Black Rock Desert Trip Planning

[Gotrovr]

I promise to develop a detailed trip sheet by end of March, but for now and for those of you unfamiliar with this trip I offer the following. Basically, this is a pure Expedition style trip open to all Land Rovers that runs through a Playa and historical immigrant route of the famous Black Rock Desert which is home to the annual Burning Man Festival and witness to the Land Speed Record by some British chaps.

I have set a tenative date for the start of the trip to rendevous at Reno Friday Morning 9:00AM July 25th and venture from there north to Black Rock Desert via western edge of Pyramid Lake, then via Gerlach. Camping Friday night somewhere into the desert, Venturing further on Saturday and returning back later that evening to Friday's camping spot, then returning home early on Sunday with an estimated 4 hours driving time back into Reno.

This is a primative camping trip, tent camping or tent trailers only, other than possible Thursday night Hotel stay over in Reno, no RV's. No water or fuel past Gerlach. Typical desert conditions prevail. Temperatures are not extreme due to the rise in elevation. Along the way we will trace the route of earlier settlers, arrow head hunting, visit several hot springs some of which are too hot for human exposure and view a night time sky which words cannot describe.

Please do not hesitate to post up questions, comments or recommendations.

[PCRover]

Sounds great Will! It has been to many years since I was last there and slept on top of a Scorpion...I do remember the view of the sky on a moonless night was beyond spectacular! I do not recommend trailers unless they are expedition type and can stand up to the harsh conditions. Certainly this is bring everything trip as there is nothing once you leave Gerlach.

Do you plan on returning back through Reno, or go out via CA to the North West? As I remember it was a great trip to continue North West from the desert and make your way back to CA.

[Gotrovr]

The return trip thru Northeast CA is a definate option and probably more preferable

[ROVRMAN2]

Make sure your Fri. nite stay in Reno does not conflict with any other events in Reno that wknd, otherwise tuff to find a motel.
A good camp spot is Stevens Camp(north end of Blk Rck Cyn), has running H20, cold shower,BBQ pit, vault toliet.
BTW, u can wash ur car there too!

[Gotrovr]

Make sure your Fri. nite stay in Reno does not conflict with any other events in Reno that wknd, otherwise tuff to find a motel.

Did I say Friday night, it should be Thursday night. This gives the folks like myself who are 4+ hours from Reno a fresh start on Friday morning.

[ChrisJB]

Woohoo I am there. Also just FYI....The last time I went through Gerlach (Nov last year), Premium gas was almost $5.00 a gal. So keep that in mind when budgeting for the trip. Also will we need to bring fuel cans or will the fill up at Gerlach be sufficient? I might have to find room for my telescope :)

I would really love to find and photograph this..

[ROVRMAN2]

Gerlach finally got 91 octane?
3yrs ago,mid-grade was the usual, brought my own fuel booster.

[ChrisJB]

I remember it was one pump with a sheet of paper with premium written on it so hopefully it wasn't temporary, but I would have to assume the premium is not Shell V-Power ;)

[esteban]

I'm in, this sounds like fun...

Steve

[jhmover]

At that altitude you can live without premium gas.

[sasquatch]

Sounds great Will. Totally in for this one. Family oriented?? My Dad lives in Sparks. Maybe I can talk him into letting us crash there Thursday night and save some cash. :D

[Gotrovr]

At that altitude you can live without premium gas.

my wife says she can live without my gas at any altitude :eek:

[Gotrovr]

found this site searching for recent activity at Black Rock Desert area

http://therockgods.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5398

[ChrisJB]

Will anyone from the group be attempting to break the land rover speed record while we are up there? :)

[Gotrovr]

I doubt that will happen. Terminal speed on the playa is lower than asphalt due to increase in skin friction (Drag) exhibited on the sidewalls of the tire and the snow plow effect (Drag) or bow wave sensation of the tire displacing the fine particulate matter. I do not recommend this, but you can definately keep the peddle to the metal and hands off the steering wheel. A very strange sensation indeed. I do remember at one moment the RPM would drop along with the speed when locating a soft patch of the playa, then at no warning the speed and RPM would mysteriously increase back to terminal speed ~ 75 MPH.... And the dust devils, some seemed to reach heights in excess of 200 feet, scattered along the route like giant pylons marking some imaginary way point for space travelers.

[ChrisJB]

Okay so I have never been camping before in the 29 years that I have been alive lol so I have no camping gear whatsoever. I do have a cooler though.... :) So needless to say I will be doing some shopping at Walmart for camping gear this weekend. Here is the list I have so far...

Tent
Air Mattress
Sleeping bag
Lanturn
Camp grill/stove
Camping dining set/flatware
Cooking utensils
skillet/small pot
Camp Chairs
Small Folding Table

So hopefully this should cover any type of recreational camping trips that i plan on doing in the furture, but any feedback will be apreciated.

One more question...... With an expedition style trip, it's obvious there wont be any.....ummm facilities available for when nature calls.....I dont see myself using a Uncle Booger's Bumper Dumper (http://bumperdumper.com/bumper2.htm). I have no idea whats the protocol.... :o

[astateofmike]

Yeah, that would be a pain if you use the tailgate for things like water and all....

Wag Bags seem to be real popular. RonCTD110 seems to champion them.
http://www.thepett.com/

This set up runs like 279 including tent and all, but all you need is the base really... but not direct from them,from cabelas:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20075-cat20097&id=0009548514869a&navCount=1&podId=0009548&parentId=cat20097&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=QW&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat20097&hasJS=true

[keptin]

really looking forward to this trip, the playa is amazing.....will blow your mind if you haven't already seen something like it. Lots of fun, despite lack of 'tactical-wheeling'.

[ChrisJB]

I found this cool little brochure regarding the Black Rock area from the BLM

[Gotrovr]

Okay so I have never been camping before in the 29 years that I have been alive lol so I have no camping gear whatsoever. I do have a cooler though.... :) So needless to say I will be doing some shopping at Walmart for camping gear this weekend. Here is the list I have so far...

Tent
Air Mattress
Sleeping bag
Lanturn
Camp grill/stove
Camping dining set/flatware
Cooking utensils
skillet/small pot
Camp Chairs
Small Folding Table

So hopefully this should cover any type of recreational camping trips that i plan on doing in the furture, but any feedback will be apreciated.

One more question...... With an expedition style trip, it's obvious there wont be any.....ummm facilities available for when nature calls.....I dont see myself using a Uncle Booger's Bumper Dumper (http://bumperdumper.com/bumper2.htm). I have no idea whats the protocol.... :o

In most cases some natural cover and a good shovel, but that depends entirely on governing agency rules. Never within 150 feet of any stream or riparian area.

Developing the perfect list of camping gear, now that is a continual work of art. The temptation is to over pack for any likely scenario. It's a delicate balance between what you think you might need and what you actually end up using. A good rule of thumb is to compartmentalize your kit. Shelter, Food, Clothing, Safety Equipment, Spare Parts, Tools and Personal Items. Start with general or basic list and modify, build up or build down depending on mission specifics, duration, weather, terrain, etc.

[ROVRMAN2]

suggestions to add to your list:
1) biodegradable TP
2) sml shovel or trowel
3) whisk broom
4) hand sanitizer or biodegradable soap
5) bungee cords
6) tarp for shade
7) insect repellant
8) sun block
9) H20
10) camera
11) binoculars

[HMBRover]

Okay so I have never been camping before in the 29 years that I have been alive lol so I have no camping gear whatsoever. I do have a cooler though.... :) So needless to say I will be doing some shopping at Walmart for camping gear this weekend. Here is the list I have so far...

Tent
Air Mattress
Sleeping bag
Lanturn
Camp grill/stove
Camping dining set/flatware
Cooking utensils
skillet/small pot
Camp Chairs
Small Folding Table

So hopefully this should cover any type of recreational camping trips that i plan on doing in the furture, but any feedback will be apreciated.

One more question...... With an expedition style trip, it's obvious there wont be any.....ummm facilities available for when nature calls.....I dont see myself using a Uncle Booger's Bumper Dumper (http://bumperdumper.com/bumper2.htm). I have no idea whats the protocol.... :o

From our experience, we almost never use a lantern. We have headlamps and a 3 cell Maglite for serious illumination. The LED headlamps are hands free and batteries last a long time.

Also why spend $$ for camp style place servings when you can go to the local Goodwill and pick up plastic stuff that will serve your needs. Flatware too.

Consider a closed cell foam pad rather than an air matress. That way you won't wake up at 2:00 AM wondering why the ground is so hard when the air goes out of the bladder. A good alternative is the "self inflating" pads with a foam interior but they are $$.

Perk style coffee pot if you are a caffeine junkie.

Lots of variability in tents. Get one big enough for you (and SO) and your gear, easy to set up, including rain fly. Also get a tarp or tent footprint to put under the tent. I recommend a tent that has a "tub" of waterproof material as a base so rain water stays out. Coleman has some good offerings in tents.

Also consider what temperature ranges you are willing to camp in and get the appropriately rated bag. Give yourself about a 20 degree margin. I.e. a zero degree bag for 20 degree minimum temperature camping; a 20 degree bag for 40 degree minimum temperature, etc. Down bags are good for small size and light weight but lose their insulation qualities if they get wet. Polyfill bags are bulkier and heavier but retain insulation quality if they get damp and they are generally cheaper. Down bags are like sleeping in a cloud however. :)

No doubt Ron B will chime in here with Pett's Wag Bags. :D Hey, Ron, where was it you got your PWBs??

Hope this helps ....

[ChrisJB]

Awesome. I appreciate all the feedback!

I just now thinking regarding the premium gas thing.... jhmover stated you can live without premium gas at the altitude of Black Rock. I Wiki'd Black Rock Desert and it states it's just under 3848 ft. Carson City is at 4802 ft, Reno 4505 ft, Lake Tahoe 6237 ft. So I have been a faithfull Shell V-Power user (my 03 dodge neon has almost 100k miles and only used Shell premium since new, after the last service my valves and fuel system are clean as a whistle according to the mechanic) So am I just wasting my money when I could have just used mid grade with the same results? :confused:

[Gotrovr]

Not to worry with our modern fuel injected OBD ECU engines that are designed to compensate for various density altitudes. Carburated engines are another matter. Then again so are Turbo Diesels.

[RON CT110]

Have TDI will travel!

Sign me up on this trip! :)

[stevenmd]

Perk style coffee pot if you are a caffeine junkie.


I got one at GoodWill for $1:cool:

[stevenmd]

I have set a tenative date for the start of the trip to rendezvous at Reno Friday Morning 9:00AM July 25th

Hmmmm.... this trip is tentatively scheduled the week right after the Blue Lakes trip is tentatively scheduled... :) If you are pretty much set in stone about this trip I will need to move the tentative date of the Blue Lakes trip to earlier, perhaps the end of June, depending on snow pack. Some people might incur damage on Blue Lakes and not have enough time to repair their truck in time for Black Rock.

[Gotrovr]

Steven I think these 2 trips can co-exist on back to back weekends. I can't imagine all of those members wanting to attend Blue Lakes will want to attend Black Rock and visa versa.

[PCRover]

I would like to attend both and suggest a 2 week spacing. I am still not sure Will wants to go to a desert in July? May or Oct makes more sense to me.

[stevenmd]

Will - I agree. Suzi and I are starting to plan our NCLR trips into our respective calendars already. I want to hit up as many as possible and she is game for it. She just needs at least two months advance notice to move clients around without disrupting their facial routines... think bigwig clients...;)

Gary - yup, not sure why Will wants to go to the desert in July...:p

Seeing as Rupe has May booked with family obligations and won't be able to lead a Peligreen/Lassen trip, why not do Black Rock in May? That is the original month listed in the 2008 trip calendar.

Either way, looking at my calendar, I think I will shoot for submitting a trip date of July 11/12th for Blue Lakes.

[Gotrovr]

Temps in July at BRD are not as extreme as one might think.

Roughty same time of year as the last trip I went on. Actually a week later, same weekend as Hot August nights.

[ChrisJB]

Hangin out in the desert in July would be a great time honestly. Due to the lack of humidity, 90 - 100 deg temps aren't that bad. Remember burning man is the last week of Aug and last year that didn't stop the 47k people partying in 105 degree weather last year :)

May would be too early honestly because it can still be too cold especially at night. This area doesn't stay consistantly warm until June and and the playa may still be too wet from melting snow to traverse through. October is when we start seeing storms and again may provide challenges and the nights can be cold and very windy.

late June, July, Aug, Sept to me are the best time to play in the desert because of hot days and nice cool summer nights.

But then again I am used to desert conditions :D

Just my opinion

[Desertcrawler]

Outside temp was 115'!

It was a heck of a lot of fun, and temp dropped down at night...

Now for an open top Defender it gets a little hot...ask Frank...

[Gotrovr]

Especially with no cover on his side :D

[RON CT110]

No doubt Ron B will chime in here with Pett's Wag Bags. :D Hey, Ron, where was it you got your PWBs??

No turning back for me (using a shovel) since Dbregman introduced me to Pett's Wag Bags during the Mojave trip last year. :D

All you need is a bucket for the seat!

I get them from Modern Outpost: http://www.modernoutpost.com/gear/details/pe_wag.html

$2.99 USD ea. or better yet buy in bulk and split the cost among 4 or 5 NCLR members.

I'd be willing to buy 100 pack for $199.99 and split the cost among 4 or 5 people. Buying the 100 pack bring the cost down to $2.00 ea (plus tax shipping!).

Any takers!

[LCPDX]

Was 'visiting' Walmart the other day and they have these for sale.....

http://relianceproducts.com/consumer/product/92.html

Anybody have any feedback on them?

[ChrisJB]

are we still a go for this trip and dates?

[Gotrovr]

unfortunately, this trip is now on hold pending confirmed repairs/replacement of my Disco

[ChrisJB]

darn. It was my only shot to take a trip with the club this year :( but more importantly hope you and shrek get healed up soon.