Silver State - 2016 (March 18-20)

[m3dragon]

Disclaimer:
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This a pay your own way event. This means even me the organizer pays my own way to attend. Organizing drives is my hobby and I enjoy organizing and hosting events for fellow enthusiasts. I pay for the website and store system out of my own pocket to make sharing information and registering easier on everyone.
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Sign Up for the event here

Silver State Run - 2016 - March 18-20

The Raptor Offroad Community (ROC) Silver State Run came up as an idea for those who live in Northern CA and Nevada to run a trail to Las Vegas. This trip covers over 500 miles in two days and is a different type of event than the ROC team typically does. This is a RUN, which means we are covering more miles and harder terrain than our normal trail adventures. As with all ROC events, this NOT a race and is a fun run done at cost for all who attended including team members.

Space is limited for safety reasons so register soon.

Expectations of participants.

As this is a RUN event, we require participants to have the necessary safety gear and properly equipped vehicles for this event. Any make or model vehicle is welcome to attend as long as they can meet the safety and equipment requirements as outlined below. These requirements are to ensure everyone has a fun time as well as we keep any issues to a minimum. If you do not have the necessary requirements for this run, please look into our other trail adventures we host as those are open to any and all off road vehicles, stock to modified. This trip requires participants to be able to cover long distance stretches, which requires a stock Raptor or higher prepared vehicle.

Participation requirements- MANDATORY for safety:

VHF Radio set to channels - 152.00 and 162.400
- If you need radio programming help, a ROC team member will help you program any Icom or handheld
Full Size Spare (2 preferred / better)
5 Gallon Fuel Can
Tablet, Phone or Offroad capable GPS
- If you need help loading maps, a ROC team member can assist you before we leave
Upgraded suspension to handle longer and harder use
- Equal or greater than a stock Ford Raptor for comparison
Properly serviced / maintained vehicle I.E. all fluids full, good tires, belts and other items in good condition.


Planned Trip Summary:

Starting in Reno NV, the trip will cover 235 miles on the first day, with stops at a former Pony Express Station and a middle of nowhere landmark, Rod and Darlene's, in Gabbs NV. These stops give everyone a chance to get out and stretch as well as be social. Overnight accommodations will be at Tonopah NV, where the group will be able to freshen up and enjoy a social dinner.

Day two is another 235 miles of trails before entering into Las Vegas. There will be three stops for the day: Ryolite Ghost Town, Lippincott Lead - Ghost Mine, and a fireworks stand that says they have “everything” you will ever need.


Event cost break down

$110 - Covers Decals, Event Insurance, PayPal.
Optional items you can chose from upon registration are: Boxed lunch from Whole Foods for day one and Subway for day two, as well as group hotel rates.

Night 1: Pre meeting

For those who would like a more relaxed start for the weekend’s activities, we have arranged a group rate at the Western Village Casino right by the starting point. This will allow those of you who are coming from a distance to have a place to rest and relax before a weekend on the trail.

Address: Western Village - 815 Nichols Blvd, Sparks, NV 89434

Day 1: Meeting Location

Date: March 18th, 2016
Address: TA Sparks - 200 N McCarran Blvd, Sparks, NV 89431
Time: 7:30am
Depart: 8:00am – Trip begins.

A drivers’ meeting will be held to go over the rules of the trail as well as make sure everyone has the required gear. This is also a chance for participants to ask questions and get assistance on any part of trail setup.

Lunch stop will be
Time: `1:00pm

After lunch, we will head out to complete the second leg of the trip to Tonopah for overnight accommodation and dinner. This is the most remote section of the trip and also the most breathtaking. If you ever wanted to know what being in the middle of nowhere felt like, this is the section for you.

Address: Best Western - 320 Main Street, Highways 6 & 95 Tonopah, Nevada, 89049
(Includes full hot breakfast)
Dinner stop - Tonopah Brewing Company - 320 Veterans Memorial Hwy, Tonopah, NV 89049

Day 2: Dash to Las Vegas

Leave from the hotel at 8:00am on the DOT!!!

This day has a more casual feel than the day before. While we are covering the same amount of trail miles, the biggest difference is we are making stops for fuel and restrooms at small towns vs. being out on the trail the entire day.

Lunch stop will be in Ryholite
Time: ~ 12:30 – 1:30

After lunch, we will make the final push to Las Vegas. On the way we will stop at a ghost mine and a fireworks store. The fireworks stop is the last stop before we hit Las Vegas.

Hotel stop for Las Vegas:

Address: Silverton Casino Hotel - 3333 Blue Diamond Rd Las Vegas NV

(Note – Rates on hotel subject to change depending on when you sign up. The sooner you book the cheaper the rate as per contract with hotel)

Sign Up for the event here

 

[m3dragon]

The Silver State run has been booked for solid for a while now but I wanted to share some of the images the group has from the pre-run from Reno to Vegas. Sorry for the brief and not dedicated pre-run recap but it was a LONG day and there was so much a recap will not do it justice. I will do a full recap of the real run but for now enjoy the pre-run images.



http://raddrives.com/albums/2016-PRE-Silver_State/

 

[m3dragon]

The Silver State Adventure is now in the books. 22 trucks covered 560 miles from Reno to Las Vegas with 524.2 miles being dirt. We had hoped to make it only 21 miles of pavement but we ran out of time day two. Unlike some of our other runs/trips, we had to push the group to keep moving at times, we had to cover a lot of ground before we lost daylight, (aux lights were not a requirement, this time). Despite any hiccups, everyone made it each day and overall the trip was a blast and look forward to doing it again next year on one of our 18 routes there.

Before we get to images, let us get the trail tax discussion out of the way. The group had six flat tires, one fuel pump that was acting up but made it to the end, and one rear plastic bumper cover that went flying, and a couple blown shocks. Very little tax for such a LONG trip over such a wide range of terrain. Now to the report and images.


For the entire album of images, please see http://www.raddrives.com/offroad/albums.html

Direct link to pictures: http://raddrives.com/albums/2016-Silver_State_Run/


The group meet up at 7:15 am to pass out lunches and go over the plans for the day. The morning of day one was planned to be the slowest section for the entire trip. Despite being slow, everyone had fun climbing up and down the mountains and dealing with a few trail challenges. Two area of the trail worth noting was a mud bog that the only way through was to get muddy and a hill climb that challenged a few trucks to make it up.

Everyone getting ready for the last big hill climb. This was where all the 2wd trucks had to keep the foot down to make it up. It was a tad rocky which was why it was a challenge. After this last “hill”, we could see the promise land of flat trails for the rest of the trip. After a short pavement section, we hit the first fun trail to lunch stop at Churchill.

After lunch, we made the run to the only Fuel Stop on the day. For some people they were limping into the gas station as they were on fumes. From the gas station it would be a straight fast shot to Tonopha where food and rooms awaited.

Last section before entering into Tonopha was nice a smooth with a short canyon section. We got to Tonopha in time to see a great sun set over the hills.

 

[m3dragon]

Day 2 would be the longest trail day. We had a lot of miles to cover and we left a little behind schedule. This meant we had to push people a little day 2 more then we like. But everyone knew we had a long way to go and a short time to get there. So SADDLE Up.
We had a quick drivers meeting to go over the day. It was a bit brisk in the morning so it was a very fast meeting. After the meeting, the group headed to the trail had and three of the group took off to setup at some film and picture locations as this was a great section of trail to film / photo. The first section would end at Bonnie Clair Mine for lunch.

What made this section great was it was a canyon trail followed by a sand trail. We called the sand section the beach as the sand was deep and you had to keep the power down. After the beach the group made a stop after passing by a long twisty trail by a bunch of Jashua Trees.

Bonnie Clare Lunch stop offered a much-needed break for the group. They had been doing great and pushing through all the miles of trail we had to cover. After an hour break the group would head to Beatty to make a much needed fuel and restroom break.

 

[m3dragon]

On the way to Beatty, there happened to be a set of jump people could have fun on. The group took turns and had a little fun seeing if they could get their wheels in the air. After the jumps it was a fund smooth trail to a small section of Death Valley. The Death Valley section was where the group made a quick stop at Ryholite for quick photo and then off to Beatty for fuel.

The section of trail from Beatty to the lake bed trail was, lets say hell. It was 7 miles of none stop whoops which tested everyone’s suspension and gave a few people whiplash. This section of trail was not pre-ran and became known as whoop Ville 2 as in the pre-run we found another section like this that was 11 miles long. The group slogged through this section and a short rock trail to get to smoother trails which lasted the rest of the day. An interesting crossing the group had was over the freeway where there was a run going on. Everyone made it across but it was a sight to come up to traffic and people running in the middle of the desert. No thank you.

The last section of trail included a long dry lake bed where people where able to have a little fun.

At the last regroup point, the group took a moment to take pictures of the “unknown church” which was carved into a canyon. There was not data on it but it was a good rally point for the group and one of the stops we had planned for our day.

After a long day on the trail and with the sun setting, we reach the end of the planned dirt section. From here, it was a 20 mile freeway sprint to Las Vegas. Most of the group was tired and ready to call it a day. After quickly airing up, we hit the freeway.