So David Rumsey, our nearest neighbor when he’s around, had been around since I got back from Alturas with the 2x12s and the subsequent Sunday he and I took a little excursion
in his first new vehicle in over a decade, a Toyota Trailhunter, snorkel ‘n’ all. We set off for the spring on his upper 80 in the Buffalo Hills, to check it and the truck’s offroad features out;
all was well although, as is often the case, livestock had been enjoying the spring.
Not a problem getting up there though nor did, after consulting the manual [mainly to figure
out the auxiliary lights], further – higher – investigations to where a panorama
from the Granites to the Selenites, Limbos, Foxes and down the desert to the Virginia Mountains above Pyramid Lake unfolded present any trouble at all. Nice.
Higher still, lights sorted,
we got to an upper upper spring where the track finally ended so turned, descended
to overlook our vast estates –
Wall Spring the nearer, Parker Ranch a half mile to the south –
and experienced how well that eight speed automatic holds on hills. Quite well, actually,
and on the gravel acceleration and handling are truly remarkable. We drove south to the blue pit* from whence most of said gravel originates, then on a whim onto the desert
across from Bronte Siding and up the soft playa of the Smoke Creek
to return to shore along the “Speed of the Earth’s”**
line of solar-powered 21st century strobes, winding up
at the early twentieth century section house from Bronte now aground at Parker Ranch.
*NOT, however, on Surprise Valley Road, though the googlies still insist.
**A somewhat abbreviated if more sophisticated version of the original, currently installed on de desert in sight of Parker/Wall Spring.
A fun day!
Interesting hummocky terrain.
The Trail Hunter appears to be a very capable mode of transportation out there. Sorry you didn’t get to test the snorkel this trip (although it is not apparent in your photos). Yes; the stealth lighting is a nice feature and the pano views of Wall and Parker from DR’s “80” are breath-taking.
The snork’s very low profile [it actually makes a stealth appearance on the left side of the eleventh picture] but as for using it we may have to wait until Lake Lahontan returns as a vast inland sea in the next pluvial age.
I got very nostalgic about our 1984 Toyota Land Cruiser, which was outfitted for drives like that, but never, while we owned, did anything more exciting than Hwy. 17. It must have been nice not to drive AND photograph. I loved the different terrain and perspectives. The photos were wonderful.
The 1984 Land Cruiser is of course by now a Certified Classic and although arguably more bullet-proof with its solid axles front and rear considerably less nimble on the gravel. Just ask a guy that’s rolled two [and tipped over one] solid axle vehicles – a ’64 Willys, ’68 tChevy [only laid down on its side] and ’88 Blazer. Considerable progress has been made in those forty years, particularly with Toyota!