Day 7: Middlegate to Austin via Carroll Summit

May 5, 2010

I was up before 7 and on the road at 8:20 after breakfast at the cafe. I wanted a high-calorie breakfast to fuel me up today's big climb. As usual it's a long day with no services between the start and finish.

There were some tiny irrigated pastures at Middlegate.

Of course we had to stop at the shoe tree 1 mile east of Middlegate.

4 miles east of Middlegate we turned onto highway 722, the Carroll Summit alternate. It's the same length as US 50 but has 1000 feet more climbing, with no traffic and no rumble strip. Maybe one car every 30 minutes. A candidate for the actual "Loneliest Road in America".

Dirk beginning the climb to Carroll summit.

Near the bottom of the climb I was passed by a fast cyclist doing a 4-day mini tour from Reno to Austin and back to Reno. He's a German citizen living and working in Reno. Bil took a picture of him later. These two guys got to Austin hours before I did.

Bil took this picture of Dirk and another cyclist who was doing a 4-day Reno-Austin-Reno tour.

The road climbs up a gradual slope to the mouth of a canyon which is called Eastgate on my map. There is one house there. Then up the drainage of the canyon adjacent to a creek. A creek with flowing water, probably the water source for Middlegate Station. The creek is lined with bare cottonwood trees which largely obstruct the view of the creek. I didn't get a decent photo of the canyon and creek. Halfway up I took a long stop at a shady picnic table that was 10 steps from the creek. It would be a good campsite if the weather was warmer. As I climb, juniper trees appear on the hillsides. Then eventually pinyon trees.

Juniper and Pinyon trees near the top of Carroll Summit. A world away from the desolate basins.

Near Carroll Summit I had panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and forested hills. A very different environment than the desolate basins far below. The summit is 7452 feet elevation. 2900 feet of climbing from Middlegate. Unfortunately there is no summit sign at the summit, just a county line sign and a dead cow.

No elevation sign at 7452-foot Carroll summit.

The long descent from Carroll Summit was fun. Eventually the road follows another creek. Two flowing creeks in one day. That's unusual in the middle of Nevada.

This basin has a view of the Toiyabe range.

A 30 mph tailwind developed in the afternoon. That made the riding very easy in the next basin. The wind stirs up the salt playa. Sometimes just big clouds of salt, and sometimes small spiraling dust devils that would last for only 5 seconds. Ahead I could see the snow-covered Toiyabe range.

The creek flows into the salt flat and evaporates.

Another big salt playa. Wind stirs up the salt and occasionally creates swirling dust devils.

Near Austin the road crosses the Reese river which is smaller than most waterways named "creek".

The Reese river is 10 feet (3m) wide. The haze seemed to be caused by wind-blown dust.

Near Austin, highway 722 merges with US 50 again and begins a steep climb up to Austin. Austin is a mining town perched on the west side of the Toiyabe range, 1/3 of the way up from the basin to Austin summit. The population is only 300 now but it used to be much larger. There are 5 large churches in town. Many boarded up buildings. Mining doesn't employ many people in the area now, so Austin is struggling to survive as a tourist town.

Austin, Nevada. An isolated mining town on the west slope of the Toiyabe range.

US 50 in Nevada is part of the Lincoln Highway, the first paved road to cross the North American continent. It was completed in 1915 from New York to San Francisco. The real "mother road" is arguably the Lincoln Highway, not Route 66.

Bil and I got a room at the Lincoln Motel for $40. Dirk and the German cyclist from Reno also shared a room. There is no decent place to camp in Austin, and it's likely to get well below freezing tonight because the elevation is 6600 feet.

Today was a GREAT day. Awesome scenery. No traffic. Sunny cool weather (high of 65F). Strong tailwind in the afternoon. Long and strenuous, but one of the best days of the tour. My photos didn't really capture the beauty of the climb over Carroll summit. I still heard navy jets often today, but at higher altitudes where they are quieter. I started today's ride with 6 bottles of water but only drank 4 bottles because the weather was so cool.

When touring US 50 I strongly recommend the Carroll Summit alternate. It has no traffic and offers the rare experience of creeks and forest in a "sky island" in the desert. At lower elevation, US 50 passes through more basin and range like I've already seen and will see. The only thing I missed on US 50 is the best ruins of a Pony Express station.

Distance: 67.6 mi. (108 km)

Climbing: 4307 ft. (1305 m)

Average Speed: 9.0 mph (14.4 km/h)

Maximum Speed: 37.5 mph (60 km/h)

Today's ride: 68 miles (109 km)
Total: 371 miles (597 km)

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Mark RuddockWayne, I rode the Carroll Summit alternate 2 days ago (I’m riding the Nevada portion of the Western Express + my own route from Cedar City to finish in St George). I started at Reno airport so took the Geiger Summit climb over to Dayton. I agree the Carroll Summit climb was awesome, and the panorama of the Toyabe range while riding in the basin to Austin was spectacular with the amount of snow this past winter. I camped at Austin RV Park ($10), there’s really nowhere else to camp or even eat other than the gas station. I had mailed myself a USPS general delivery box to the Austin Post Office, but unfortunately they don’t even open until 10am.

Cheers,
Mark
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1 year ago

Wayne EstesI bet you have great snow views now. Apparently the International Bar and Cafe is closed now. That's too bad.
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1 year ago