There are certain objects I am drawn to in our high desert landscape, the water trough, the cattle chute and corral, and the windmill. I don’t like the barbwire fences or wire gates but they are part of the package. I am very thankful for the water resources, and the game of hope vs despair every time I approach a water trough, wet or dry. I always take a minute to think about how hard life must be trying to make a living with livestock through our cold winters and hot droughts. And so I find inspiration in the ways the cattlemen and sheepmen and women have shaped the west.
The history of the West is… every historian will fill that in with the topic of their passion. When reading the Nevada Nomads (Sawyer, 1971) it was no surprise that sheep ranching is the history of Nevada according to Byrd Wall Sawyer. I admire her ability to glean the information to assemble a history of such a major influence in Nevada’s statehood. I look forward to reading her other books Our State Nevada and Here is Nevada. She dated the introduction of the book March 6, 1971, my birth date. Finding Nevada Nomads on the shelf of the Carson City Library was meant to be.
The other book that I base the inspiration for this newsletter is James A. Young and B. Abbot Sparks’, Cattle in the Cold Desert (Young and Sparks, 1985). I came across my first copy in a used book store in Tonopah, NV. Looking back, it was in December, 2018. It was kind of expensive for what I usually spend in a used book store, but I was compelled. It gave me a perspective on the trials of ranching in northern Nevada. The names and places were much less familiar to me at this point in my Nevada exploration but I thought they could be a source of trip inspiration. I eventually passed that copy on to Jack Sutton, the creator of Channel 2’s Nevada Backroads and my mentor in Bikepacking Northern Nevada.
Nevada Nomads outlines the history of ranching in Nevada from the sheepman’s perspective. Through the years there was rising and falling prices for wool and meat. There was competition for grazing with cattlemen. There were periods of drought, heavy winters and hot summers. There was the rise in barbwire fences that prevented the nomadic movement of sheep from graze to market. Overgrazing in absence of management was a struggle for everyone. I find inspiration in reading about some of the historic drives, there is a map of these routes which could translate to some great adventures. There is a certain realization in reading about historic ranches, recognizing their names on maps or other descriptions, then passing them in person.
While we struggle in the west with an intensifying wildfire season I was surprised to read in Cattle in a Cold Desert that the terms that we use today to describe a wildfire were coined in a very different time. The firestorm of 1964 is described in great detail in the prologue of the book. First impressions aside, I wanted to visit the named ranches as a way to see some of the greatest places in Nevada. Ranchers were going to put there homes in the most beautiful spots, with water, and topography so their animals would be able to follow a seasonal gradient of elevation and temperature and graze.
Cattle in a Cold Desert is so much more than a history of the Sparks Cattle Empire in Northern Nevada. The book alternates between the natural environment and the cultural impact of ranching in the intermountain zone, the West and the Great Basin. This is where I was first introduced to the concept of the sagebrush/grassland ecosystem rather than just sagebrush alone. This opened my eyes to the sea of sagebrush is the overstory to native grasses. I look for both on my travels and then fill in the other brush species, flowers, insects, reptiles, birds, and rabbits and hares. Then I include the larger herbivores, antelope, deer, elk, feral horses, and open range cattle. Young and Sparks dedicate a chapter to each category of winter and summer range.
When it comes to the geology of the Basin and Range great detail is given on the playas, or dry lake beds. As a feature of our high desert that I find so fascinating, this was a chapter I really enjoyed. The bottom line for ranching in the cold desert was the importance of winter grazing on the edge of playas. The authors repeat that these were all novel ranching techniques that did not have precedent in Texan or Californian ranching. I have seen cattle in the winter on playas and winter cow camps and now I understand the logic.
Young and Sparks detail the life of a buckaroo cowboy. There is plenty of glamour of life on the range, in camp, and blowing off steam going to town. But they also detail the back breaking work of harvesting hay, mucking ditches, and loading spirited livestock onto train cars. Their dress, and tools of the trade such as the braided lariat were great additions.
I appreciate recognizing the congruence in the the two histories. There are meteorological events, regional, national, and international social and economic changes that shaped sheep and cattle ranching. Nevada’s history is ranching history, as much as mining, stagecoach and railroad histories.
While now I have an explanation for the relics of ranching’s past and present, after reading these two books there are a few trips to inspire. The original livestock drives across the state would be fascinating to follow. Often they could be from ranch to ranch and along roads. There is also the 4.8 million acre ranching empire of John Sparks, northeast of Wells. Sparks chose the Thousand Springs Creek Valley to be the location of Rancho Grande, the Empire Headquarters
Thank you for supporting my story telling. I hope to see you out there!
I based this on two books:
Cattle in the Cold Desert, James A Young and B Abbot Sparks, Utah State University Press, 1985. I think there is a revised edition.
When picking this book off the shelf of the Carson City Library I also found
Nevada Nomads, A Story of the Sheep Industry, Byrd Wall Sawyer, Harlan-Young Press 1971.
Both books are worth a re-read with note taking.
March and April in Review:
If you felt like you missed the April Newsletter, nope, I missed the April Newsletter. I spent a little over two weeks during March in Taiwan. First I was helping my friend Tomo at the Taipei Bike Show with his tradeshow booth introducing a bicycle tool. Then he took me on a tour of Taiwan that I will be forever grateful. I will be writing about my trip in Bikepacking Northern Nevada.
I returned from Taiwan to unpack and pack for a 10 day trip to Kauai. The close proximity of the two trips was just how the dates fell on the calendar. I tasted 16 different Mai Tais and learned the history of this tropical cocktail. Maybe my findings will make it into a note here on Substack. It was a fun project.
I have been consistently back on the bike in preparation for bike touring season. It feels great!
Looking Ahead:
May is full of extended weekend bike trips. I am including my trips open to all in my Linktree as well as posting them as a Facebook Event. I also submit them to Bikepacking Roots Community Events.
At the beginning of June I am planning a flyfishing trip to the Chewaucan River in eastern Oregon. Mid-June I will visit western Massachusetts for the first time.
So far the only item on the calendar for July is to spend two weeks camping, biking, and fishing in Lamoile Canyon in the Ruby Mountains.