All over the high desert and mountains of Nevada, there are ghost towns to be found. Communities that were once exploding with hopes and dreams of buried treasures deep within the earth, were quickly abandoned to the ravages of time when the mines ran dry of their precious silver and gold ore. One such town was Pine Grove, located in the hills a few miles south of present-day Yerington.
From my research, two mines were established in the town. The Wilson Mine was first dug in 1866 and the Wheeler mine the following year. Between the two mines, they produced approximately $8M in gold and silver ore before the main strike finally ran dry. During the town's boom in the 1870's and 1880's, it boasted a post office, weekly newspaper, dance hall, five saloons, three hotels, and many other shops, all in the service of a population of 600 residents. However, mine production was slowly abandoned in the mid-1890's with the last residents deserting the community in the 1930's.
For a while, I have been wanting to visit the ghostly remains of this once booming town in my jeep, but when my hiking group posted a meetup to explore the area, I jumped on the chance. The five of us met in Carson City and carpooled the seventy or so miles to the bottom of the hills below the town, and then hiked the rest of the way. While there was some steady uphill as we climbed approximately 1400', it was a very easy hike through the picturesque Nevada landscape of sagebrush.
Finally, reaching the first signs of the abandoned community we noticed a hot spring pool and a stone wall on the far side that may have served as an ice house or other water-related utility building. A bit further, we find the stone walls of the post office and a sign telling the story of Pine Grove.
While there are likely many foundations and partial walls hidden in and among the sage, only five (including the post office and water facility) poke out of the desert. One building, just a bit beyond the post office is in relatively good condition. I enter it and find the floors very solid. Someone else has apparently thought so too, as there is a modern (though heavily worn) mattress and box springs in the corner of the one-roomed building. It must get cold up in these hills with no glass in the windows, but someone has obviously been here at some point in the not-to-distant past. Nearby, some large mining equipment juts out of the hill.
Making our way further up the road, we next encounter what I believe to be one of the former hotels. It is a fairly large two-storied building and when comparing the layout to old pictures of the two before it's eventual demise, I'm pretty sure it once had a balcony. Now, however, the first floor is partially buried in dirt and gravel, likely from the run-off of the hills above.
*Note: Photo courtesy of Google
The final building we discover is only thirty or forty yards away an looks to have served as a barn or garage back in the day. It's fairly sturdy and would still provide some limited shelter. It does provide a good spot to take our lunch break before returning the way we came. After finishing off my soup, kept warm in a my new thermos, I hear one of the guys mention a cave or mine shaft nearby while walking around. We head over as a group to discover what appears to be a natural cave with a large iron grate over it's entrance. A sign indicates the cave serves as a bat preserve and should not be entered or interfered with. Fine with me.
As we being heading back down the hill, we explore a couple of side trails, but never find anything more of real interest other than a few piles of rusted out cans - obviously, the dump of the community. Arriving back at the cars, I see we've hiked just over 8.7 miles. It was a decent workout and it's always to explore with these folks. I look forward to our next adventure.
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