Rhyolite to Tonopah
 Overview of Trail | |
| in Google Maps | |
|---|---|
| creator: | Tim France (nvprospector) |
| Dates: | April 2, 2011 |
| Distance: | 132.30 miles |
| Trail time: | 7 hrs 16 mins |
| Difficulty (1-5): | 1.0 to 3.0 |
| Vehicle classes: | Stock 4WD Small/medium dualsport Moto |
Photos
Location details
Southwestern United States, Southern Nevada, Nye County, Beatty, Rhyolite, Silver Peak, Esmeralda County, Weepah, Tonopah, Lida, Bonnie Clarie, Gold Point, Las Vegas & Goldfield Railroad, Clayton Valley, Vanderbilt Mine, Blair, Sarcobatus Flat
Summary
This route is part of the Nevada South-North and follows stage couch routes, freight routes, abandoned railroads and mine roads.
Detailed description
Depending on where you are starting this journey, be it Tonopah or Beatty, top off your fuel tanks and do a final check of your vehicle. When leaving Tonopah or Beatty there are a lot mine roads so pay close attention to your waypoints so you don’t end up taking a wrong road.
When leaving Beatty and starting your journey when you reach 36.893369, -116.878085 (MRK5) you are entering the only section of Death Valley in Nevada. Only street legal vehicles are allowed past this point. This restriction goes all the way to 37.016790, -116.964162 (MRK13).
You travel through Sarcobatus Flat which is a massive expanse between Bullfrog and Bonnie Claire which is a truly awesome and lonely place to be. It goes on for miles, with Joshua trees, lush desert vegetation and the occasional desert lizard as your only companion. It is not traveled by more than a handful of people, if that. Highway 95 is somewhere to the east but too far away to see or hear. This section of the road is not maintained but easy traveling.
Roads:
Bonnie Claire to Gold Point – Well maintained roads
Gold Point to Lida – Well maintained roads
Lida to Silver Peak – The road from Lida is only maintained to the top of the mountain. Then the road is not maintained until you are through the Lida Wash and on the Railroad Spring Road. The Railroad Spring Road through Clayton Valley is maintained to the point of being able to go 45 mph all the way to Silver Peak.
Silver Peak to Blair – This area is tricky. When you are in Silver Peak at the stop sign next to the mill, to your left you will see three roads. Take the middle road out of town. At the Vanderbilt Mine area the road begins to narrow. 37.758868, -117.665479 there is a steep loose climb at the top of the hill the trail narrows to the point a full size vehicle will find it almost impossible to descend. You have a rock face on one side and a cliff on the other. This is the only section along the route that it is a 3.0 rating.
Blair to Weepah – This is a really nice road all the way to the old townsite.
Weepah to Tonopah – The trail changes constantly from loose hill climbs, step descents, large boulders and the occasional cow that won’t get out of the way.
Terrain type / brush factor
Maintained and non-maintained mine roads, sand, loose gravel, deep gravel, mud (if it rained)
Low to Medium brush factor
Permits? Fees? Seasonal closures?
There are no permits. It is up to the driver to determine if the trail conditions are suitable to drive.
Attendees (vehicles/people)
Toyota Tacoma / Tim France / (nvprospector)
History, geology, etc.
Bullfrog:
In 1904 Shorty Harris discovered gold and the Bullfrog Mine was opened. Shortly after the opening of the mine a small tent town called Original (also called Amargosa) was located near the mine. In March, 1905 the Bullfrog townsite was plated and the tent town of Original was moved to the new location. Quickly, the town boasted a population of about a 1,000 people, a two-story and three-story hotels, jail, post office, lodging house, general store, bank and an icehouse along with several other businesses.
At the same Rhyolite which is less than a mile north of Bullfrog was also being established and a fierce competition between the two communities erupted.
Rhyolite continued to grow, but Bullfrog declined. Many of Bullfrogs buildings where moved to Rhyolite and in June, 1906 the last large building, the three-story hotel, burned to the ground. By 1907 Bullfrog was nearly empty and by May, 1909 the post office was finally.
Las Vegas & Tonopah Railroad (LV&T):
The Las Vegas & Tonopah Railroad was a 197.9 mile railroad that ran northwest from a connection with the mainline of the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad at Las Vegas, Nevada to the gold mines at Goldfield.
Bonnie Claire:
In the 1880’s a five-stamp mill at Thorp’s Wells, four miles south of the mines, processed the ore from the three active mines within the region. In the early 1900’s the Bonnie Claire Bullfrog Mining Co. purchased the mill and moved it to Thorp, a stage stop for the stage line running between Goldfield and Bullfrog. In June 1905 Thorp received its post office.
In October, 1906 the Bullfrog-Goldfield Railroad reached Thorp. The Bonnie Claire townsite was platted at Thorp and a tent town grew. The Las Vegas & Tonopah Railroad began running through Bonnie Claire in the spring of 1907.
When mining in Rhyolite diminished in 1909 there was a drop in railroad traffic. With a small revival in 1913 a new mill was built but active was slow. In late 1922 there was another revival when Death Valley Scotty shipped building materials to Bonnie Claire for his famous castle, 23 miles west in Grapevine Canyon. When the castle was complete in 1931 the Bullfrog-Goldfield Railroad was abandoned and the post office was closed
Hardluck Mine Castle: http://www.hardluckminecastle.com/index.htm
Gold Point:
This town keeps changing its name depending on what is being mined at the time. In 1868 the town of Lime Point was founded after the large deposit of lime stone that was located in the region. By 1882 Lime Point was virtual abandoned do to the cost of shipping the ore to Lida for milling.
In 1905 about a half mile southeast of the old tent city of Lime Point, the Great Western Mine began operations, after discovery of high-grade silver ore known as Hornsilver. A small tent camp formed around the mine as was called Hornsilver. In May, 1908 The Hornsilver Herald began Publication. The following week a post office was established. At the peak of prosperity the population reached around 1,000 people. There where over 225 wood-framed buildings, tents and shacks throughout the town. This included 13 saloons. The ore bodies where developed until 1909 when litigation of claim jumping and inefficient milling practices made mining unprofitable so mining halted until 1915.
In 1927 J.W. Dunfee went down a mine to look around and came up with a large gold discovery. Within a few years, more gold than silver was being mined. The towns name was changed again to the present days Gold Point.
Lida:
Probably sometime in the early 1860s Indians and Mexicans found gold in the surrounding hills. By the spring 1867 American miners moved into the area and organized the Lida mining district. In March 1872 Lida townsite was platted. Soon several stores and shops, livery and feed stables, and a post office.
A road was made through the mountains to Silver Peak. Freight was brought in from Wadsworth, the nearest railroad station. A five and eight stamp steam powered mills where construct at the nearby springs. Even though the high-grade ore, which ran up to $500 to $1000 a ton, was still hauled to Austin and Belmont for treatment.
In the late 1870s mining declined and by 1880 there where only 10 operating businesses in this remote camp. For the remaining of the century operations at the mines where intermediate.
In 1905 when Goldfield started to boom, Lida was given a second chance. Lida soon had a chamber of commerce, a weekly newspaper Lida Enterprise and stage service to Goldfield. The springs at Lida where used to supplied the water needs of Goldfield and a pipeline was laid between the two towns.
But by 1907 Lida began to decline. The most important properties in the district where tied up in litigation. Mining resumed a few years later and during the years before World War I. Lida had a hotel, schools, stores and a post office a few dozen mining companies.
In all the district produced almost $1 million in precious metals.
Silver Peak:
Discovered in 1863 makes Silver Peak one of the oldest mining areas in Nevada. Substantial amounts of silver, gold and other minerals have been produced from the area. In 1864 the town of Silver Peak as established because of the springs that are in the area. A 10-stamp mill was built in 1865 and a 20-stamp mill was built in 1867. Mining was far from steady in the area as the mines changed ownership and new milling techniques were invented. The unsteady nature of the mining industry in the area resulted in a huge fluctuation in the population. In 1948 a fire destroyed the town of Silver Peak, and little activity took place in the area until 1966, when Foote Mineral Company started its lithium extracting operation in nearby Clayton Valley.
Now Silver Peak is home to Chemetall Foote Corporation’s lithium mine and mill. This is the only lithium producing mine in the United States.
Blair:
In 1906 when the Pittsburgh Silver Peak Gold Mining Company bought the district’s significant mines. So speculators grabbed all the available properties in Silver Peak and imposed outrageous prices for lots. So the Pittsburgh Silver Peak Gold Mining Co. started secretly surveyed a new townsite in September 1906, about three miles north of Silver Peak closer to the company’s gold mines, and named the new town Blair. With in a year there was a 100-stamp mill in operation, along with cyanide tanks and 17 ½ mile railroad from Blair Junction which is on the Tonopah & Goldfield main line.
In November 1906 Blair had a weekly newspaper and a post office was established. Blair also had saloons, a two-story hotel and stores sufficient to serve a population of 700. In 1910 the Pittsburgh Silver Peak Gold Mining Co. absorbed the Silver Peak-Valcada and other mines and then enlarged its mill to handle the extra work load.
In October 1915 the low-grade ores could no longer be worked profitably so the mill machinery was dismantled and moved to California. The railroad was eventually torn up and the post office was moved to Silver Peak. The town of blair was virtually abandoned by 1916.
Weepah:
Weepah means “rain water” in Shoshone. Indians discovered shallow gold pockets in 1902 and about 200 people rushed to the area. But the early effort died out in only a few weeks. Weepah stayed forgotten for 25 years when in March 1927 two young men from Tonopah, Leonard Traynor and Frank Horton, Jr., rediscovered gold which assayed at about $70,000 to a ton.
Publicity of the riches in this remote desert of Nevada brought about the Weepah boom with an assemblage of autos, tents and people. This motorized rush which resulted in one of the wildest Nevada mining stampede in over a decade since the days of Rochester and Rawhide. Just a week after the news of the new discovery, over a thousand adventurers had come, made discoveries and jumped claims.
By the end of March the three motor roads to Weepah were jammed with cars. The western Nevada railroads had to put on extra coaches to handle the mass of gold-seekers, and the had a fluctuating population of 1500 to 2000. Daily dispatches where sent by reports to their publications, and Pathe and International movie newsreels featured on-the-site scenes of this wild developments.
By April the town had about sixty frame buildings with the usual line of businesses including post office and over a dozen mining companies. Water was hauled from Tonopah daily and bootleg joints where the refreshments served.
By July most of the incompetent rainbow chasers left the camp living the most promising claims with the capable miners to work. The town of Weepah started to dry up in 1927 when the Tonopah mining promoter, George Wingfield, lost interest after attempting to buy most claims including the initial discovery site for development.
In 1934 an open-pit silver mine and a 350-ton mill were build on the town of Weepah. So a smaller camp was created and housed about fifty miners employed there. The operation lasted until 1938 and nothing has been done in the district since.
General considerations
Services are only available in Beatty and Tonopah. When traveling this route carry everything you need. This is a very remote area and should not be taken lightly. Cell service and ham repeaters are spotty at best. Most of all, good common sense is a must. A minor problem along this route can easily be catastrophic.
Resources/links
GPS units/laptops used for tracking/navigation: ASUS EEE PC; GPS puck attached to computer; DeLorme PN-40 (backup in case of hard drive crash)
Navigation software used for planning/navigation: Oziexplorer
Books used for planning: Rhyolite Bullfrog Miner. Numerous issues, June 1905 – March 1908
Rhyolite Herald. Numerous issues, May 1905 – March 1912
Goldfield Daily Tribune. Numerous issues, 1908-1931
Goldfield News and Weekly Tribune. Numerous issues, 1913-1919
Hornsilver Herald. Numerous issues, 1908
USGS Maps, various scales
US Post Office Department. Records of Appointments of Post Offices. Microfilm
Shamberger, Hugh A. Goldfield. Nevada Historical Press, 1982
Shamberger, Hugh A. Silver Peak. Nevada Historical Press, 1976
Tonopah Daily Times, March 1927
Tonopah Daily Bonaza, March 1927
Ashbaugh, Don, In the Nevadan section of the Las Vegas Review Journal, February 18, 1962
Nevada State Journal, June 13, 1927
Reno Evening Gazette, November 28, 1936
Sunset Magazine, June 1927
Nevada Mining Record, January 25, 1929
Important waypoints as coordinates
Trail Head: 36.872339, -116.828175
Important turns:
36.890328, -116.831433
36.890904, -116.863129
36.894749, -116.888316
36.899860, -116.892505
36.968876, -116.916647
36.972325, -116.920404
36.980869, -116.930414
37.227368, -117.123785
37.227642, -117.124201
37.262835, -117.244017
37.263219, -117.244744
37.265080, -117.251757
37.267399, -117.259056
37.267552, -117.259299
37.291724, -117.284368
37.293661, -117.290359
37.304771, -117.290405
37.307431, -117.300044
37.347117, -117.359400
37.351389, -117.359400
37.352439, -117.362828
37.353311, -117.363342
37.353647, -117.364373
37.354307, -117.364175
37.355851, -117.365668
37.357717, -117.366788
37.376037, -117.435556
37.386158, -117.475316
37.422921, -117.468938
37.455830, -117.498640
37.457630, -117.500933
37.501344, -117.544215
37.575642, -117.544944
37.592205, -117.548985
37.630918, -117.570516
37.671729, -117.593388
37.678937, -117.597531
37.738732, -117.634515
37.742667, -117.636271
37.746277, -117.637417
37.750979, -117.639194
37.745169, -117.674176
37.761624, -117.667766
37.792175, -117.641647
37.790735, -117.640845
37.788083, -117.633969
37.818452, -117.586285
37.926939, -117.560419
37.928797, -117.555759
37.947077, -117.540186
37.949869, -117.542508
37.967222, -117.528858
37.967379, -117.525363
37.954364, -117.439367
37.954556, -117.438283
37.955458, -117.437028
37.965458, -117.436648
37.971309, -117.387794
37.971574, -117.386977
37.997234, -117.354865
38.009923, -117.337200
38.010746, -117.335975
38.041397, -117.289851
38.047097, -117.269219
38.053497, -117.262464
38.067935, -117.244374
38.069405, -117.238042
Tonopah: 38.07089, -117.231867
