Leo_jb
City boy
My buddy Myles lives in Bend, Oregon and I live in SF. We wanted to get together and go riding for a few days and were kicking around ideas for locations when Myles suggested the Black Rock Desert. I checked on Google maps and turns out the desert is almost exactly the same distance from both cities (about 350 miles), has great fall weather, and lots of riding choices. Done!
Because neither of us had been there before, would be arriving at different times, and didn't know if cell service would be available we decided to meet in Winnemucca, Nv and spend the first night in a hotel. This worked out ok, but we ended up losing nearly a full day of riding because of it. Next time we'll just meet at Trego Hot Springs.
Spent an uneventful evening in Winnemucca, had breakfast the next morning, then headed out Highway 49 to Black Rock. It took awhile before we reached our destination, Trego Hot Springs where we were thinking of staying. When we got there, however, a large camp of kids (plus a few adults) had set up camp and while it looked like they were having a great time, we decided it would be a bit too chaotic (and noisy) for us. Instead, we just drove out onto the Playa and set up well out of range of the kids and the railroad tracks.
Downtown Winnemucca
Headed out to Black Rock
Nearly to the Playa
BLM is pretty direct about the lack of facilities
Trego Hot Springs, with three of the hooligans
Warning sign #2
The Playa
Camp
My newly re-built 2000 XR400. Great choice for the trip, but I kept wondering how it would have been on my KTM990
Adventure. Most of the riding would have been fine, but some of the steep, loose downhills would have been a challenge.
Heading out to explore after setting up camp.
Black Rock Hot Springs was amazing. Really gorgeous, clear water, but very hot. We came back at night to give it a try and it was really nice, but the temperature was right on the edge of what we could stand. Sitting in the hot springs under the stars was an amazing experience.
Whats left of the covered wagon at the hot springs
The black monolith that gives the Black Rock Desert its name.
Back at camp for dinner
Myles used to be a river raft guide back when we were in college, and he still does quite a bit of rafting. He has all the gear for extended, comfortable stays in the wild, providing transportation is available -water cans, super efficient coolers, furniture, etc. He and his wife (thanks Katie!) also like to prepare a lot of food ahead of time, so we had mole chicken (pictured) pasta with homemade pesto, sausages, and lots of beer. I usually bring dehydrated backpacking food, so this was a real upgrade for me.
The first night we decided to test out our sleeping bags by using cots and sleeping out in the open. The cots were really comfortable, way better than sleeping pads. Problem was that by elevating the sleeping bag a lot of heat is lost from below, and the bags are not really designed for this. So, we survived the night, but the next two nights we slept in the backs of our respective vehicles.
Huge flock of birds at sunset
Because neither of us had been there before, would be arriving at different times, and didn't know if cell service would be available we decided to meet in Winnemucca, Nv and spend the first night in a hotel. This worked out ok, but we ended up losing nearly a full day of riding because of it. Next time we'll just meet at Trego Hot Springs.
Spent an uneventful evening in Winnemucca, had breakfast the next morning, then headed out Highway 49 to Black Rock. It took awhile before we reached our destination, Trego Hot Springs where we were thinking of staying. When we got there, however, a large camp of kids (plus a few adults) had set up camp and while it looked like they were having a great time, we decided it would be a bit too chaotic (and noisy) for us. Instead, we just drove out onto the Playa and set up well out of range of the kids and the railroad tracks.
Downtown Winnemucca
Headed out to Black Rock
Nearly to the Playa
BLM is pretty direct about the lack of facilities
Trego Hot Springs, with three of the hooligans
Warning sign #2
The Playa
Camp
My newly re-built 2000 XR400. Great choice for the trip, but I kept wondering how it would have been on my KTM990
Adventure. Most of the riding would have been fine, but some of the steep, loose downhills would have been a challenge.
Heading out to explore after setting up camp.
Black Rock Hot Springs was amazing. Really gorgeous, clear water, but very hot. We came back at night to give it a try and it was really nice, but the temperature was right on the edge of what we could stand. Sitting in the hot springs under the stars was an amazing experience.
Whats left of the covered wagon at the hot springs
The black monolith that gives the Black Rock Desert its name.
Back at camp for dinner
Myles used to be a river raft guide back when we were in college, and he still does quite a bit of rafting. He has all the gear for extended, comfortable stays in the wild, providing transportation is available -water cans, super efficient coolers, furniture, etc. He and his wife (thanks Katie!) also like to prepare a lot of food ahead of time, so we had mole chicken (pictured) pasta with homemade pesto, sausages, and lots of beer. I usually bring dehydrated backpacking food, so this was a real upgrade for me.
The first night we decided to test out our sleeping bags by using cots and sleeping out in the open. The cots were really comfortable, way better than sleeping pads. Problem was that by elevating the sleeping bag a lot of heat is lost from below, and the bags are not really designed for this. So, we survived the night, but the next two nights we slept in the backs of our respective vehicles.
Huge flock of birds at sunset
Last edited:
arty
