Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

(Above) A look at Titus Canyon from Reds Pass. (Right) Spectacular Titus Canyon trail through Death Valley. (Below) The Keane Wonder Mill site must be hiked to for the last 100 yards. Back on the pavement, we continue north a few miles till meeting the main highway at Hell's Gate. Turn right and proceed 3.2 miles to an ill-defined two-track road heading up'a rocky wash. There is no sign, so look sharp. Start up the wash, and proceed 4.9 miles to a road coming in on your right. The road is very poor in many spots. IL is also a pretty fair climb. The site of Chloride City lays just ahead to the south. The first claims there were filed in 1873. This town boomed twice, once in 1878 and again in 1905. During the first rush the residents cut the first good road from here, out across the valley and down Wingate Wash. Later parts of this road was used by the borax haulers. Two miles ahead is Chloride Cliff. The view of the. central part of the valley is fantastic. With the many roads in this area, exact locations are tricky to find. Leaving Chloride City, we backtrack about two miles and pick up the road that drops down towards the east out of the Funeral Mountains. At 4.5 miles a fork will appear on your left. Turn and follow it about seven miles, coming out at the monument boundary in Nevada. Turn right and head east, on lightly-traveled pavement, to Beatty, NV. The town was founded by M. M. Beatty in 1904. IL soon became a thriving city with the Las Vegas and Tonapah Railroad arriving .oct. 22, 1906. The following year, on April 25, 1907, the Bullfrog and Goldfield Railroad hit town. They held a banquet for the event, and over 700 people attended. After having a bite to eat, gassing up the scooters and losing a couple of bucks in the bandits, we reversed course and headed west for Rhyolite, 4.7 miles away. It lays about 1,5 miles off the main road, nestled between Ladd and Bonanza Mountains. I used an old railbed and entered town from the east. It's easy to spot, so if you find it, use it. If not, use the paved route. Rhyolite is one of the most famous of Nevada's numerous ghost towns. Soon after E. A. Montgomery staked out the Montgomery-Shoshone Mine, four enterprising men set up the town in November, 1904. Lots went on sale Feb. 15, 1905, most going for $50. By April, they were selling for $200. On May 5, 1905, according to the first issue of the Herald, Rhyolite had 20 saloons. The population had jumped in this short time to 1500 hearty souls. H. D. and L. D. Porter, fast thinking and shrewd businessmen, built a store for $10,000. Its concrete shell still stands. The nameplate over the door is still intact and readable. Another famous landmark, Tom Kelly's bottle house, made from 50,000 beer bottles, is still useable and is a small museum. Cost to visit is a small donation given on the honor system. It's worth the stop and a few coins. The two most famous buildings in town, whose pictures have been in hundreds of magazines, also still stand. The Cook Bank Building is just a shell, though it was made of reinforced concrete and cost $60,000 to build. Time, and a movie company years ago, have treated it badly. The colorful Las Vegas and Tonapah Railroad station is a very unique structure. It is intact and almost as beautiful as ever, but alas, it is now privately owned and may not be visited. Several large, long-fanged dogs keep lookers from coming too close. Two other railroads passed through town, the Bullfrog and Goldfield and the Tonapah and Tidewater. Nothing of those remain today. Rhyolite hit its population peak in 1907 with more than 7000. Some say 9000. As ore became scarce and the mines and mills dosed, the residents . began to fade a way. By 1910, population was down to 675. In 1920 it was home for onl 14, and in 1922 it was down to one. Good photos can be taken anytime, but if you are an Ansel Adams type, late afternoon is the best. Just west of Rhyolite is the site of Bullfrog. Only the ruins of one building, and an old rusting car body, mark the spot. The red barn-type building was put up in the 60s by people from the east who bought the old town site. On Aug. 4, 1904, "Shorty" Harris and E. L. Cross found a ledge of rich ore. It assayed out at $675 per ton. Soon the rush to Bullfrog was on. Cross sold out his half for $25,000. Harris reportedly sold his for $1,000 while drunk. Once known as Bonanza, Bullfrog as a town started in March of 1905 and grew rapidly. The rich ore petered out quickly. On June 25, 1906, the hotel burned and Bullfrog .ended its short life. Most everything that could be moved went to Beatty or Rhyolite. On leaving Bullfrog, we picked up the narrow track that goes south to the cemetery. Look for the sign, it's small and easy to miss. The cemetery is a worthwhile stop as the headstones and markers make interesting reading. Leaving there, head south again and in just a tad you return to the pavement. Turn right. Back on the asphalt, head west 1.3 miles to the Titus Canyon Road. This is a one-way road for the next 27.1 miles. The first few miles will be rather dull as the road is flat. Soon you will begin to climb up a moderate grade. At 10 miles you drop into a canyon, and at 11.7 miles you start the clim b to Reds Pass some 5300 feet high. From here, it's all down hill, sometimes it's fairly steep. After 15.8 miles you come to the remains of Leadfield. Born in the spring of 1926, as the child of promoter and manipulator C. C. Julian. He hyped some low grade lead ore, built a high class road from Beatty using 100 men and 100,000 dollars . site. The first strikes of the lead-silver ore were found by Seamon and McCann in 1905, but nothing came of it. In 1924, Chambers and Metz "rediscovered" the ore. Julian soon heard of the strike, bought the claims and formed the Western Lead Mines Company. On Mar. 22,1926, a party with a full dinner was held to promote the area. The partygoers, 1120 of them, were transported from Beatty to Leadfield in 94 autos down the road. you have just traveled. That must have been something to see. On its opening day the Post Office handed out mail to 200 people. By January, 1927 only one diehard remained and the Post Office closed. All that remains of the millions of dollars "invested" are a couple of corrugated iron shacks. IL is hard to believe that once. there were many stores and even a 40-room hotel. With the fall of Leadfield, C.C. Julian had several brushes with the law and soon left the country. On Mar. 25, 1934, at the age of 40, he committed suicide in China. A few miles down canyon you come to Klare Spring. If it's a hot day, you can soak your feet or wet the back of your neck, but I would not drink the water. Continuing down canyon, on a zig-zag course, you will soon come to the narrowest part. This is Titus Canyon proper. The road is 10 to 15 feet wide while the walls tower several hundreds of feet above you. What a neat place. This canyon is named after Morris Titus, an area prospector. He disappeared in the canyon in 1907. After leaving the mouth of the canyon you come to a paved road. Right is to Scotty's Castle, and left is some 32.1 miles back to your start at Furnace Creek. All of the areas covered on this ride are steeped in histo,ry. I found it interesting, intriguing and one fine trip. We took nine hours, including all stops and exploring time. be to 21

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