VISITING GHOST TOWNS AND BACK COUNTRY TRAVEL:
Mount Langley and Combs Ridge (Sierra Nevada Mountains) from the Yellow Grade Road into Cerro Gordo, California (Ghost Town). © Eric Thome, 2018
When the pavement ends and driving off-road (on historic wagon trails or roads to ghost towns and rock art sites), I have experienced large rocks (potential undercarriage damage), sharp volcanic rocks (punctured tires), desert sand, deep ruts, mud, and overgrown vegetation (scratched paint along both sides and all four doors). Mountain roads are often inaccessible (due to high snows) except in summer. Some narrow, unpaved roads go for miles along precipitous river canyons and mountain cliff edges (with steep inclines, declines, switchbacks, and no shoulders or guardrails). My old vehicle's brakes smoked a couple of times from almost non-stop use to prevent me from gaining too much speed (by gravity) when descending mountain terrain. Roadblocks came from trees, water, and deeply eroded washouts. Trails are often too narrow to turn around, and one-lane roads may still have the rare oncoming vehicle, requiring backing up to a wide spot.
Road Warning Sign on Washed Out Road - Tybo, Nevada (Ghost Town). © Eric Thome, 2018
I have been fortunate to see many places when visiting family throughout the country. Still, since 2004, I took most of my trips to remote areas alone (beginning years before I owned a cell phone, so no service was already an issue). Besides solo travel, I follow other desert travel tips and prepare supplies for wilderness emergencies (survival). People die (historically and now) by being stranded in the backcountry. Breaking down (especially with the intense sun and extreme summer heat or winter snow) has killed travelers. Elevation sickness is a genuine danger as well.
Road into Park Canyon, Nevada (Ghost Town). © Eric Thome, 2023
After parking and hiking up the mountain, I drove in reverse down this narrow, winding, overgrown, rocky and rutted road for over a mile.
My SUV is currently (in 2024) on its third set of all-terrain (on/off-road) tires since 2015. It's also had complete undercarriage skid plates, a 2" lift and stainless steel-covered brake lines since 2018. I also have a Garmin inReach satellite communicator (since August 2017) for a lifeline when out of cell phone range and as a contact to Emergency SOS for Search and Rescue.
Civilian Conservation Corps (1933-1942) Truck Interior - Nelson, Nevada. © Eric Thome, 2024
Delamar, Nevada - Mojave Desert Landscape, Stamp Mill Ruins and Tailing Piles of Quartzsite Dust. © Eric Thome, 2017
The narrow, rough road with large rocks along the steep mountainside into this isolated ghost town is visible in the upper right corner of the photo. In the 1890s, Delamar, Nevada, was known as the widow maker because of the "death" dust produced in the gold milling, resulting in silicosis to the miners and residents. The Nevada state historical marker has the wrong first name for Joseph Raphael Delamar (calling him John DeLamar); this could be the cause of a mistake in Stanely Paher's fantastic 1970 book, Nevada Ghost Towns & Mining Camps.
Former sea captain Joseph Raphael De Lamar was also the namesake of two other ghost towns: De Lamar, Idaho, a silver and gold mining town and Delamar, California, a copper mining town that burned almost entirely in a couple of fires in 1910 and 1911. By 1920, the townsite was reported as being "in oblivion"; since the 1940s, the site has been submerged under Shasta Lake. His last name was often spelled differently, even for the same town.
De Lamar owned the De La Mar mine in the vanished ghost town of Mercur, Utah. De Lamar was also an early owner of the Keane Wonder Mine in Death Valley, California and the Bluestone copper mine at Mason, Nevada.
De Lamar was one of Louis Comfort Tiffany's most significant stained glass patrons, commissioning works for his Long Island mansion, Pembroke, which no longer stands. De Lamar's New York City mansion is now the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland.
Hotel Mason (Opened in 1909) - Mason, Nevada. © Eric Thome, 2018
The Mason post office closed in 1961 and only a few historic structures remain from the early 1900s, most notably the former Hotel Mason. Mason remains populated due to its proximity to Yerington, Nevada.
Early 1900s Mason Avenue Sidewalk Inlay - Mason, Nevada. © Eric Thome, 2018
Keane Wonder Mine, Aerial Tram Station and Mill Site - Death Valley, California. © Eric Thome, 2018
Panamint Mountains from the Aerial Tram Station at the Keane Wonder Mine - Death Valley, California. © Eric Thome, 2018
House in the Abandoned Ghost Town of De Lamar, Idaho (Established in 1888). © Eric Thome, 2008
This is an example of an unstable structure that is dangerous to enter. An injury in remote areas, many hours from a town with a hospital, adds even more risk to visiting ghost towns. In addition to watching every step for rattlesnakes, tripping over a rock could become much more dangerous, especially if you step backward when looking at the camera and composing a photograph.
De Lamar, Idaho (Ghost Town). © Eric Thome, 2008
The Assay Office is on the left side of the photo, and the Stamp Mill ruins are on the right. The dirt road is between them and the shed (in the foreground).
Old mines are death traps to enter or stand near, with eroding edges around shafts, decaying wood (timbers, ladders, and floorboards over winze), falling rocks, cave-ins, toxic air, volatile old dynamite and blasting caps (that explode when stepped on), water-filled holes, rattlesnakes and hazardous waste. Some ghost towns and mine areas have uncovered shafts (deadly holes) on the surface amid the brush or trees. Abandoned structures are unsafe (possibly containing the hantavirus) and unstable.
Deadly Open Mine Shaft - Orizaba, Nevada (Ghost Town). © Eric Thome, 2021
Historic Warning Sign Painted on the Door of an Abandoned Mine - Nevada. © Eric Thome, 2024
Somebody removed this from the mine entrance in or after 2013; it was attached to the wooden door.
Removing artifacts or destroying historical property and archaeological sites is illegal. Damaging or removing rock art carries a $20,000 fine and/or one year in federal prison, plus $100,000 and/or five years in prison for repeat offenders.
Historical and Modern Vandalism Permanently Ruining Irreplaceable Ancient Petroglyphs - Utah. © Eric Thome, 2016
Highway Rest Stop Sign (Snakes and Scorpions Warning) - Utah. © Eric Thome, 2011
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