I have visited Grimes Point, the ancient petroglyph site east of Fallon, NV, a few times over the years, even touring Hidden Cave early this spring, but I only recently discovered a map online indicating the location of Spirit Cave. In 1940, a mummy was discovered in Spirit Cave during a survey of possible archaeological sites. Fifty years later, after numerous tests, it was discovered that the mummy was approximately 9,400 years old, making it the oldest mummy ever discovered in North America. With my love of history and adventure, how could I not visit this site?
As Brent and I were in the area anyway to see Soda Lake, we made this our next destination. Driving past the Grimes Point parking lot and the Hidden Cave trail head, we head out onto the dirt roads just to the north. We head for the area where I believe the cave is located based on the hand-drawn map I stumbled across a few weeks ago. We leave the jeep and head up into the hills on foot. There is not trail, but the going is pretty easy.
Along the way, we note the amount of calcium carbonate that had encrusted the smooth black rocks in eons past when this area was under the waters of the gigantic and now-extinct Lake Lahontan. In some places, we can see 4-6 inches of mineral crust that has formed around the inner boulders and now after many millennia exposed to the dry desert conditions has started falling off in places.
As we reach the summit of the hill we are climbing, I re-examine the map and discover that we are actually in the wrong area. It still made for a good hike though and some great views. As we look around to get our bearings, Brent discovers a rusted out, but sealed food can at his feet. We bring it with us and decide we'll open it back at the jeep just out of morbid curiosity.
Arriving back at the jeep, we open the old can to discover (drum roll please . . . ) nothing truly identifiable. Whatever it once was is now dried and resembles dirt. I break one piece open and find that it has what might be a root vegetable-like texture. Maybe it was once potatoes or carrots, but who knows how many years have transformed it into what we now hold in our hands.
Hopping back into the jeep, we drive around to the other side of the hills and spot what might be the cave above us in an area that looks very much like where the map indicates the cave is. We park and make our way up the hill to the entrance of the cave. When we arrive at the overhang that is the entrance, there is no doubt that we have found what we were looking for.
The cave itself is essentially two chambers. The outer chamber, which is mainly just the area underneath an overhang is approximately 25 feet wide, 6-8 feet deep, with a ceiling 3-4 feet high. Looking into the cave, another smaller chamber opens up on the left side. This area is only a few feet deep and I have to almost crawl into it. According to the reports I have read, this is where the remains were found. I try to be as gentle as possible, as I have no desire to desecrate this resting place. I snap a couple of pictures and then crawl back out being cautious to not bump my head on the jagged ceiling.
We make our way back down to the jeep and head for home. I didn't track our hike, but I suspect we covered about two miles in our search for the hike, but today, the destination was more important that the journey and having seen this ancient Native American site was well worth the effort.
Just a few miles northwest of Fallon, NV lies the Soda Lakes. These two circular lakes, the larger of which is about 1.2 miles across, while the smaller is only about 660 feet across, were both formed inside collapsed volcanic craters, which likely erupted sometime in the last 1500 years.
With all of the online searching I do for hiking destinations, I was surprised that I had only read about these interesting lakes in the last couple of months. That said, I wanted to visit the site and check out the feature. Driving out early this morning with my friend, Brent, we turned off of highways 50 onto Lucas Road and headed north until the paved road veered right, while we continued straight on a dirt road. Eventually, the dirt road leads to the shore of the larger lake.
As we approach the lake on foot, the ducks and geese quickly relocate to be as far across the lake from us as possible. The shoreline here is nearly flat with just a gentle slope to the water. A layer of white foam has washed onto the volcanic ash surface of the shoreline. Somewhere below the surface of the lake are the remains of a soda extraction factory built in the mid-1870's to extract sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) from the lake. In the early 20th century water from local irrigation projects seeped into the ground water and caused the lake level to rise, flooding the factory and ending the extraction process at the lake. It makes for an interesting story.
In the distance, we can see the reported tufa formations on the other side of the lake and decide to head over that way in the jeep. Leaving the jeep above the crater rim, we head down the steep pumice-covered incline to the northern shoreline on foot. The surface here is caked with a white mineral, which was presumably left when water evaporated. Walking along the shoreline, we see a number of examples of tiny springs feeding into the lake, volcanic gases rising from the bottom in the form of bubbles, and most notably, a large number of large tufa formations, some rising 5-6 feet out of the water.
I have visited Mono Lake a few hours to the south many times over the years, and while its tufa towers are world renown, I had no idea that we had other examples of these otherworldly formations so close to Reno. And while these towers aren't nearly of the size or quantity as those at Mono Lake, they are no less interesting.
A bit further along the shoreline, we spot the shot-up remnants of a VW Bus, abandoned here who knows how long ago. From the terrain, I would guess that someone tried to drive it down the steep incline of the crater only to get stuck here. Years or perhaps decades later, all that remains is a rusted shell.
After the short walk back to the jeep, we head to our next destination in the area. Soda Lake is definitely something to check out that if you are near Fallon with a few minutes to spare.
