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Redlich Summit miles from the 1864 Silver mining ghost town of Candelaria.
There isn’t a tree within 50 miles and not even grass grows out
there. The only vegetation is cholla cactus, designed to tear
We’re staying at the only motel in the town of Mina, although the holes in your legs, and greasewood, designed to tear holes in
term ‘town’ is a significant overstatement. Even ‘wide spot in the your tires. We are experiencing both in great abundance. The
road’ is probably overdoing it. One bar, one motel, no restaurants sunrises are stupendous, the sunsets are even better. They are
and a gas station that closes at dark and opens at 8am. Other designed to tear holes in your soul.
than some geologists, we have the motel to ourselves. That’s The snakes mostly leave us alone, or rattle out their warning
good because the three of us can have our own rooms and if they feel boxed in by our approach. There’s a scorpion under
a side benefit is that there are plenty of electrical outlets for every rock and every cowpie. I’ve found fantastic Azurite and
all the chargers. As long as there has been battery powered Malachite crystals all throughout the project area. We’re all
instruments and hand-held radios, surveyors have had a need for sunburned to hell and back. On a rotating schedule, two guys
all the outlets they can find. drive the trucks and the third guy is the party chief.
Our normal work is in the high desert and because of that, our On day four, one of us had to take a day off and drive 200 miles
trucks are beat up and beat down. Our Dodge has a brand-new to Reno to pick up three new tires to replace the greasewood
battery but the starter has given up the ghost. It has a manual casualties. He got a new battery for the Ford while he was there.
transmission so it can be push started. Our Ford has a dead On day seven another trip to Reno was necessary to get three
battery but is outfitted with an automatic transmission so more tires. Big O hates us. We, on the other hand, love Big O and
push starting is out of the question. Our nightly routine is to their (since extinguished) damaged tire replacement policy.
park them side by side when we unload them at the motel. We
choose a spot in the parking lot where we can pull straight out On day eleven we set the last claim corner, swing by the Mina
onto the highway without backing out of spot. Our morning motel and grab our gear and head back home. Add Mina to the
routine is to use the Dodge to jump start the Ford, then use the list of ‘never need to go there again’ places. I have a long list.
Ford to push start the Dodge, then we drive both trucks 20 miles I just looked at Redlich Summit on Google Earth and the extreme
of lonely highway to the jump off point. Out there we only need mineralization of the area is abundantly apparent. Even more so than
to make sure the Dodge gets parked pointed downhill. when I was actually walking all over those hills and arroyos. Yet, all
It’s the fall of 1985. We have an HP3820 and ten batteries. these years later there is no sign that any mega-mining corporation is
That’s about a day’s worth of juice, if we are judicious, and striking it rich extracting all that copper, silver and gold. Good, leave
perhaps lucky. We have been sent there to stake 150 mining those scorpions alone!
claims in a place called Redlich Summit. We are a couple dozen

Aerial Photogrammetry and LiDAR

Contact Mitch Bartorelli, Photogrammetry Manager

775.827.6111| www.LumosInc.com

High definition aerial
mapping taken with
a fixed wing aircraft,
using the latest aerial
sensors, to capture
2cm ground sample
distance.

City of Sparks | Sewer Rehabilitation Greenbrae Drive
Flown at 1,600 feet above ground level

24 The Nevada Traverse Vol.49, No.4, 2022