun shots.

 

What model camera do you have? We need to figure out if you need a remote or trigger release to do long exposures.

[DiscoChef]

Can a disposable camera take the shot you're talking about? Just Kidding

 

Are we thinking of doing a potluck meal one of the evenings? or the other thing we could do, is to commit to prepare a whole meal for the group, that way, the whole group not preparing the meal has an evening free of cooking. just a thought...

[KSuttle]

...Are we thinking of doing a potluck meal one of the evenings? or the other thing we could do, is to commit to prepare a whole meal for the group, that way, the whole group not preparing the meal has an evening free of cooking. just a thought...

 

I figured that being called Disco-"CHEF", you would be cooking each night :-). Potluck/Shared meal is fine with me. We're bringing the dutch oven so I think Lucinda was going to try either her Coca-Cola Chicken from Death Valley or a new recipe.

[KSuttle]

Brian & Enrique: What time would you prefer to leave on Wednesday? I was thinking of leaving Tracy between 10-12.

 

I'll be posting GPX file later tonight with our route.

 

I think I've decided on Rye Patch State Recreation Area as our spot to camp on Wednesday night. It's $7 entrance fee and $14/vehicle. Its easy to find and we'll have access to a hot shower Wednesday night/Thursday morning and flush toilets. Camping at the Ghost town was another option, but I don't know if there's room for 4-5 vehicles and I read a blog from a group of 2 that said the crickets were sooooooo loud it was annoying.

[HMBRover]

PHYSICS - Not just a good idea, it's the LAW!

 

I'm sure that with dryer air and a little altitude viewing will be better than it is here. Even without cloud cover (rare in August) the light pollution from the harbor and Nurseryman's Exchange grow lights shining against the airborne moisture from that big pond to the west of us makes it almost impossible to see any of the Perseid shower.

 

Good point on the camera. I'll check it out. Mine is a Canon T1i and doesn't have a cable release socket and I don't have the IR remote for it. On a tripod, I usually use the 2 second delay to trigger the shutter after the vibrations settle out. I'll bring plenty of spare battery power.

 

Good call on Rye Patch SRA. It will make for a good rendezvous point in case we don't all arrive together. We will be dropping a neighbor off at SFO about 11:30 and then heading for Reno. We will be taking our time and stopping for cheap gas and last minute shopping in Fairfield. I'll post an ETA later.

 

On cooking, we'll be bringing things to share but probably not enough to feed everyone. I'll also plan to do a dutch oven dessert one night.

[KSuttle]

Just checked with Rye Patch Res, the are pretty dead mid week so we should not have any problems finding adjacent camping spots near showers and flushies. Showers are 25 cents for 5 mins and vehicle fee is $14.

 

Brian will you have room for a little extra firewood in your rig?

[HMBRover]

I'm planning to bring a duffel bag full of wood. That's good for a couple fires. I'll see if I can squeeze in more.

[KSuttle]

Please see the 2nd post on this thread (up top on the 1st page). I have updated the itinerary and map, and have provided a GPX file for use with your GPS of choice.

[HMBRover]

Here are a few more repeaters that I have programmed into my radio. We'll see if they work.

 

Gerlock 147.000 + PL=100

Gerlock 147.030 + PL=100

Lovelock 147.390 + PL=123

Lovelock 145.470 - PL=123

Susanville 146.910 - PL=91.5

Susanville 146.880 - PL=91.5

Truckee 146.640 - PL=131.8

Alturas 146.970 - PL=100

Alturas 146.145 + No PL

[HMBRover]

Here are the few geocaches I came up with.