Apart of our recent Death Valley and surrounding area explore we initiated our off-road tour in Fish Lake Valley and the Silver Peak mountain range near Dyer, Nevada within Esmeralda County.
We were very impressed with not only the beautiful terrain and remoteness but also the hot springs at Fish Lake Valley. The hot springs are managed by Esmeralda County, a rarity it seems as most are on private or BLM land with mostly private volunteer upkeep. They have a sign at the springs stating if the site is shot up and/or littered they'll just fence it off.
Pleasantly, the area was very well kept and generally free of litter. So I sent an e-mail to three of the Esmeralda County commissioners expressing our gratitude and wonderful experiences.
FYI and FWIW here is my original e-mail and a response from one of the Esmeralda County commissioners Bill Kirby. And it sounds like Mr. Kirby might be a 4x4/off-road explorer/enthusiast with his 1974 Bronco.
I believe its a good idea to let our officials know of our experiences and how much we appreciate and don't take for granted our vast Nevada wild country still open to public access!
My e-mail to:
Dear Ms. Boland, Mr. Kirby & Mr. Pappalardo,
I, on behalf of my fellow Nevada explorers, want to say "thank you" to the powers that be within Esmeralda County for maintaining the hot springs at Fish Valley and keeping it publicly accessible! Each year I lead a few of my close friends (typically non-Nevada residents) into Nevada wild spaces for general exploring, camping, camaraderie and just plain enjoying Nevada's wide open spaces. Last week 5-of us in our Toyota Land Cruisers spent a night camping at the Fish Valley hot springs location including several nice soaks in the hot springs; a first experience at this location for us.
Although we try to leave camp spots cleaner than we find them, including picking up other's left-behind trash, we were pleasantly surprised to find the area around these hot springs devoid of the typical broken bottles, cans and careless waste! Its nice to see folks, including Esmeralda County's commitment for same, taking care of something so valuable!
The next day, Sunday November 4th, was also our first time exploring the Silver Peak mountain range along with refueling our Land Cruisers and sundry items in Dyer. The Silver Peak range is one of many off-the-beaten paths of wonderful scenery and historical significance; albeit more secluded and unknown than many of Nevada mountain ranges. We especially enjoyed the McAfee Canyon route along with our exit of the Silver Peak Range via Argentite Canyon.
We can't wait to go back and explore more within Esmeralda County's wild spaces! Thanks again for offering and maintaining public access!
Sincerely,
Dan Streight
Reno, Nevada
Commissioner Bill Kirby's response:
Dan, I'll have to send you the Silver Peak or Bust Hike article of November 8, 2012 from the Tonopah Times (or you can have it mailed by them). We hike from Highway 264 at Eagle Road in Fish Lake Valley to the Old School Saloon over McAfee Pass for the 34 mile trek to raise funding for extracurricular activities for students in Northern Nye and Esmeralda. Each hiker gets sponsors and the money goes to the Esmeralda School District, P. O. box 129, Dyer, NV 89010. We can't wait for help from big govetnment.....we only get lip service in the rurals because were too few votes to count and therefore expendible. I would have lked to follow you in my 1974 Bronco.
Regards, Commissioner Bill Kirby
We were very impressed with not only the beautiful terrain and remoteness but also the hot springs at Fish Lake Valley. The hot springs are managed by Esmeralda County, a rarity it seems as most are on private or BLM land with mostly private volunteer upkeep. They have a sign at the springs stating if the site is shot up and/or littered they'll just fence it off.
Pleasantly, the area was very well kept and generally free of litter. So I sent an e-mail to three of the Esmeralda County commissioners expressing our gratitude and wonderful experiences.
FYI and FWIW here is my original e-mail and a response from one of the Esmeralda County commissioners Bill Kirby. And it sounds like Mr. Kirby might be a 4x4/off-road explorer/enthusiast with his 1974 Bronco.
I believe its a good idea to let our officials know of our experiences and how much we appreciate and don't take for granted our vast Nevada wild country still open to public access!
My e-mail to:
Dear Ms. Boland, Mr. Kirby & Mr. Pappalardo,
I, on behalf of my fellow Nevada explorers, want to say "thank you" to the powers that be within Esmeralda County for maintaining the hot springs at Fish Valley and keeping it publicly accessible! Each year I lead a few of my close friends (typically non-Nevada residents) into Nevada wild spaces for general exploring, camping, camaraderie and just plain enjoying Nevada's wide open spaces. Last week 5-of us in our Toyota Land Cruisers spent a night camping at the Fish Valley hot springs location including several nice soaks in the hot springs; a first experience at this location for us.
Although we try to leave camp spots cleaner than we find them, including picking up other's left-behind trash, we were pleasantly surprised to find the area around these hot springs devoid of the typical broken bottles, cans and careless waste! Its nice to see folks, including Esmeralda County's commitment for same, taking care of something so valuable!
The next day, Sunday November 4th, was also our first time exploring the Silver Peak mountain range along with refueling our Land Cruisers and sundry items in Dyer. The Silver Peak range is one of many off-the-beaten paths of wonderful scenery and historical significance; albeit more secluded and unknown than many of Nevada mountain ranges. We especially enjoyed the McAfee Canyon route along with our exit of the Silver Peak Range via Argentite Canyon.
We can't wait to go back and explore more within Esmeralda County's wild spaces! Thanks again for offering and maintaining public access!
Sincerely,
Dan Streight
Reno, Nevada
Commissioner Bill Kirby's response:
Dan, I'll have to send you the Silver Peak or Bust Hike article of November 8, 2012 from the Tonopah Times (or you can have it mailed by them). We hike from Highway 264 at Eagle Road in Fish Lake Valley to the Old School Saloon over McAfee Pass for the 34 mile trek to raise funding for extracurricular activities for students in Northern Nye and Esmeralda. Each hiker gets sponsors and the money goes to the Esmeralda School District, P. O. box 129, Dyer, NV 89010. We can't wait for help from big govetnment.....we only get lip service in the rurals because were too few votes to count and therefore expendible. I would have lked to follow you in my 1974 Bronco.
Regards, Commissioner Bill Kirby
