Visit to Lake Lahontan

Today, b0neZ, kindergeek, Puzzleman, and bookmarked and I all went out to grab a handful of caches around the reservior This has to be one of the funnest weekends I've had. I definitely needed it as I'm been getting a bit of cabin fever being in Carson and on pavement so much lately.

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So, Puzzleman's seen that there's this cache on an island in Lake Lahontan. Knowing that the lake is really really low gives him the idea to go out and see if we can drive to it. Would I like to come along? Oh heck yeah!

So we head out, Puzzleman and Bookmarked in their Jeep and b0neZ, kindegeek, and me in the 4Runner. But we can't just drive straight out there, we have to spot and bag some caches along the way. And have some fun while we're out and about. The first stop was a cache up on a small hill outside Silver Springs. I waited below while the Jeep bounced so fast up the road it seriously looked like a cute little silver bug flying along the hillside. Then we headed towards an old Overland Station that's just off the highway and while the others either explored the ruins or found the cache, I got my trucky dusty on the dry lake bed.

One thing you need to know about Bookmarked - she *loves* being off-road. The faster, bumpier, and dustier it is, the happier she is. So when I pulled back up to the ruins, she ran down the hill yelling "Do it again! With me this time!" Her father obliged as he also loves having fun on dirt and they were having to much fun watching me out there. So I was the good little tour guide and took pictures!

Then we headed off to another cache I kept missing that provided a great overlook of the lake. Course, this overlook was just of how miserably low it is, but we were able to finally get up to the old tower and find the cache quickly. Puzzleman relayed a comment his daughter had made, that this is what geocaching is all about. Spending a day with friends and exploring new areas. I cannot agree more!

We continued on to a small pocket of caches where we found on in a culvert under the railroad tracks, then another up in a small range, and then (while the Jeep went off to get one I'd found already), we went exploring to see if a road went up to an Overlook cache nearby. Seriously, I drove *around* this hill looking for a way up, and not only ended up driving into a narrow, steep canyon with a stream bed for a road, but I also ended up driving into the back side of an old quarry - that had the main access gated and locked! Getting out of that was interesting and then reconnecting with the Jeep was another long adventure.

As we made our way over to the island, we kept looking at the lake and attempting to guess where we would eventually wind up. Found the nearest cache, and then we made our way over to the beach. Winding through some shoreline trees to a rough embankment of rocks found us .3 miles from the cache and a deep section of lake still between us and the island. The water was down, but not low enough! We're going to wait until summer when the drought really hits and look forward to being able to drive out.

Heading down the powerline road towards the next cache, the day was starting to grow late and we still had to decide which way to go home. The next two caches were quick, but not quick enough for the setting sun. The decision was made to turn back and head home the way we came in. I took the lead, and soon we found ourselves back on pavement and our rigs pointed home.

Another fantastic day and one that is re-igniting the adventurer spirit in me. I am so restless to get back out into the sand and sage, to ease my way up into narrow canyons, and follow old wagon roads past crumbling ruins of stage and pony stations.

I LOVE NEVADA!

2/28/2009
NevadaWolf found Lahontan View, Hawk Rock, The Gate Keeper, K7XC #6 - Lahontan Lake View, K7XC #19 - Lahontan Lake View #2