Thu Jun 23, 2016 @ 00:00

During both of my journeys along the Nevada Trail, I spent the entire afternoon and evening at Alkali Hot Springs. On site is a massive cottonwood tree which provides shade and overflow ponds which attract wildlife. When visiting this spring, there are two things you should know.

1. Don't camp at the springs. Camp behind them away from the road. This will ensure you have a quiet night; plus, it's more considerate to the locals, which may visit during the night.

2. Don't expect to drink this water, unless you like the taste of alkaline water. My strategy was to flag down traffic and score a refill. This may take several cars to complete. Also, in my experience, the far majority of traffic that will be seen here, which isn't a whole lot, will not be stopping at the springs. While everyone was friendly and understanding of my situation, the majority of them seemed to be heading between the mine and Tonopah, and not out sightseeing.

That said, the sightseeing at Alkali is out-of-sight and the wildlife, outstanding. This is another oasis that can be hard to leave but eventually, I had too. This is also where I learned my second lesson of the Nevada Trail.