Winter Camping Day 2 (Jan 2021)

Day 2 begins as we venture up the road to the top of the Lotus Mine. This road is generally uneventful, but it landed us several hundred feet higher in elevation with plenty more leftover artifacts from when the mine operated.

We spent a good amount of time checking out the various cables that remain attached to the top of the mountain here. We easily lose sight of the tramways as they head down the mountain in various directions. After we get our fill of exploring and pretending to be top sniper, we drive back down and head out of Gohler Wash.

We walked a few minutes into one of the slots in the mountainside and got our fill. It was a nice respite from the rather long drive from Gohler Wash to Ballarat on the dreary and washboard-like Wingate Road. Soon enough, we’re back on the road headed north towards Ballarat.

We stage our vehicles outside the General Store at Ballarat and head inside to see what’s available to us. We find an assortment of historical artifacts and articles, as well as a decent amount of Ballarat merchandise for purchase.

I think one of the most impressive aspects of Ballarat and the General Store is the quality of the bathrooms. They have running water and showers to use. We took advantage of the toilets where needed, but not he showers. It is, however, good to know they are available in the worst case scenario!

From Ballarat, we head west on Ballarat Road until we catch Trona Wildrose Road. Then we head back southwest until we make a right onto Nadeau Road and straight back north.

The Nadeau Road turns into Nadeau Trail and is named after Remi Nadeau. Mr. Nadeau created this trail to facilitate more efficient travel for his ore hauling teams to and from the various mines in the Panamint Valley region. Outside of the historical interest behind the road/trail, it is simply an adventure. I suppose that the road quality may depend on the latest weather, but when we experienced the trail, it definitely required a high clearance vehicle for travel. Between multiple creek bed crossings with very steep entry and departure angles and a general roughness to the trail, we were relieved to finally reach our destination nearer the end of the trail…

Just as on Night 1, the evening is spent eating and joking around the fire pit. Nothing but good times to be had… Keep reading about Winter Camping Day 3 (Jan 2021) or see all the posts in the Winter Camping (Jan 2021) series.