Seven Troughs Nevada Exploration

wayoflife

wayoflife

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In 1905, gold was discovered in the Seven Troughs mountain range which is located deep in the Northern Nevada desert. By 1907, miners from Tonopah and Goldfield flocked to the area after an assays of $100,000 a ton was revealed and a town bearing the name of the range it resided in was established. Before the end of the year, over 350 people, a post office, several stores and saloons inhabited Seven Troughs. Even after a deadly flash flood killed 8 people and destroyed most of the town and surrounding camps in 1912, the town continued to proper for the better part of 10 years as it produced approximately $2 million in gold. By 1918, the gold veins began to play out and efforts to drain and haul ore started a rapid decline in population. To help address these issues, the Nevada State Mining Co. decided to dig a 2.5 mile tunnel through the mountain and, in spite of the discovery of several gold veins, boring was ultimately ceased in 1934 after wet rock caused the cost of continuing to become unviable. While the town of Seven Troughs and it's surrounding camps, Vernon and Mazuma were abandoned by the 1930's, small scale mining in the area continued on and off well into the 1950's and man named Art lived in the neighboring town of Tunnel (the one established for the boring of the 2.5 mile tunnel through the mountain) until his passing in the late 1990's.

Back in the middle of July, Cindy and I decided to make a trip to explore what is left of this remote and relatively well preserved mining district. From there, we headed north to a major cross road in the Emigrant Trail known as Rabbithole Springs before making our way east back to civilization. I hope you enjoy.

Leaving South Lake Tahoe, we made our first stop over at the east end of Carson City where we found this really BIG "bug"...
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Pulling off the interstate to hook up on the California Emigrant Trail...
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Made a stop to check out a historical marker and was disappointed to see it had been vandalized and removed...
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Heading further north and away from civilization...
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Some curious locals came out to check us out from afar...
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Making a stop at a local watering hole...
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Straight out of the ground, nice and cold...
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Heading up into the Seven Troughs Range...
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The first stop we made was over at the old town site of Vernon. Established in 1905 and used to serve as a base for mines in the mining district, this was once a busy spot with hundreds of people living here. Today, all that remains are the remnants of the walls that once made up the 2-cell jail that once stood here. Sadly, vandals blew up the rest of it some years ago...
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Up in the hills, we decided to explore some of the old mines in the immediate area...
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Further north, we made our way up to the old town of Tunnel...
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While there used to be more here and in better shape, we were surprised at how many buildings and structures were still standing...
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One of two 5-stamp mills that is still present and amazingly intact...
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Exploring the rest of the extensive mill site...
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Looking up the canyon toward the tunnel dig and mine tailings...
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Enormous hopper and collapsed shed...
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Standing on an old foundation looking east toward town...
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An old subterranean storage shed along the road to the diggings...
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Some old polyester cloths still hanging...
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And some totally hip white dress shoes...
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Foundation of another mill...
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Initials scribed into the concrete dating Sept 1st 1927...
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A lone plant blooming through the concrete providing nourishment for a strikingly orange and iridescent blue insect...
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Looking up the hill at the remnants of old water towers...
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View looking east across the mill site and out toward town...
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Another nearby subterranean rock shelter...
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4 bunk accommodations...
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Standing on the edge of the tailings looking back at town...
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More pics below...
 
Heading back into town to explore the old power station and homes...
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The old power station is unique in that it's made out of hollow bricks. While bricks like this are common in Europe, I have not seen too many old buildings made with them here in the U.S.
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Taking a walk through town and checking out some of the old homes...
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An old wood knot hole plug...
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From old pics that I have seen, there used to be big trees surrounding this old home. And, from what I've read, it's where the last resident, Art, used to store artifacts from the area. Unfortunately, both he and the artifacts are now gone...
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Art used to live in a false front wooded store across the street from the home above but, vandals have since burned it down and all that is left is the old outhouse...
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Old work shed nearby...
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Remnants of an old truck...
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Down at the southeast end of town, there was once a mining camp called Mazuma, a slang term for "ready necessary" or "money" and, on July 18, 1912, a flash flood wiped it out and killed 8 people, 4 of which were children. This cemetery is where they rest now...
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More pics below...
 
Heading further north, we paid a visit to the old town site of Seven Troughs. Unfortunately, very little remains of this once productive and prosperous town...
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Making our way across the vast expanses of the Sage Valley...
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Making our way up Stonehouse Canyon, we came upon a spring and these old cabins...
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Heading up Wildcat Canyon, we stopped to check out the old Warmoth Mill site...
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We also stopped to check out an old dilapidated cabin in the area...
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Won't be long until nothing is left standing here...
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Sifting through a nearby trash heap, we found an antique can of WD-40...
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and pieces of an old cast iron wood burning stove made back in 1888...
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More pics below...
 
Back in the Sage Valley and heading north...
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Making a stop in the old mining town of Placerites where the last surviving home has been trashed and collapsed...
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Driving along the Kamma Mountains, we saw this strange looking rock formation - kinda looked like Sigmund the Sea Monster...
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Heading northwest, we stopped at a point where the California (Noble's Cuttoff) and Applegate Emigrant Trails meet at Rabbithole Springs. This was a famous waterhole stop along the Applegate Trail during the 1850's and 1860's...
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Looking down at the lower of the two watering holes...
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Historical marker noting the location with a quote from a weary traveler...
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Nearby are ruins of a small stone cabin that was built to house a miner in later years...
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A couple of days before, there was a storm that passed through the area and for a day, filled this dry lake which quickly dried into an intricate terracotta like display...
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Like driving on ceramic tiles...
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Moving on, we made a stop over at an old homestead at Barrel Springs...
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Welcome to the Rabbithole Restort!
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The peeling paint leaving some amazing designs behind...
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Floor plugs...
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Some of the original residents are buried nearby...
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Barrel Springs still full of water...
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On the move again and following the Applegate Trail. Here is a historic marker out in the middle of the Sage Valley with a quote from a thirsty traveler...
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Getting ready to head into Painted Canyon...
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Making another stop at the old town site of Scossa. The mining district here was one of Nevada's most productive districts in the 1930's. This is all that remains today...
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Miles and miles of nothing ahead...
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Sitting on the top of Imlay Summit looking east and down toward the Humbolt River...
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On our way down, we made a stop over at Willow Springs, a last chance to get water before heading into the Sage Valley...
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You shall not pass!!
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Sun going down and almost back to pavement...
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Looking out across the northern dry end of the Rye Patch Reservoir....
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Back on pavement after a long day out on the trail...
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I hope you enjoyed following us along on our journey exploring the Northern Nevada Desert. :cool:
 
Beautiful pictures as usual. Thanks for putting that together for us. I enjoy loving vicariously through your explorations!
 
must say i enjoy seeing the sites of your travels now get back out on the trails and bring us easterners some more of the beauty:clap2:
 
This is one of the many reasons why i like this forum, not only do you get to learn more about Jeeps but you also get to experience places that you never knew existed. Thanks for sharing your travels and pictures.
 
The insects pictured are Tarantula Hawks. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarantula_hawk

"The tarantula hawk is relatively docile and rarely stings without provocation. However, the sting, particularly of P. formosa, is among the most painful of any insect, though the intense pain only lasts about three minutes.[3] Commenting on his own experience, Justin Schmidt described the pain as "…immediate, excruciating pain that simply shuts down one's ability to do anything, except, perhaps, scream. Mental discipline simply does not work in these situations."[2] In terms of scale, the wasp's sting is rated near the top of the Schmidt sting pain index, second only to that of the bullet ant, and is described by Schmidt as "blinding, fierce [and] shockingly electric".[4]"

First time poster, by the way. I have lurked regularly, and enjoy the pictures and write-ups. I'm based in southern NV and have wheeled extensively down here.
 
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