If you knew where Dixie Valley, NV was you would wonder why anyone would want to go there. On some old maps there is actually a town called “Dixie Valley” located in the middle of a long, wide valley with the Stillwater Range on the west and the Clan Alpine Mountains on the east. If you were a crow, you would have to fly 100 miles east from Reno to find it, but geocachers aren’t crows and besides, there were other caches along the way that deserved our attention. It was a very long day.
Our adventure began at 6:30 AM. BUT FIRST!! Because we were up so early we had to grab a cache in Reno that had been bothering us for a while. It’s located on a very busy intersection and involves mucking around in the landscaping so this seemed to be the perfect time of day because traffic would be light. We knew no one would notice four people milling about dressed in strange clothes, funny hats, and lanyards dangling a multitude of junk from their necks. Thanks to a hint we were able to find it and not get arrested.
It took about an hour to drive to Fallon where we met NevadaWolf at the local Safeway and, more importantly, the Starbucks kiosk inside. Now fortified, and NevadaWolf in GeoJeep’s nav chair, the serious caching began. On the way to Dixie Valley we found a lot of ammo cans in sagebrush, but, more importantly, we were treated to the best that the Nevada desert offers. Spectacular views of Sand Mountain, vast salt flats, magnificent geologic panoramas AND we even drove on Mars. How cool is that!!
Peek-a-Boo Rock was a must for us because it was a possible FTF. That’s “First To Find” in geocaching jargon. Being the first to find a new cache is a real biggy for cachers so we had to go for it. Finding the rock was no problem but finding a way up to the rock that didn’t involve a steep hike wasn’t so easy (we’re old, we try to avoid nasty strokes or heart attacks). After some searching we found a way to drive up to the same elevation and then it was just a matter of hiking over to the rock. I suppose no one was particularly surprised that we were the FTF considering one had to travel to the middle of nowhere and then climb a mountain to find it. But we were excited…because we’re geocachers! And then, on the way back to the Jeeps, we were reminded what geocaching is really about. Up on a ledge of a vertical rock face were two huge eagle’s nests. Somehow that eagle had managed to place a hundred pounds of intricately woven sticks on the face of the cliff. Not once, but twice.
Lunch was on top of a hill (near another cache, of course) with an immense 180-degree view of where we had been. While we were eating, off in the distance, two golf carts came into view. Considering that the nearest green is thirty miles away that must have been one hell of a slice. Gently, with a twinkle in her eye, NevadaWolf informed us those golf carts are the latest in ATV’s. Oh…The road to Dixie Valley cuts north from Highway 50 and goes…forever. To the northeast of this intersection is Chalk Mountain. It’s an ovoid shaped mountain jutting 1000 feet out of the valley floor and possesses a unique geologic character unlike anything around it. Its surface is pockmarked with gold, silver, lead and molybdenum mines and prospects. NevadaWolf showed us the way to and from Chalk Mountain and all the caches along the way. At one point, as we were headed back toward pavement, the map showed that we were driving on what was once an aqueduct which ran from a well near Highway 50 along the west side of Chalk Mountain roughly paralleling the Dixie Valley road. It ended…somewhere, in the middle of nothing. Sometime in the past it was very important for someone to bring water to this place but time had washed away all trace of what was important.
We headed north on pavement into Dixie Valley. Once the home of a few hardy ranchers, Dixie Valley is now the playground of pilots from the Fallon Naval Air Station. Scattered throughout the valley are tanks (not water, military) and it’s the job of the pilots to identify them as they fly over. Our ultimate goal today was to find a cache in a place called Little Box Canyon which is located on the west side of the valley in the Stillwater Range. It’s a slot canyon etched into the rock by water over the eons. The timeless action of the water has created a series of steps or terraces each one ranging from 10 to 15 feet high. The cache was on the third step. It was our job to find the way.
Larry, being the only member of the group with any sense, stayed behind ready to call 911. A moot point considering there was no cell coverage this far from civilization, but it was a comfort, nonetheless. Linda, Teri and Mike were able to climb up the first step while Cynthia climbed the hillside to see if there was another way into the cache - no luck. Linda took one look at the second step and shrewdly decided to go no further. The second level presented a challenge for Teri and Mike. After discussing the possibilities, they decided the only way was to climb up to a small ledge and follow it up to where they could slide down onto the second level. The problem was that the water had “sanded” the rock smooth and even the best climbing boots slipped on the rock surface. Teri went first without too much problem but Mike got the soles of his boots wet and had to scuff them in some dry sand before he could get traction. Eventually, carefully, after Teri helped the old man slide down the rock face, Mike met up with Teri on the second step.The only thing separating them from the cache was a smooth, slick 10-foot wall of rock. Beyond that it was an easy walk to the cache. So close, but…
There was an old wet piece of lumber leaning up against the rock but it was much too short to be of any good. But still, it was there, indicating that others thought it was important. Hummm….if, somehow, you could put your right foot on the top edge of the 2X4 you might be able to grab a chunk of rock with your right hand and pull yourself up high enough to put your left foot onto a very small “ledge”. From there the right foot could go into a depression near the top and then it was just a matter of levitating to the top. Works for me! Teri made it with an indiscrete boost from Mike but Mike didn’t have a booster. Bummer! Teri found the cache and was going to throw it down for the signatures when she spotted a longer, dryer 2x4 on the third level. She threw the wood (not the cache) down to Mike and with the additional length of reach and Teri’s arm, Mike was barely able to climb up and sign the log (see picture at top).
The way down is seldom the way up. I can’t really explain that pearl of wisdom but it’s almost always true, except for step three. There was absolutely no other way but the way we went up but the hand and footholds were out of sight. So Teri went first and Mike lowered her down to the first foothold, after that, it was an easy controlled slide down to level two. Teri then guided Mike’s feet to the footholds and finally to the lumber.
On the second level it was impossible to reach the ledge they slid down from on the way up. Teri took the most direct route down the face of the waterfall and, just before she fell into the small but deep pool at the bottom (and broke an ankle), she launched herself off the rock wall like a gazelle and gently landed safely and dry. Because of age and infirmities, Mike doesn't do gazelle so he had to come up with a different plan. Slot canyons are inherently narrow, so he was able to put his feet on one wall and his butt on the other wall and slowly skooched down to the bottom safety. The descent down the first step was anti-climatic for Mike but Teri needed an additional surge of adrenalin so she slid 15 feet down the waterfall. She only admitted to one broken fingernail and a cut on her hand, but we all knew there was more she wouldn’t admit to.
After that adventure, we did grab a couple more caches before leaving Dixie valley and heading to Middlegate Station for dinner, but nothing that day was more memorable than “Box Falls”. Thanks for the cache and thanks, Teri, for one of those days you will always remember.
