nice little article in UTV weekly

[Richard Cheese]

http://utvweekly.com/index.php/2009/09/exp...unes-with-utvs/

Exploring Dumont Dunes with UTVs

Crowdog | Sep 13, 2009 | Comments 0

Sperry Wash near Dumont Dunes

Sperry Wash near Dumont Dunes

By Jon Crowley, UTVGuide.net

The Dumont Dunes Off-Highway Vehicle Area lies just south of Death Valley National Park in the Southern California desert. Most people come to play in the sand dunes in the 8,150 acre OHV area, but there are also several OHV trails and historic sites that are accessible with UTVs if you use the dunes as your base camp. Just remember than orange whip flags are required in the dunes.

We spent the week between Christmas and New Years last year at Dumont with several other families from northern California. We had brought our Kawasaki Teryx and Polaris RZR for the week, and everyone else had ATVs and one sand car. Having two UTVs for our family is perfect since we have two kids, and we can explore out on our own and always have another vehicle in case we run into any trouble.

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Sperry Wash

The Sperry Wash Route provides a unique opportunity for users camped at Dumont who are willing to put dirt tires on their vehicles. The route goes all the way from Dumont Dunes Road near the creek crossing (right before the pay station) to Tecopa.

Sperry Wash follows the Amargosa River for about 5 miles, then at the town site of Sperry, the trail leaves the Amargosa River bed and travels up Sperry Wash.

The Sperry Wash Route is a non-wilderness corridor that is open to OHVs. Area on both sides of the trail is closed to vehicles due to Kingston Range Wilderness Area. The Kingston Range Wilderness Area covers 210,875 acres and is divided into three units by non-wilderness corridors or “cherry stems”: Sperry Wash and Kingston Wash.

Tonopah & Tidewater(T & T) Railroad Grade is washed out in many places near Sperry Wash so use care. The Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad was a class II railroad extending through remote reaches of the Mojave Desert at Ludlow, California, through Death Valley and terminating at the mining camps of southwestern Nevada. The railroad was listed as a common carrier but was built by Francis Marion Smith primarily to transport his borax. The Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad operated between 1907 and 1940. In 1940, the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad was “abandoned in place” and the tracks were removed in 1942.

Heading south from Beatty, the line passed through Gold Center, Ashton and Leeland, NV, and Jenifer, Scranton, Bradford, Death Valley Jct., Evelyn, Gerstley, Shoshone, Zabriskie, Tecopa, Acme, Sperry, Dumont, Valjean, Riggs, Silver Lake, Baker, Soda, Resor, Crucero, Mesquite, Broadwell and Ludlow, CA (map of this route).

Amargosa House and Salt Creek Hills

Salt Creek Hills are on BLM land and have been designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). The ACEC is open to non-motorized use only, no OHVs are allowed. You can get to the hiking trail head by going to Little Dumont and then heading south. Right up against the hills you will see a sign. Not too hard to find.

It is a short walk up the path from the parking area to the mining area and the Amargosa House. There are several signs along the path explaining the area.

Stamp mills were used to extract precious metals such as gold or silver from ore. The stamps were heavy metal weights that were lifted and dropped on the ore by a crankshaft. The stamp mill here was build in the 1880s.

Amargosa House was originally constructed between 1850 -1852 and may be the oldest standing structure in the Mojave Desert.

There are several reports of two massacres at Amargosa House / Salt Spring Mine. In October 1864, three miners named Cook, Plate and Gordon were reportedly attacked by a roving band of Chemehuevis. Cook was killed and the mine was burned. The other two escaped into the desert, but committed suicide twenty miles away.

A new company took over the mine in late 1864. Eight miners were working the claims and noted a Paiute band camped nearby at Sheep Creek Springs. One of the miners made his way to Marl Spring, 45 miles south near present day Kelso to summon help from the military. The military send a relief party which arrived too late. The seven remaining miners, not realizing that help was on the way, tried to make a pre-dawn escape, scattering as they fled. They were easily spotted by lookouts and all seven were slain.

Geocaching

There are lots of geocaches in and around Dumont Dunes. We have found that having a destination (like a geocache) makes exploring more fun for the kids.

Check out the Dumont Cache Map to see an up to date map of all the caches in the area. Pick a few before you get to Dumont (cell service is very spotty while we were there), and then go and explore.

Death Valley National Park Side Trip

If you have a street-legal vehicle, you may also want to check out the south end of Death Valley. On a previous trip to Dumont, we had our Jeep Wrangler and entered the park off of Highway 127 just south of Little Dumont. This road is marked by a historical marker for the Harry Wade Exit Route. From this road, Sarasota Springs, Ibex Springs and Ibex Dunes are all nearby. Just be aware that off-roading is not allowed anywhere in Death Valley National Park and your vehicle must be street legal in California even on the dirt roads.