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Pony Express is more about the overall experience than doing extreme trails. Although we did have challenges along the way. It’s more about driving long distances through beautiful desert vistas with minimal support. And also being a history nerd. And seeing very few people offroad - like maybe 5 vehicles in that distance! It’s quite remote. But it is surprising how often you may hit a cell signal of 1-2 bars for a couple miles in such remote country.
Summary highlights:
There are YouTube videos about Pony Express. It’s a mostly easy route. Some sections are fast. Some are slow. Some short sections are steep and rarely used and fun. It’s the deep ruts and dust you gotta watch out for in the flats. The sections along ancient seas/lake beds can sneak up on you and be deeply rutted. As I discovered when I got stuck on Day 2 in ruts that had shin-deep talc dust with no traction.
Fortunately my buddy was leading and took an adjacent bypass I missed. Mistake. Within minutes I was buried to the frame. Fortunately, within 60 ft in front of me the ruts abated. So we connected two recovery ropes and he was able to haul me out easily without risk of him getting stuck. No cell service and many miles of walking to any chance of civilian contact. A win!
After that the ruts made me nervous.
The scenery is amazing. Being so remote is enticing. Nevada is a wonderland of desert mountains and passes. I like that environment. Not everyone does. One of the least populated places in the USA.
We mostly followed the Pony Express route, also known as the Overland Route that was navigated by emigrant train pioneers for much longer than the Pony Express existed (that only 18 months). The Trails West driving directions were great and had GPS coordinates for their very cool trail markers. Such a cool organization - especially for history nerds. I plotted their markers in Gaia before the trip so they were easy to find.
After Austin, NV we decided to head south on the Nevada Backcountry Discovery Route (NVBDR). You can download their GPS tracks for free. But their printed Maps and Guidebooks are excellent with more info. We had them along.
There was one mountain pass south of Austin going towards Hwy 95 that was stunning. Steep with tight switchbacks. Creek crossings in October. Amazing scenery. Then south to Tonopah, NV for the night to wash the trail dirt off.
The next day continued on the NVBDR and visited Gold Point, NV. Old mining ghost town with 6 residents. Walt is the dude who owns most of the town. He has a great donation-only bar with beers, sodas, booze. And lunch: $3 bowl of chili on this day. No liquor license, hence the donation-only status. He doesn’t want the government in his business. Heh. Great spot.
From there an easy trek (despite endless miles of washboarding) through Death Valley. We climbed to the western edge of the park to find an awesome campsite at Hunter Spring & Cabin. Perfect temp, no moon, amazing stars. A great evening enhanced by ice cold martinis. (I had 1 or 2 too many…)
The trek out of Death Valley was pretty and then we arrived in Lone Pine, CA for an excellent lunch at the Alabama Hills Cafe. Our time was tight so we opted for one trail north along Mazourka Canyon. Such a great trail. One long-ish steep & off-camber section deserves the 5 rating and 4lo, otherwise it’s an easy trail.
We planned to camp outside of Mammoth/Hwy 120 but rains and darkness thwarted our plans. So we pressed on to stay at my buddies cabin in Bear Valley, CA to enjoy a hot shower. But there was a rainbow over Mono Lake so that was cool.
All in all a great trip. The dust is extreme in the flats. My new engine air filter was caked with dust after 8 days (well, 1 day really). Cabin air filter also filthy. The Bronco was covered inside & out with dust. No keeping it out. Only took me three days to clean. Heh. The 4runner was just as filthy inside.
If you want to learn more about Heizer’s ‘City’ landscape sculpture, hear ya go. It’s quite amazing. Scarcity of tickets makes it more enticing (6 people day/3 days per week/5 months per year/no amenities). I was persistent about bugging them for cancellations. It was worth it, but only if you're a nerd.
Summary highlights:
- Roads that change from well graded dirt to rarely used double track
- A few challenging sections
- Getting stuck in deep desert talc dust! (And recovered, thankfully)
- More springs and creeks than you’d expect
- Ghost town with a donation-only bar at Gold Point, NV
- Amazing desert mountain passes
- Last minute tickets & detour to see Michael Heizer’s ‘City’ landscape sculpture craziness
- Mazourka Canyon trail along hwy 395 in California
- So much dust that you can’t imagine how your rig will get clean (it will, takes effort)
There are YouTube videos about Pony Express. It’s a mostly easy route. Some sections are fast. Some are slow. Some short sections are steep and rarely used and fun. It’s the deep ruts and dust you gotta watch out for in the flats. The sections along ancient seas/lake beds can sneak up on you and be deeply rutted. As I discovered when I got stuck on Day 2 in ruts that had shin-deep talc dust with no traction.
Fortunately my buddy was leading and took an adjacent bypass I missed. Mistake. Within minutes I was buried to the frame. Fortunately, within 60 ft in front of me the ruts abated. So we connected two recovery ropes and he was able to haul me out easily without risk of him getting stuck. No cell service and many miles of walking to any chance of civilian contact. A win!
After that the ruts made me nervous.
The scenery is amazing. Being so remote is enticing. Nevada is a wonderland of desert mountains and passes. I like that environment. Not everyone does. One of the least populated places in the USA.
We mostly followed the Pony Express route, also known as the Overland Route that was navigated by emigrant train pioneers for much longer than the Pony Express existed (that only 18 months). The Trails West driving directions were great and had GPS coordinates for their very cool trail markers. Such a cool organization - especially for history nerds. I plotted their markers in Gaia before the trip so they were easy to find.
After Austin, NV we decided to head south on the Nevada Backcountry Discovery Route (NVBDR). You can download their GPS tracks for free. But their printed Maps and Guidebooks are excellent with more info. We had them along.
There was one mountain pass south of Austin going towards Hwy 95 that was stunning. Steep with tight switchbacks. Creek crossings in October. Amazing scenery. Then south to Tonopah, NV for the night to wash the trail dirt off.
The next day continued on the NVBDR and visited Gold Point, NV. Old mining ghost town with 6 residents. Walt is the dude who owns most of the town. He has a great donation-only bar with beers, sodas, booze. And lunch: $3 bowl of chili on this day. No liquor license, hence the donation-only status. He doesn’t want the government in his business. Heh. Great spot.
From there an easy trek (despite endless miles of washboarding) through Death Valley. We climbed to the western edge of the park to find an awesome campsite at Hunter Spring & Cabin. Perfect temp, no moon, amazing stars. A great evening enhanced by ice cold martinis. (I had 1 or 2 too many…)
The trek out of Death Valley was pretty and then we arrived in Lone Pine, CA for an excellent lunch at the Alabama Hills Cafe. Our time was tight so we opted for one trail north along Mazourka Canyon. Such a great trail. One long-ish steep & off-camber section deserves the 5 rating and 4lo, otherwise it’s an easy trail.
We planned to camp outside of Mammoth/Hwy 120 but rains and darkness thwarted our plans. So we pressed on to stay at my buddies cabin in Bear Valley, CA to enjoy a hot shower. But there was a rainbow over Mono Lake so that was cool.
All in all a great trip. The dust is extreme in the flats. My new engine air filter was caked with dust after 8 days (well, 1 day really). Cabin air filter also filthy. The Bronco was covered inside & out with dust. No keeping it out. Only took me three days to clean. Heh. The 4runner was just as filthy inside.
If you want to learn more about Heizer’s ‘City’ landscape sculpture, hear ya go. It’s quite amazing. Scarcity of tickets makes it more enticing (6 people day/3 days per week/5 months per year/no amenities). I was persistent about bugging them for cancellations. It was worth it, but only if you're a nerd.
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