Desert Survivors NV Desert Trail Dispatches
This page will have the dispatches from the Desert Relay as they are sent in from the Trip Leaders.
DISPATCH FROM THE 2004 NEVADA DESERT TRAIL RELAY
This page contains Segments "The End".
DISPATCH FROM THE
2004 NEVADA DESERT TRAIL RELAY
Segment End
June 11-13, 2004
By Steve Tabor
DESERT TRAIL RELAY HAS AN EXCITING CONCLUSION
Dispatch from the Desert Trail Relay Celebration, June 12-13, 2004
The Nevada Desert Trail Relay was a good success. There were some problems, but the leaders completed all routes. We had a great get-together at the route’s end with nineteen people. We met the Stillwater Mountains hikers as planned and had a party that went from 10:00 am to 11:00 pm, with time out for hikes and naps. It was a joyous occasion with a great campfire and a fun crowd.
Relay hikers had some excitement the last week. The Relay was almost halted while hikers were in the 67-mile Stillwater Mountains on a hike comprising four DT segments. On Wednesday, June 9, Bob Lyon, Skip Smith and Bruce Loeb were forced out of the mountains by a cold rain and snow that went on for sixteen hours. When they tried to descend into Cottonwood Canyon on the “Wild Canyons of the Stillwater’s” Segment, the slick mud made for impossible footing and they had to turn back. That descent is steep and loose, and they knew there would be more of the same in the next two canyons because two of them had been there the year before. It was treacherous ground where, according to Skip, “one slippery step translated into a quick descent of ten feet”. The appropriately named “Wild Canyons” is among the roughest of Desert Trail segments in Nevada, in fact on the whole route.
The group hiked out of the mountains to Stillwater Road and made some calls on Skip’s cell phone. Bob’s wife called me at work and told me they would abort the hike right there. A few hours later I got another call. It had begun to clear and the snow was melting so they had decided to go back in and finish the job. The three of them hiked north along the road and re-entered the mountains via White Cloud Canyon, went up over White Ledge Peak (7766'), and came down to meet us at the appointed place at the appointed time, right on schedule! It’s a great story, and it must have been a great adventure. Wish I’d been there.
We met the hikers on the last day of the Relay, Saturday, June 12. We encountered them at about 10:30 am on the last stretch of jeep trail below Copper Kettle Canyon. They were haggard looking and bearded after seven days and 67 miles, but still hiking along, feeling strong. We accompanied them to the end of the route on Stillwater Road where we fed them cool beverages and good food in a potluck meal that went on until 2:00 pm. Then while they rested or slept, I led the rest of the group on a three-hour hike to the 100-foot sand dunes on the shore of the Carson Sink. It was a great little hike. We returned at about 6:00 pm for a second big meal and a party around the campfire.
On Sunday, I led a group up White Cloud Canyon, also part of the Desert Trail. White Cloud is perhaps the most exquisite of the canyons draining the west side of the Stillwaters, with a granite narrows, a running steam, and abundant riparian vegetation. So dense is the vegetation that after awhile you are forced up onto the rocky side wall of the desert canyon, looking down on the greenery. The interior is also nice, with a spring and grand views of the wooded crest. We came back out at noon, then headed for home.
All in all, the weather was very kind to us on this Relay, but there were some exciting moments (as above). Twenty-eight Survivors in all did the hikes. Six were leaders. One hike had ten persons, another had seven. Most had three or four. Notable were the several members who hiked multiple segments spanning many miles: Steve Perry and Lasta Tomasevich (six trips each, 128 miles), Bruce Loeb (four trips, 123 miles), Spencer Berman (four trips, 75 miles), Bob Ellis (three trips, 74 miles and one lead), Bob Lyon (the Stillwaters, 67 miles and one lead), Skip Smith (the Stillwaters, 67 miles), Gary Whiteley (three trips, 61 miles), Robert Armstrong (three trips, 56 miles), Craig Deutsche (53 miles and two leads), and Grant Blocher (42 miles and two leads). Paul Menkes led the North Silver Peak Segment (18 miles). Yours truly did six leads and 112 miles. To me, the level of commitment of members to this Relay was its most satisfying attribute.
This Relay was a success and I am already laying out the prospectus for the second half of the Nevada Desert Trail in 2005. It will probably span the same time frame as this year’s: May 1 to June 15 or 20. I’ll present this plan to the Desert Survivors Board of Directors early next year.
I’m very happy that so many Survivors came out to greet the Relay hikers this year. Several youngsters joined in the festivities. DS Directors Loretta Bauer and Dave Launchbury were there. Dave Green, Past President of the Desert Trail Association, was there with his wife Shirlene. Dave was instrumental in getting the California and Nevada routes passed when he was President of that organization in 1996-2000. Dave Holten and David Serviss came over from the Reno area. They were key personnel, helping with car shuttles and caching for several of the segments. It was a grand ending to a successful effort and I thank all who participated.
See you all next Spring on the Second Half of the Nevada Desert Trail!