"Don't buy upgrades, ride up grades. - Eddy Merckx
Gandy - a laborer in a railroad section gang - Merriam Webster
May 2025
Text to Kurstin: "Had visions of finishing Gandy loop, Dark Sky's."
Unfortunately Kurstin was already committed so I planned to get out on my own to finish up our 600+ mile route from last October. But I had projects to complete as well and the weather was not co-operating for outside projects. It was far from certain that I was going to get things done in time. The part we missed on our original route was a little less than 100 miles but to loop it back to my start would make it 135. I had a couple days of good weather and was able to tie up my projects and pack for a quick trip out beyond Ely Nevada.
I started at the base of Kalamazoo Pass. Mere feet from where we camped in October before climbing the opposite direction up to the summit the following morning. Leaving the truck about 4:30 pm I retraced about 23 of the 35 miles of hwy 893 to where we left the route in October and found a place to camp by a creek.
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| Schell Creek Range |
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| Camp next to Indian Creek |
Then in the morning finished the pavement and got back on route headed across Spring Valley and up toward Osceola and across the Snake Range.
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| Snake Range ahead |
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| Osceola Cemetary |
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| Cresting the Snake Range |
From the top it was a nice downhill most of the way to the Border Inn where I stayed the night even though I arrived pretty early.
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| Wheeler Peak. Highest in Snake Range and 2nd highest in Nevada |
I gave the Bates Family Ranch a call that afternoon to inquire about a cave tour the following day. They have Crystal Ball Cave on their property and generally give free cave tours. They can also provide cabins, RV and tent sites. Unfortunately for me they weren't offering any tours tomorrow though. I asked if I could still ride up to the ranch for a water top off and they were accommodating.
The next morning crossing into Utah it was 30 miles of generally flat riding on excellent dirt to the ranch which I knocked out by 9:30 am.
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| Looking back on the Border Inn |
I rode into the ranch grounds and met some of the family and even though I didn't really need the water I loaded some up since that was my excuse for visiting.
One of the older family members showed an interest in what I was doing so we chatted for 30 minutes or so while I cooled off in the abundant shade. It was so peaceful and relaxing it took a bit of effort to get moving again. I might add that the birds around the grounds were so abundant it was like an aviary. After leaving the ranch, the next point of interest was Gandy Warm Spring. A beautiful oasis of gushing spring water and slightly warm.
I waded into the pool to wet my clothing for what I expected to be a hot day on slow dirt track. Kinda funny the things you think about. I ended up just wetting out my lower legs and taking my shirt off to dunk it. I thought if I fully immersed I might introduce some chaffing 'down under' with the wet clothing. From the spring I climbed through a low gap between the Snake Range and the Kern Mountains and the track I was following remained surprisingly good.
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| Kern Mountains |
Skirting the edge of the Government Peak Wilderness I realized I could easily make it all the way back to my truck today, a thought I had since I wasn't taking the time with the cave tour. Wild Horses, Antelope and many dozens of 'Horny Toads' were my companions. Even saw a Kit Fox hiding behind his burrow.
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| Foxy keeping an eye on me |
After a 15 mile downhill all that remained was a short climb up to hwy 893 and a couple more miles back to Kalamazoo.
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| Dropping back into Spring Valley |
Even though this trip was planned just to close the loop of Dark Sky's, it turned out to be a great stand alone loop of pretty easy riding and interesting points of interest and scenery. I can heartily recommend this route as a not too hard 3-ish day loop. I carried 5 liters of water but could've easily only carried 3.
Stats according to RWGPS:
Day 1 - 23.1 miles 421 ft climbing
Day 2 - 43.9 miles 2762 ft climbing
Day 3 - 67.2 miles 3030 ft climbing
Bike Setup:
