October 14-15, 2023 This year’s Rides with Friends crown jewel route was the Hot Springs – Micro Playa Loop. The route traveled northeast from 12 Mile playa access to Double Hot Springs, then south on the Applegate Emigrant Trail route, past several hot springs on the way to Casey Springs (hot), then turning into the Black Rock Range and climbing to our campsite on the micro-playas, about 260’ above the Black Rock Desert playa. Then on day 2 we descended to Black Rock Springs (hot) before crossing the playa to Trego Hot Springs. From Trego we crossed the playa a third time back to the start at 12 Mile playa access. Anytime hot springs is in the title of a route it is bound to be popular. It was also amazing how popular the micro-playas are. Whenever I talked about the route or shared pictures I got unsolicited praise for the micro-playas. I promoted this event by letting riders know if they could only make one trip this year, this was the one not to miss.

The annular solar eclipse was the warm-up to the ride. Thanks for getting these great shots, Katrin, Meghan, David, Corby, and Phillip J!

And it worked! I had 12 riders on this Rides with Friends, only 3 had been on past Rides with Friends, and only 5 had been on any of my trips. So many new faces, bikes, and names to learn, ha! It is fun to geek out over everyone’s bikes and meet new riders. It was a crazy weekend because it coincided with the annular solar eclipse and the Black Rock Desert was in the path of optimal viewing. I didn’t take this in consideration, I only chose weekends closest to the new moon phase for optimal dark skies for this year’s Ride with Friends. For first timers to the Black Rock, they missed the absolute solitude of the area. For those who know how empty the Black Rock normally is they got to see how special events can impact the area that relies on volunteer stewardship to aide overstretched federal land managers.

We met at the Friends of Black Rock – High Rock Visitor Center and then at 12 Mile. I took advantage of this opportunity to clear out my collection of give-away bags from Nuke Sunrise Bike Bags. It was cool to see the bags on bikes and not in a storage bin! Not only was this the largest group, they were the strongest. Although this is a hard distinction to make, even when I have first time bikepackers the groups are all strong and supportive of their companions. The first day was on 100% designated routes and everything was in good shape. Crossing the playa was fast under partly cloudy skies – perfect conditions!

Thanks to Ky, Katrin, and David for getting these shots around Double Hot Springs.

Arriving at Double Hot Springs, twin springs and twice as hot, everyone took the time to take in the natural wonder. You can feel the heat, see the bubbling mud, and take in the colors of the pools like nowhere else. There is some plumbing in the hot creek that allows you to divert water into a stock trough for a hot soak. I think Ky took part in a soak.

Riding along the scarp of the Black Rock Range then climbing to the micro-playas, photos Phillip J, Katrin, Marc, David, and Meghan.

But then we were off again. The springs we passed going south were the type that made it to the surface to bolster a forest of tule and cattails. They were in their winter colors already, but in the Spring/Summer they are a noisy oasis for red winged blackbirds. The surrounding flat is covered with a salt tolerant grass. I recommend seeing it in its verdant peak. It is in such contrast to the playa.

We were greeted to a surprise on the first playa, there were two small planes parked on the smooth baked surface. What a spectacle! There was a good sized crowd on the first playa. It is popular with the moto crowd. There was a shooting gallery setup by a couple of pistol shooters. Not only was it the eclipse weekend but it was one of the last nice weekends of the season. I am not a gatekeeper, it was nice to see so many people out enjoying their public lands.

Micro-playa shots, photos Ky, Katrin, and Mark Y.

After some fun photos with the planes we made our way to the second micro-playa. I thought it would be worth taking a lap around the playa and maybe explore the roads that exit the playa once we set up camp. We found our campmates, Jeff Rosenfeld of Wildwood Open Lands Foundation, and KP Pawley of Zero Declination. I reached out to them both about meeting up on this campout. This was KP’s first time out here but not Jeff’s. By meeting up with truck campers not only did it make the party better by diversifying our group, but KP and Jeff brought chips and salsa, beer, and water. Cross promoting responsible use of our public lands has been our goal since I first met Jeff and KP.

A few of us sought out a hill top at sunset to see what we could see. These micro-playas sit in hanging bowls on the southern tip of the Black Rock Range which separates the east and west arms of the Black Rock Desert. It was great to stay in the sunshine a little longer. There are roads to the north of our campsite that climb another thousand feet giving you a bird’s eye view of the Black Rock Desert. King Lear Peak was now ½ as far away as it was from our start. Every trip should inspire the next!

When the sun goes down “Nightpacking” begins, photos Phillip J, David, Ky, and Mark Y.

Back in camp dinners were had and as it got dark Jeff broke out the black lights for a scorpion hunt. A few were spotted but the peak abundance can be seen in June-September. It is always curious to see the moths and other insects that are flying in addition to the scorpions hunting them in the scrub. Then there are the minerals in the sand that glow in the light as well. The playa is a giant terrarium.

We got an early start the next day, but there was plenty of time for photos and tossing a Frisbee. What if there was a group packlist of what everyone brought? 13 independent bikepackers on an overnight, to see the gear list as one big list, not broken down by rider. No judgment. That could be fun!

Making friends at Black Rock Springs (Hot). Photos by Katrin, Mark Y, and Phillip J,

We left the micro-playas and headed to Black Rock Point. In relative terms it was a circus. I often see one or two parties camped at this spot, but just as often there is no one. Today you could make some new friends. We hung out for a good spell so those who wanted to soak in the springs could. It is a beautiful spot.

From here we headed south and eventually left the designated route to cross the playa. There are plenty of tracks to follow but the surface is mixed between soft and hard, so mixed between difficult and easy, especially depending on tire size and power output. Our group splintered and regrouped between Black Rock Point – Trego – 12 Mile. This was a strong and experienced group, so their judgment was good.

There were things to see along the way. First were the hot springs creating dunes and one bubbling mud pot circled by reeds. Then were the large caliber bullets, shells, casing? (I am not a gun guy so I am sure if my nomenclature is off) from the days of the Navy Gunning Range. Then we crossed the mighty Quinn River Delta. There is a curious “drop off” or ledge on the playa that defies any explanation in my mind. Everyone found the experience of following the fast/hard rivulets of past flowing water. It is interesting how you get a search image for an easy route. We also encountered the solitude of the desert away from the hot spring attraction.

But this was a Hot Spring Tour, so next stop was Trego. Trego is a station on the Western/Southern/Union Pacific Railroad between Flanigan and Winnemucca. Trego was also a spot in the filming of  The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926). But it is most popular as a BLM recreation area with an easily accessible hot spring. It had definitely attracted a croud this weekend. After a much enjoyed soak we made our third crossing of the Black Rock Desert.

While there are well traveled established routes along this southwestern portion of the desert the playa is mostly firm and smooth so travel can be based on picking a landmark on the horizon and traveling to it. I had planned one more stop at Coyote Spring Dunes but none were interested. Finishing the trip with a meal at Bruno’s was the overwhelming vote. We did cross the Black Rock City site between 3:00 and 6:30 crossing Kraken to Encantado. We will have to wait and see if the impact on the texture of the playa after the rains during Burning Man remain after this winter. Right now everyone noticed the slow rough travel of this 4 mile segment.

By the numbers: The route was 61 miles with 750’ of climbing. We covered an additional 5 miles and 230’ of climbing on the sunset ride. We visited 3 major hot springs and a couple minor. We crossed one of the great rivers of Nevada. This is a great route with plenty to offer the desert traveler.

Pre-ride and post-ride: Often my pre-rides are a quick one day blast of the route just to make sure everything is solid for the trip. Conditions on the playa can be highly variable. It had been a wet year and season so I needed to be sure. I did the trip as an overnight and got to enjoy absolute solitude. It even rained lightly through the night but the playa was fine for bicycle travel. Playa access at Trego was wet so I knew I had to play it by ear on that end of the playa.

On day 1 we stopped at a fenced off potion of the playa where a spring had appeared. Later in my chatting with Kathy Torrence, I learned the spring was a well head that was broken off in a collision with a vehicle and now the well would have to be capped. On Day 2 Mark and I followed another road off the south end of the micro-playa giving us a unique view to the south. We stayed a bit to the west of the original route which forced us to cross the Quinn 4 times before lining up with the spine of Old Razorback Mountain to cross to Trego. We skipped stopping at Trego and Coyote Spring Dunes and followed “barn fever” to a meal at Bruno’s.

No two trips to the Black Rock ever need to be the same!

Rides with Friends 2023 in Review: 46 participants traveled over 250 miles on 7 monthly trips between April and November. I got feedback from several groups who took trips through the Black Rock based on routes developed and promoted through Rides with Friends. This momentum is precisely what I was hoping for! Please stay in touch, let me know how I can help get you out there, and let me know how it went. I love a good story.

This was a challenge to write and pick the photos to illustrate the story. I had shared photo albums of over 750 photos to choose from. I made the trip 3 times over a month’s time, solo, in a large group, and with one other.