Introduction & Lake Lahontan History
Day 1: Southeast Carson Sink
Day 2: North Carson Sink
Day 3: West Humboldt Range
Day 4: West Carson Sink to Weber Dam
Day 5: McGee Wash and Walker Lake

Introduction &Lake Lahontan History

At 9:30 am on September 14, 2002, a group of Land Rovers met at the Churchill County Museum, Fallon, Nevada. Their purpose was to explore and film the remains of the vast lake that covered much of Nevada during the Ice Ages (blue area on map below). The lake reached its peak (known as the "Sehoo Highstand" about 12,700 years ago, as the melting ice, marking the end of the most recent ice age, added to its volume. Then, the waters covered some 8,500 square miles in central Nevada, centered on what is now known as the Carson Sink. Around this time, the first humans made their appearance in North America.  As the weather continued to warm and the lake receded, some of the humans gravitated around its shores. "Coincidentally", the woolly mammoths and other large mammals that had populated the area for countless previous ice ages and intervening warm periods ("interglacials") suddenly became extinct. The humans, animals and the lake itself left much evidence of their presence in the now-remote Nevada desert, beckoning to be explored.

As befitted a Land Rover expedition, an emphasis was planned on the more remote and difficult-to-reach aspects of the geological and archaeological evidence, inaccessible to the general public. The trip would cover more than 300 miles of desert dirt and 4WD roads in 5 days, with 4 nights camping out on the trail. Our aim was to circle the vast Carson Sink which was the center of the old lake system, then travel south via its connection with the Walker Lake Basin -- one of the few remnants that is still filled with water today. We would visit several little known geological and archaeogical sites, and discover some new ones that have not been prevviously documented.

Furnishing the necessary Land Rover horsepower were Lynn Helm’s Land Rover Series IIA 88, Marvin Mattson’s Land Rover Series II 109 body with Chevrolet 350 engine, Jay Finklestein’s Series I Discovery, and the author’s Range Rover 4.0SE. Equally important was the intellectual horsepower required for the trip’s geological and archaeological theme. The hand-picked team that assembled in Fallon at the start of the trip included my 83-year old Uncle Joe and cousin Sally -- both amateur geologists (and desert rats) of considerable experience. Joe’s lifelong geological interest included studies at UC Berkeley. The scientific team was completed by Jay Finklestein’s nephew David, a cultural anthropology major, also from UC Berkeley. (Map: Expedition route in relation to ancient Lake Lahontan (blue) and modern towns (black).

Participation of Joe and Sally was made possible by a slight dilution of Land Rover purity – they drove Joe’s GMC Jimmy. This was felt to be permissible since the expedition’s 109 was GM-propelled, and the aluminum V8 engines of the Land Rover Discovery and Range Rover both derived originally from the same manufacturer. Thus, the only genuine Land Rover power source present was in Lynn’s 88! In any case, before the trip, Sally diligently did her “homework” by reading a Land Rover book on off-road driving techniques.  Also making up for the slight deviations from official Land Rover purity was the custom-made expedition apparel kindly provided by Land Rover Marin, and Land Rover pins supplied by Land Rover of North America. All members also wore Geological Society of America badges to remind them of the serious nature of the task at hand.