Kinney Camp and Big Spring Canyon (Humboldt County, Nevada)

I decided to join my friend, Nick, this weekend on a camping trip, which was mostly focused around his interest in astro-photography. We had been watching the weather and expected cloud cover all week around the region, and when our departure Saturday morning finally came, we decided to head north towards the Oregon border and camp in the Sheldon National Antelope Refuge. The area is extremely remote and should be about as free from light solution as anywhere in the lower forty-eight.

It's about a four hour drive from Reno through some of the most unpopulated areas of the state, with which we arrived around 2:30. Along the way, we stop a few times to explore some interesting geography that we find along the way. Eventually, we notice a large canyon to the north of the highway and decide to hike out to it. We had noticed an area on the brochure's map called Kinney Camp, which should be nearby, but not having any background on it, we simply made our way towards the canyon.

The first three-quarters of a mile follow a seldom-used dirt road. The high desert has begun to reclaim it, starting with a number of golden grasses, many of which have burr-style seeds that start collecting on our socks and shoes. 

As we round a small bend and I find a rock on which to relieve myself, we come across the ruins of the Kinney Camp. While not visible from the road, the remains are pretty extensive and consist of a primitive fenced area and several buildings, including one large one that likely served as the residence. From inspection, this would seem to have been a ranch from around the 1920's, which I later confirm based upon loose information available on the internet. We take a while to explore the various buildings, but very little remains. The local fauna has taken over and built nests in most of the structures. Its always kind of fun stumbling across old ruins like these and imagining how rugged the people living in this area must have been.

After spending a little time wandering around the ranch, we decide to push onward to the canyon beyond. Here those grasses are even thicker and the road appears to not have been used in many years. I've dealt with seed spurs in my socks before, but this is on a different level. With no exaggeration, I would estimate that there are more than a thousand of the prickly little things stabbing me at present. Thanks to some thick socks, I only occasionally have to remove one, but the thick layer of seeds is going to require a lot of time to remove later. For now, there's not point in removing them as they would be back after just a few minutes in these grasses.

Eventually, the road vanishes and we are forced to continue into the canyon off trail. The canyon here is about thirty yards across and is flanked on either side by tall vertical stone walls stretching approximately a hundred and fifty feet above the dry creek at the base of the canyon. As we push our way through the thick sage brush and scramble over several areas of large boulders, we encounter some interesting geology, including several pieces of petrified wood and other rocks with opal deposits clearly visible. This area is famous for opals, but everything we find is encased in rock. Besides, it wouldn't be very un-Leave No Trace like to take the semi-precious stones.

Luckily, we begin to see signs of wild trails. The grasses are laid over where the horses probably bedded down on some recent evening. We do our best to follow the path these mustangs used to traverse the canyon. Above, I we see a number of hawks flying overhead. Their screeches echo through the canyon and it's almost like something out of an old western movie.

While staring at the avians above us, Nick notices a natural arch in at the top of the canyon wall. It's always amazing to find such wonders out here in the back country and it is one of the reasons I love being out here so much. Being off-trail just adds another layer to the adventure. We continue around a couple of bends in the canyon, but eventually decide that we need to turn back. It's getting late in the afternoon and we still need to get a few miles further to the campground.

As we arrive back at the car, I check to find that we have hiked almost exactly four miles on this little exploration. I start trying to pull the burrs from my socks, but soon realize the futility of the exercise. These socks will have to be tossed. We drive a few miles down the highway and set up camp at the Big Spring Reservoir which is now completely dry. Later I learn that the spring the feeds this lake is also responsible for the creek that runs through the canyon we explored. Also completely dry right now, I assume the name of the canyon is the Big Spring Canyon. As the darkness overwhelms the light, I drift off into a restful slumber.