June 15-18, 2023 My earliest exploration of the Granite Range had me riding along Cottonwood Creek. It gets contributions from Wagon Tire Creek and a few springs between 6000’ and 7000’. At some point I dropped a fly line in lower Cottonwood Creek and pulled out a Brook Trout! I couldn’t figure out how they got there. Pete Rissler told me Nevada Division of Wildlife had a campaign in the 80’s that planted Brooks in streams around the state and here we are 40 years later fly fishing in the desert.

I have ridden Negro Creek above Iverson Ranch but haven’t tested those waters. A couple of years ago Marc P and Shay D joined me on a smokey overnight in the Granites. Our return route had us descend Red Mountain Creek, and at one of the creek crossings I saw a pair of Brooks patrolling a pool. The gears were turning, Bikefishing the Granite Range became a plan.

Loops make the best routes, is bikepacking dogma. I get it, and I strive for loops when making routes. I was struggling to make this route a loop. There are few roads int the Granites, the aforementioned loop with Marc and Shay was too difficult to promote, my goal was to have a route with general appeal, lots of water, and the oddity of fishing in the desert. I often think of the Bikefishing Desert Creek as a favorite trip. It is a very special place. So this was my version of that trip in Black Rock Country. A loop was out of the question, the top of Red Mountain Creek is roadless. So I created a forked route, the first tine climbs to the Homestead, a stone cabin in an aspen grove. The second tine climbs to Williams Place, a ranch house with pond. Ruins of frontiers past, creeks holding trout, trees and shade, abundant flowers and challenging terrain for heart, lungs, and imagination became this route.

I wanted to pre-ride the connector portion of the route in addition to assessing the condition of the roads and creeks after this wild winter. While I was at it, I thought I could connect over to the Fox Mountain route planned for July. To do this I would have to conquer the “roadless” section at the top of Red Mountain Creek. There was once a very steep jeep trail up the mountain, 1000’ of elevation gain in 0.6 miles, estimated 20-40% grade. Short, steep, solo, I could suffer through this. I didn’t have much thought beyond this crux. Water should be available in this popular ranching area of Dolly Varden Basin and beyond.

I arrived in Gerlach on Thursday and started at the closest point of the loop, Granite Point. There was a surprising amount of water along the highway. The thunderstorms had hit Black Rock Country hard. I knew there was a possibility the playa could be wet, but how wet? I really wanted to avoid riding on the paved Co Rd 34. So I entered at 3 Mile Access and made it to beyond 8 Mile Access before the dry playa disappeared. Not only that, but I was between two designated routes that had filled with water. So I turned around.

With an extra dozen miles in my legs, I made my way to the turn-off from Co Rd 34. I passed Cottonwood Creek and made my way to Red Mountain Creek. This connector was new to me and I was pleased by how it went. The plague of Mormon Crickets vanished in this area. Now I was climbing Red Mountain Creek.

Lower Red Mountain Creek felt very familiar, I was there just 13 months prior. I figured this would be our camp. Then climbing the canyon I was really impressed by its rugged steep walls. Each rock formation poking from the scree had its own shape and flavor. Eventually the creek and road became one, and admittedly I lost the route. Poking around the thick brush, I was eventually back on track.

I made my way to Williams Place and greeted by bright yellow healthy roses. They seemed incredibly out of place. A friend from Virginia City told me they are a relic of the Welsh Miners. A search on  yellow roses in the west yielded articles on Harison’s Yellow aka the Oregon Trail Rose. Beyond Williams Place the road pinched into a patch of sagebrush, juniper trees, and aspens. The maps indicate a jeep trail that heads straight up the 30% wall of Right Hand Canyon. I had about an hour and a half of day light remaining. I made the most of it and started pushing my bike up the mountain, around rocks and the occasional juniper. Once the sun set I scratched a flat enough spot into the hillside to sleep. It was very peaceful on the side of a mountain.

The next morning I continued my way up. I kept trying to follow my GPS track but there was nothing on the ground that indicated a road. It is funny how the mind tries to make sense of what is on the ground vs. what is on the map. Is that an old track there? Ultimately, what is the easiest way up? Near the summit an actual two track was visible between the flowers. Finally I could pedal.

I recognized the road Marc and Shay and I were on, but I was continuing northwest to Dolly Varden Spring. I was back in a wide open valley used for grazing. I had views of Fox Mountain. Dolly Varden Spring was flowing and there was a plumbed water trough where I filled up with water. At this point I was back to following Red Mountain Creek. It’s highest spring is Potato Patch Spring, about 6 miles north of this spot.

I biked to Old Camp Canyon Road and decided to not push it to the Fox Mountain summit. The road was in great condition. I was only a couple miles from the summit, but I was 30+ miles from the end of my day. I descended a jeep trail one ridge over from what I climbed and that was the most flower carpeted ride to date! Now I was on a 15 mile descent to NV 447. This was a great cruise, but in the back of my mind I wondered, might I have to back track if I encounter a locked gate? Luckily my path was wide open.

I made it back to Gerlach in time to hangout with the Friends of Black Rock High Rock and grab a burger from Bruno’s. I spent the night with pesky mosquitoes at Granite Point. Note to self, it is worth finding a drier camp to avoid blood thirsty insects.

The next morning I met Marc P, Mark Y, and Max L at the visitors center. A year ago we were together for Rides with Friends Calico Mountains Wilderness Loop. That route has since been repeated by several independent groups and published by BIKEPACKING.com! We then caravanned to the start, parting a sea of Mormon Crickets.

Marc and I had memories of doing most of this route in a different configuration in thick wildfire smoke. We couldn’t see much of the Granite Range and we definitely could not see across Hualapai Flat to the Calico Mountains. Today was wonderful. For Mark and Max this was a first.

We made our first stop at Cottonwood Creek to test our angeling abilities. These desert creeks are tiny and so overgrown. But they hold fish if you can get to them. This was much trickier fishing than Desert Creek. You could find riffle, pool, and undercut banks, but if you can’t read the stream, just get your fly on the water. The trout made themselves known, but we didn’t land one at first. Marc hiked away and landed one!

Then we pedaled on. We had a few stream crossings. I saw water in Sheds Gulch for the first time. We climbed up to the prospectors cabin and made that our turn around point for this arm of the route. We were a mile plus from The Homestead, and at least another 500’ in elevation, but we decided not to push it. The Homestead is a great destination, but we made our way to camp with plenty of energy.

The traverse from Cottonwood Creek to Red Mountain Creek went smoothly. We picked a best spot for camp and got our camp chores done. I was under a small cottonwood and the others were in the sagebrush. The creek was swimming in tadpoles. But no brookies to be seen. Marc has a keen eye and was sleuthing around camp. I knew he would come back with great finds. He found various chipped rocks that may have been arrow heads. The standing joke is, I pick up a rock and ask everyone if they think it has been worked or just broken, “It’s just broken.” I don’t have the eye.

But then Marc showed me what looked like a thin twine with shaped torpedo bits of clay. It was very curious. We hypothesized it was the remains of a weighted net. Out of curiosity I tapped watch to give me our coordinates and elevation. Our camp was at about 4,400’. This is around the level of historic Lake Lahontan 10k-15k years ago. For archeologists “the beach” was an indicator of where to look for camps of the First People. Were we camped by dumb luck where there was once a fishing hunting camp on the shores of Lake Lahontan? I think back to explanations of smaller arrow heads used to hunt birds, nets for fishing, and decoys. I am also trying to imagine a climate was warmer and wetter and the landscape was a wetland. Marc also found a flat stone with a polished center depression, possibly for working wild grain. I find myself looking at the wild grasses and I can’t fathom the work that must go into preparing this food source.

It was a windy night. The weather seemed to be trying to make its shift from spring to summer. But around the weekend I saw reports of snow in northern Washoe County. Although we could have done with less wind, the conditions were pretty ideal. The temperatures were warming up but still mild, the mixed clouds made for dramatic lighting and gave us some shade.

The next day we were able to climb Red Mountain Creek without our kits as we would return to camp in an out-and-back. Now we were just taking in the sights and finding spots to fish.

We fished a couple of good spots, everyone caught little brookies, and we all had a tale or two of the big one who got away. We decided to turn around where the road and creek became one. It was a little awkward in here, then there was a steep hike-a-bike before Williams Place. Mark and Max had a long day ahead, so we turned around.

The road out of the canyon to County Rd 34, is a long gentle grade through a sea of sagebrush. With the view of the Calico’s ahead it is very dramatic. Speaking of drama, the Mormon Crickets were back. Oddly we didn’t see them at all in the creeks. But now the road was thick with them. And noisy!

After reaching the vehicles, Marc and Max made a visit to the Black Rock Desert playa. Then we met at Bruno’s for a post-ride burger. We talked about what was coming up, Fox Mountain (July), Perseids Meteor Shower (August), Massacre Ranch (September), and Black Rock Point Micro-Playas (October). Max would be back next year. I told him we could visit another part of the state. Although Max was not into fishing on this trip, he got some great shots of wildflowers and his companionship is first rate. Even though travel through the Granite Range is a challenge, Marc thought the reward to investment ratio was high. I am imagining linking my day rides and overnights into a grand tour of the Granite Range.

By the numbers, the route for the pre-ride loop was 78 miles with 6,200’ of climbing. I rode (Day 1, Day 2) 88 miles with only 5,000’ of climbing by making the excursion on the playa and not climbing all the way to Fox Mountain. The route for Bikefishing the Granite Range was 29.5 miles with 3,700’ of climbing. We rode (Day 1, Day 2) 23.5 miles with 2,400’ of climbing. Choices were made.

Bikefishing with Tenkara-style fly rods After reading Simple Fly Fishing by Yvon Chouinard, the whole premise is keep it simple, I was moved to pursue Tenkara. Fly fishing, like any pastime can get complicated quickly, but bikefishing keeps it simple by necessity, you have to carry it on your bike. We all caught fish on gear that is mostly available online. You will catch as many fish with a $20 investment as with a $200 investment. I would recommend any starter kit, rod, line, leader, flies and then go out with another angler. A short Tenkara rod, 9-13’, is great for small streams, medium length 13-15’, for small rivers and lakes, and pick a price range that works for you. The Tenkara Bum website is a great resource for a deep dive. Some of the bigger brands to consider are DRAGONtail, Tenkara Rod Co, and Tenkara USA. Tenkara is not the only style of fishing for bikefishing. Consider a handline, traditional rod and reel fly fishing, and telescoping spin fishing as sporting alternatives.

Beyond our fishing gear we all carried a pretty standard bikepacking kit. Mark, Max, and I slept in tents, Marc had a tarp. This will be the last trip that necessitates any cold temperature layers, gloves, hats, insulated jackets, until late fall. The last few trips, since Hog Ranch S24O, I have been touring in my Chaco Z/1 sport sandals. This is my third season of warm weather touring in these and I am very pleased. They aren’t showing any wear, and I’m in them all the time off the bike as well.

If you haven’t checked out my monthly newsletter on Substack, here it is Finding Solitude and Silence (July) and Finding a Griot – Oral Culture through the Great Basin (August). I mentioned nominating Casey Springs to Quiet Parks International, and now it is on the map!