desertislands.org (Exploring the Great Basin!)

The Bruneau River
Elko County, Nevada

The locals of extreme northern Nevada will tell you that the Bruneau is not only the West's best-kept secret, but that the flyfishing is tremendous, as are the turkey, elk and deer hunting in the surrounding high country.

Our camp site was located about 20 miles west of the infamous Jarbidge Wilderness Area in the northern reaches of the Humboldt National Forest at a place called Mink Ranch. The Bruneau begins its northward progression south of the Jarbidge Wilderness area, collecting water from numerous streams along the way, and then flows out into the desert country of southern Idaho. The Bruneau is one of few rivers in Nevada that is actually a river. It is much more than a trickle. We could perhaps most accurately compare its size to that of the Provo River in Utah.

The region is remote, accessible only by dirt roads and/or hiking. Our camp was near the historic settlement of Rowland, Nevada in one of Nevada's most verdant, lush regions. In fact, the area is so green in late spring you might easily imagine yourself in another part of the country entirely.

Our arrival at the Bruneau was a bit untimely for a quality fishing experience as the melt was still in full swing. We ran into a couple of sportsmen near our campsite, one of whom offered good advice on how to catch the fish. He told us that he had once been a writer for Flyfishing Magazine. Considering that, we felt that we were indeed on the banks of an incredible wild river...one of very few left in the West. We took in the scenery, the quiet interrupted only by the sound of rushing water.

For more information on the Bruneau River area, visit the Mountain City Ranger District

Pictured below are the scenes available to those who lack the time to hike around in the area. Given more time, we certainly would have; but our agenda was full. We hope for a return to experience the fishing and do some more exploring.

Our camp was located in the grassy meadow about center screen.

Old structures with sod-roofs are still in relatively good repair near the Mink Ranch where we camped.

This tiny one-room cabin appeared quite undisturbed. It is located in a canyon just a few miles south of where the Bruneau joins with Meadow Creek.

Another picture of the same cabin. It was still 100% intact when we visited, but obviously unused for the last several years given the number of rodent droppings inside. Note: the Hanta Virus is a deadly disease contracted through exposure to rodent droppings. The virus is airborne. Therefore, we chose to stay out of the cabin rather than running the risk of getting this disease and ruining the rest of our trip, if not dying. The virus has claimed several lives in the past few years in the desert regions of the southwest and the Great Basin. Each reported victim was exposed to dust from droppings containing the virus.

Ryan nearly stepped on something VERY cool. Walking through the meadow with his fishing rod he looked down and saw a large gopher snake in the early stages of devouring a freshly dead ground hog-type animal. The meadow was dotted with hundreds of holes dug by what is obviously a large colony of these cute little creatures. Snakes are smart enough to work the underground network at dinnertime. We witnessed an amazing act of nature as we watched this snake swallow the critter. Unfortunately, our cameras were far away, and by the time we had collected them, the excitement was just about over. If you look closely you might be abl to see what's going on here. By this time the gopher snake had noticed us and was on its way back into the labyrinth.