4WD trip from Nye Canyon to Rockland, via Dead Ox Canyon, Nevada

Are you the sort of person who doesn't like crowds? Do you savor lonely, rugged, western, high-desert scenery, and pinyon pine studded hills? Add to that, a couple of ghost towns and some interesting four wheeling in some of the most remote country imaginable in the lower-48 states, and the trail from Nye Canyon to Rockland, in Nevada's Toiyabe National Forest is a trip that you won't want to miss.

Left: The entrance to Nye Canyon, just off Nevada S.R. 338. Right: Nye Canyon at sunset.

Friday, August 18, 2006, I had the pleasure to camp in Nye Canyon, before starting this trip early Saturday morning. Nye Canyon is an obscure canyon, that only locals know about, and to everybody else, just another canyon on the map of the Toiyabe National Forest. It is located off Nevada State Route 338, about 2 miles north of Sweetwater Summit, and is labeled on the Forest Service map as FR 031, which is somewhat confusing, as the trail through Sand Canyon, a couple of miles to the north, is also named as FR 031, which makes the choice somewhat confusing. To add to the confusion, the sign that previously read "Nye Canyon" is missing, but there is a Forest Service marker that reads "031." Interestingly, as remote as the trails in the Toiyabe National Forest are, they are very well-marked, by Forest Service standards.

When you leave the lightly-traveled state highway, you climb up a small hill, past the typical Forest Service signs, and the trail heads almost due east, into the pinyon pine studded hills, through the wide mouth of Nye Canyon. The canyon features a seasonal stream, but although the stream was dry in mid-August, the course of the stream was easily recognized, due to the lush, green grass and the abundance of willow and flowering sagebrush.

Left: My camp for the night, in Nye Canyon. Right: Saturday, August 19, 2006 and I begin to head east through Nye Canyon, after passing the gate.

Only about a half mile into the canyon, a closed gate is encountered and immediately to your right, you'll notice a side road that leads to a level area, under a huge pinyon pine, which makes a good camp spot, which features an already constructed campfire ring. I'm not a fan of campfire rings, as I prefer to dig a cat hole, but I'm not one to turn down any convenience, especially as I was making camp at 1800 with only a couple of hours of daylight remaining. Sadly, not far from camp, there is a de facto garbage dump, where folks have discarded junk for the last I-don't-know-how-many years. My GPS told me the elevation here was 6525 feet.

In the Great Basin country, when you come to a gate, protocol dictates that you return the gate to whatever state it was in when you encountered it. Just past my campsite, you'll encounter the first, and only gate on this trip, and this gate is closed. Yes, it's a pain to open it, drive through it, and close it again, but that's the way things work in this part of the world. Please... when you encounter a gate, return it to whatever condition you found it in!

After you've closed the gate behind you, you'll be treated to about 3 miles of very easy trail, that during dry conditions, doesn't require four wheel drive. However, there is no way that I would even considering venturing into Nye Canyon without four wheel drive, as conditions can change rapidly and loose sand, washouts and other obstacles can be encountered at any time, without any forewarning.

As you travel east, the trail gradually climbs, however gently. The canyon opens up, but then abruptly narrows, and you're treated to magnificent views of granite rocks, which change colors according to the time of day, gnarly pinyon pines, and the ever present sagebrush. Naturally, every few seconds, a jackrabbit will dart across your path, but I was able to observe more exotic wildlife, like mountain bluebirds and pinyon jays, flying through the canyon, doing what they do everyday.

Left: Looking west in Nye Canyon on the hill above the intersection of the trail that leads to Sand Canyon. Sweetwater Peak can be seen in the distance. Right: I'm at the junction of roads 193 and 141. Road 141 heads to the right, and continues heading east in Nye Canyon. The truck is pointed toward Dead Ox Canyon.

The trail through Nye Canyon changes abruptly about three miles east of the gate, as you come to the signed intersection to Sand Canyon, as a low-down Forest Service sign reads "Sand Canyon" and a vertical sign reads "031," and points you to the north. At this junction, the trail drops into a very loose, sandy, dry wash, and deteriorates in a matter of a few feet from a Class 1 to a Class 3 trail. I peered into this sandy wash, and engaged four wheel drive and drove through it ok, despite the deep sand and the stair step. Even though I had engaged four wheel drive, and was in low-low range, and my truck is equipped with BFG mudder tires, I experienced a bit of shaking and wheel spinning, as I didn't air down for the trail; if you're not driving a well-equipped four wheeler, I would not even think about going any further, as the sand is deep and it's a short, but steep climb out of the wash. Not to mention the fact that you're about 30 miles away from Bridgeport or Wellington, which have minimal services, even on a good day. When you're four wheeling the trail from Nye Canyon to Rockland, you must be well-equipped, as there are absolutely NO SERVICES available, anywhere in this remote corner of Nevada, and you will be unlikely to encounter any other visitors, or anybody else that has the capabilities to help you in case of difficulty.

Confusion aside, you'll notice a vertical trail marker that says "141" and that's the trail you follow to your east if you're going to travel to Rockland, via Dead Ox Canyon.

Left: After battling thick brush, the canyon opens up, about a mile north of Nye Canyon. Right: June 17, 1995 in the same location. Yes, that's my Bronco. Note the difference 11 years can make in the condition of the trail.

After you cross the aforementioned sandy and difficult wash, the trail suddenly widens, smoothes out, and becomes a Class-1 road that you could drive a passenger car over, if you had it airlifted into Nye Canyon by a helicopter. But after about a half mile, you reach another clearly marked intersection. The trail is plainly marked, as there is a vertical Forest Service sign to the left that reads "193" and another sign that states "141." In our case, we want to make the left-hand turn north, toward the direction that "193" seconds, as that is the confluence of Nye Canyon and Dead Ox Canyon. This Class-2 and 3 trail will lead north, toward Pine Grove Summit, and ultimately, either Pine Grove, or Rockland. If you have a GPS handy, you might be interested to note that your coordinates are N38 34.8240, W119 8.4780, and the elevation is 7113 feet. If you're heading to Rockland or Pine Grove, turn left, or geographically north, at this intersection, and keep your hubs locked and your transfer case in four wheel drive.

I'm a strange guy, as I love to explore the lonely, high desert, pinion pine-clad hills, where you can go for many days without touching pavement or seeing another human being. Yet I carry a notebook computer, armed with DeLoreme mapping software and their moving-map GPS which, surprisingly, has every four wheel drive trail mapped into their database. How do these DeLorme guys map and incorporate into their database all of these obscure four wheel drive trails? All of these trails that I traveled are in their database, and I traveled some of the most remote country available in the lower 48 states. Of course, being the ex-Navy guy that I am, I don't put all of my eggs in one basket, so I always carry a Forest Service map and a compass, and I know where I am using the time-honored system of dead reckoning.

Left: June 17, 1995 and our group, led by Ray Schneider, head south down Dead Ox Canyon. Right: As you near Dead Ox Spring, the willows almost obliterate the trail and you get the enjoy the company of thousands of mountain yellowjackets.

Dead Ox Canyon is, in the best places, a Class-2 four wheel drive trail, as it heads north toward Pine Grove Summit, but it should be considered a Class-3 trail, as there are many sections that are loose, steep and washed-out, that are difficult, but not impossible for the well-equipped four-wheeler who has some experience driving these kind of trails.

Not far after leaving Nye Canyon, the canyon narrows and the willows and sagebrush close in. If you value your paint job, this is not the trail for you, as the sides of your truck will get scratched. My Ford F-250 is a full-size vehicle, and I had to fold in both of my mirrors, or they would have been involuntarily folded in for me, courtesy of all of the brush. As you slowly drive through the canyon, you'll hear the screeeeeech and scraaaaaaatch that the brush makes against the side of your rig.

After fighting the brush, about a mile into Dead Ox Canyon, the canyon suddenly opens up, the brush retreats, and suddenly the trail improves. Back in June, 1995, while I was traveling with a trail buddy Ray Schneider and a group of friends, the trail through this area was very washed out and nearly impassible. Looks can be deceiving, as this is still a trail in very remote country, and there are deep, sandy sections everywhere, so four wheel drive is required at all times. As I got out of the truck and explored the area, I noticed numerous deer tracks implanted on the sandy surface of the trail. Deer hunting anyone? One thing that struck me as odd in Dead Ox Canyon, as the Sierra Juniper trees had disappeared, as the only trees are pinyon pines.

Left: Dead Ox Spring, near the head of Dead Ox Canyon. Note the dry water troughs made out of military surplus containers. Right: Climbing out of the canyon with Pine Grove Hill towards the right of the photo.

As you head north, the canyon and the vegetation closes in and the trail gets narrow, very narrow. You're approaching Dead Ox Spring, which provides moisture for the abundant willows which line either side of the trail. At times, you're just powering your way through the willows, as they scrape and screech the sides of your truck as you drive the trail. If your rig is open, you'll have lots of company, as the millions of mountain below love to frequent this area, since this area has abundant water, thanks to the seepage of Dead Ox Spring, just to the north.

Dead Ox Spring doesn't amount to much, as its just a trickle of water coming out of the canyon wall that feeds into a couple of scummy pools. However, the mountain yellowjackets seem to love it, as there are thousands of them, and judging from the many footprints in the sand of deer and coyotes, the indigenous animals appreciate the moisture that trickles out of the canyon walls at Dead Ox Spring. Somebody, at some time, tried to harness the power of Dead Ox Spring by installing some military surplus pontoons to be used as water troughs, but alas, their venture failed and the troughs are dry. Because Dead Ox Spring provides a constant source of irrigation, the vegetation grows lush and green around the spring.

Left: Looking down Dead Ox Canyon to the south from the head of the canyon. That's Dead Ox Spring to the extreme left. Right: Pine Grove Summit. The photo is taken from the trail that leads to the ghost town of Rockland.

Leaving Dead Ox Spring, the trail crests a little hill, and the lush vegetation disappears; you're back to the usual sagebrush and pinyon pine, and the canyon opens up, and you can see Pine Grove Summit in the near distance. About a half mile after leaving Dead Ox Spring, there is a fork in the trail to the left, which climbs a small hill and seems to disappear, but the mail trail appears to head forward, toward Pine Grove Summit. Even though it doesn't appear to be the right thing to do, take the fork to the left! I didn't, as I followed the main trail for about a mile, until it became impassable due to washouts, huge boulders, and more brush than you could imagine. If you're fortunate to be driving a Jeep Rubicon, outfitted as a CA4WDC sweepstakes vehicle, make sure you bring a crew with chain saws, and I'm sure you'll be able to cut your way through the trail and join the main trail, as it meets near Pine Grove Summit. However, it will take a lot of winching, blood, sweat, tears and chain saw work. If that's you thing, go for it, but for me, I walked the trail, determined that it was impassible, and turned around in the direction of Dead Ox Spring.

As I reached the trail junction, I pondered my predicament. What do I do? Retrace the 10 miles or of four wheeling, just to arrive on the pavement, and drive to Rockland/Pine Grove over uninteresting Forest Service roads? Or do I take a chance, and see where the fork to the left leads? Being one to savor the moment, I took the left fork, which, after only a quarter mile of rough four wheeling, appeared to be the route of choice, as the trail could be seen to head almost directly to the barren pass known in this part of the country as Pine Grove Summit.

You climb up the very rocky, Class-3 trail though the pinyon pines, keeping Pine Grove Summit in view amost all of the time. You cross a small saddle, leave the pinyon pine forest, and soon, you're at the Pine Grove Summit.

Left: As you descend Rockland Canyon, the trail is very washed out in places. Right: The nastiest section of trail that I encountered on the trip forced me to place my left wheels way up the bank, which resulted in a scary off-camber attitude and lots of slippage... towards the dropoff! Note the severe washout.

At Pine Grove Summit, GPS coordinates, N38.38.6058, W119.7.5755, elevation 8275 feet, and is signed by you typical vertical Forest Service signs, that if you have a map of the Total National Forest, will prove invaluable, but if you don't have a map, good luck. The signs show that road "059" will take you straight, and road "193" takes you to the right. Of course, destinations aren't included here, so get out your map, or in my case, consult DeLorme's mapping program. By looking on the map, I found that "059" would take me into Pine Grove, but if I wanted to continue into Rockland, as I had planned, I should take road "193" to my right, or, geographically, east. I chose to make breakfast and choose my destination over a nice, hot breakfast of potatoes, bacon and eggs.

I decided to take the right fork to Rockland, as the trail appeared to be in better condition, both to my eyes and on the map.

Left: This pretty shot looks down Rockland Canyon, towards Rockland, with the Walker River Valley in the background. Right: A typical section of the narrow trail that descends down Rockland Canyon into Rockland.

The trail swings to the east, and features easy four wheeling as the trail winds through a treeless valley and reaches a small summit before it starts to descend into Rockland Canyon. As the trail descends, the canyon narrows, pinyon pines and dense brush appear, and the trail becomes very narrow. As you drive down the steep trail, you'll be happy that you have a low-range transfer case, as the trial is narrow, steep and densely overgrown with brush.

Besides being steep and narrow, the trail, in some places, is very washed out. There was one especially nasty spot where the trail was very narrow and partially washed out, and to get through this section, you had to place your left side up on the bank, so your right side would avoid the washout. If for some reason you got into the washed-out part, you'd risk the fate of sliding down the canyon, or at best, doing a bit on winching or jack-and-fill with the Hi-Lift jack that, hopefully, you carry. I stopped the truck and got out to take a look and I almost decided to turn around and head back the way I came, albeit nearly 15 miles from pavement and a lot of wasted effort. In the end, I decided that I could make it, so I placed my wheels very carefully, went very slowly and made it through the washout in one piece. There were a few scary seconds, as my left side climbed the bank and I went almost 30 degrees off-camber in the direction of the washout and the drop-off. Just as all of this was happening, the rear end of the truck started to swing toward the dropoff, as the right-rear wheel lost traction, and I felt myself sliding toward the washout and the dropoff. However, the front wheels grabbed firm soil, found traction, and pulled me through the washout. What took me 60 seconds to describe actually happened in the time frame of, maybe 2 seconds. After I made it through, I stopped the truck, got out, and took a breather. Believe me, I needed the rest!

Photos: These structures are typical of the buildings that remain at Rockland. Really, there's not much to see.

After about a half mile of traveling down the steep, narrow canyon trail a junction is reached, along with ruins of mine buildings. Congratulations are in order, as you've reached the western suburbs of Rockland, Nevada! I wasn't sure which way to go, so prudence dictated that I park the truck and walk the trail. Naturally this intersection is unmarked, but the trail that led straight east seemed like the way to go, as it hugged the north side of the canyon wall, in keeping with the last several miles of trail that I'd traveled in Rockland Canyon. After parking the truck, I walked only about 100 yards or so and noticed that the right fork led to an abandoned mine, and the trail seemed to deteriorate as it entered the mine. I did the smart think by hiking the trail, as I've learned since my near disaster in the Inyo Mountains two years ago.

Left: Leaving Rockland, the trail widens and becomes mostly Class-1, but keep your hubs locked, as there are many Class-2 sections. Right: Lower Rockland Canyon, not far from the junction that will take you to Pine Grove. That's the Wassuck Range the far distance.

After leaving the junction, the trail becomes very narrow, with a huge drop-off towards the canyon that makes you want to "kiss" the canyon wall, but its actually wider than it looks and, even with a full-size Ford F-250 truck, I experienced no difficulty negotiating the steep downhill trail through Rockland Canyon. As you descend the canyon, the pinyon pine forest becomes quite dense, and more abandoned mine buildings and houses appear. There are many trails, that I assume used to be city streets that take off to the sides, but I just followed the trail that looked the most used, generally headed east and, perhaps most important, headed downhill.

Unlike other area ghost towns, such as Bodie, or even Pine Grove, Rockland defies description of a downtown, as all the town appears to be is a mine here, the ruins of a shack there, more pinyon pines, another ruined shack, another pile of mining debris, and so on and so forth. I only took a few photos of things that looked interesting, and just basically drove east down Toiyabe Forest Road 193, and easy Class-2 trail, toward my destination of the junction of Road 193 and Road 059.

Thus, the journey ended at this lonely intersection. Nye Canyon, Dead Ox Canyon, Pine Grove Summit and Rockland Canyon are some of the most lonely, remote and awesome places that I've ever visited in the Silver State of Nevada. If you like solitude, fun four wheeling, and awesome Great Basin scenery, this is a trip that you should take.

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