November 8-9, 2025 It is awesome that Mark Yakushev (@mark.yakushev) recommended we do this. For a guy from Scotts Valley/Santa Cruz, CA he loves coming out to the desert. Once we had a weekend I put it out on FB Events. It is a medium length trip, about 60 miles evenly split over two days. There is about 500’ of climbing. There is the Black Rock Desert Playa, historic California Emigrant Trails, and hot springs. Those are the famous bits. The micro-playas are the unknown awe factor. This trip always has the goods to get people out.
I drove out Friday to explore an area to the south of the playa and west from previous trips. There were some springs in the Selenite Range I wanted to ground truth. If there was water it could open some routes in the area. There is enough ranching through Kumiva Valley that I am confident there is enough water with the right planning. I didn’t find flowing springs at this time but there were cattle so there must be water somewhere on range.
There was a road into the Dry Mountains that doesn’t appear to go through but there has to be a reason for the road. And that is reason enough to check it out next time.
That evening I had dinner at Bruno’s. I ran into Robert Warner, the board president for Friends of Black Rock High Rock. He was in Gerlach to keep our visitor’s center open and host the weekly nature walk at Fly Ranch, home of the Fly Geyser. We talked about the possibility of doing astrophotography tours next year. And then Corby Cobb walked in. He is a great photographer and has done astrophotography on our trips. He was in Gerlach for the overnight so I finished my dinner and we headed out to 12 Mile Playa Access to camp. Corby has a slick bus conversion and I was in my pop-up camper. Corby is fresh off the PCT and gracious enough to answer my million and one questions.
The next morning riders started to show. I offered this ride a couple years ago during the solar eclipse there were 13 riders, the biggest group I have hosted. We met Jeff Rosenfeld of WOLF and KP Pawley of ZeroDeclination at the micro-playas. There were two small planes on the first micro-playa. It was a busy weekend. No trucks or planes on this trip.
Even though we were crossing the flattest place in North America it can be surprisingly taxing. The main route on the playa is compressed and relertively fast and smooth compared to some parts of the playa that can be lumpy and soft. But there is no real coasting or rest on the playa, it is constant work. This is always a bit surprising to riders.
Our first stop was a fenced off spot on the playa warning people about a broken well head that was creating a spring on the playa. The risk is catching an unsuspecting motorist in the mud and potentially further damaging the well head, the playa, and the vehicle. This project was on the BLM’s list of things to manage and it looks like it is under control. The well is capped and only leaks a bit.
The next stop was leaving the playa and arriving at Double hot springs. Where does the playa end and the next zone begin? That was a question put to me. I think of the boundary dunes as obvious margin. There is a transition in vegetation and from the dusty playa surface to desert pavement. It is a misconception as to how durable these surfaces are. The desert environment is fragile in its own way. The playa undisturbed is durable, layers of sediment cemented in place by repeated saturation and evaporation. Once the crust is broken by mechanical crushing the fine dust particles are available for dust storms. Desert pavement is surprisingly vulnerable. The dune system is most obviously vulnerable and yet the shaped terrain is the most enticing to OHV trespass. Above the dunes are the cryptobiotic soils, a zone that needs the most education. This is the critical colonization of silty substrate by microbes that start the process of organic accumulation to support the first shrub zone. I always remark on the healthy appearance, deeply textured scales of dark mossy soil. And then there are the tracks of past users going through. I liken large patches of cryptobiotic soils to wet meadows in the alpine environment, but even less resilient.
Double hot springs always retain their deadly allure. Beautiful to look at but don’t touch. After a short stop we worked our way south along the Black Rock Range. We passed a string of “hot mud” hot springs that mark the fault along the range. Then we turned into the range to the climb up to the micro-playas. The rock scarp is void of vegetation and red in color, Martian in imagination.
It was great to have some new folks on this ride. My stories about the area haven’t changed so it is nice to have a new audience. Everyone else can zone out. At this point I need to dive deeper into my research of the area and refine my stories. This time we talked a little about the private land along the fault and how it could interrupt access to, or change the view scape of the NCA.
The micro-playas had their effect on the riders. They are a personal dose of playa magic. They are surrounded by a rocky ridge. Polished shiny smooth. The upper playa has a center island. It is magic. The polished surface reflects the skies and the skies at sunrise and sunset are magical. We camped on the leeward side of the island, our tents in a row. Personal preference had tents either in the dusty playa surface or just a little higher on the pebbly shoreline. A little smoother vs a little cleaner.
We watched King Lear Peak change in the sunset. We shared our meal creations in a dinner circle. Trader Joe’s seems to be the place to shop. With the convenience of a single overnight, lack of elevation change, and an otherwise dry camp bringing fresh, ready to eat food is a great option.
I dove into my tent once it was dark but the group went for a spin on the playa and quickly learned just how dark and disorienting it can be. No one got lost but I have gone out for a night ride and even with using GPS navigation I have ridden past my tent on return more than once.
It was a mildly cold night, just down to freezing. NOAA does a pretty good job at predicting the weather but I still expect some micro-climates to disrupt their models.
We rode out with the intention of stopping at Black Rock hot spring. Some of the group went for a dip. I hiked along the outflow on the smashed down tules just to see what there is to see. And to hear the trickle of water in the desert. At some point I would like to go around the wetland deltas of the various hot springs and take in the biodiversity they offer.
Then it was the trek across the playa back to our starting point. The nautical analogies are further enforced. You pick landmarks on the horizon to navigate to. Features behind you shrink rapidly, those ahead are much slower to respond. The valley to the south is warped by a mirage.
Our post playa meal at Bruno’s was a chance to rehash the trip. Everything gets some mention as a highlight.
- Crossing the playa by bike
- Historical Emigrant Trail
- Hot Springs
- Remote micro-playas
No wonder this is such a popular trip.
But most importantly the people on the trip got top billing.
