TNT Principles and Advisories

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1. Water:  Access to water is the most important consideration when planning your Nevada crossing.  There are no 100% reliable year-round sources of water between towns.  Check ahead of time to see if State Parks, commercial businesses and other drinking water sources are available on the day and time you will need access.  Make sure you have enough water to cross Nevada.  Don't beg for food & water from local ranches.  Plan ahead, start with a resupply strategy and begin your Nevada crossing with more than enough water.

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2. Know Your Route:  The Comstock Epic route is not a signed trail.  The Comstock is expeditionary and follows existing roads, trails and sometimes hard-to-follow derelict two-track roads.  Knowledge of how to use GPS devices, gpx route files, and topographic maps for navigation are a safety requirement.  Study these routes before you start.

 

3. Weather:  WEATHER ON THESE ROUTES CAN SEVERELY INJURE OR KILL YOU!  Travel with appropriate foul weather clothing and gear.  Snow storms, hail, heavy freezing rain, strong winds and ride-stopping-mud are possible year-round on these routes.  Be prepared for extreme temperatures that cause life threatening conditions such as dehydration and hypothermia.  Within a short period of time, temperatures can vary between extreme hot and extreme cold.  Be weather wise when choosing a campsite or entering flash flood prone areas.  These routes cross the Great Basin and high mountain ranges which are subject to thunderstorms that cause flash flood conditions.  Canyons, gulches, arroyos, and even low-lying flat terrain can quickly be covered by deadly flash flood torrents of water.  You don't want to drown in the desert.

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4. Campfires:  No campfires!  Don't be stupid with open flames, wind and dry conditions.

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5. Barbed Wire Gates & Fences:  These routes pass through many barbed wire gates and barbed wire fence locations.  At night, wire gates and fences are difficult to see.  Be cautious and always on the look-out for barbed wire gates and fences.

 

6. Rattlesnakes, Mountain Lions, etc:  These routes cross the Great Basin which is the natural habitat of rattlesnakes, mountain lions, ticks, wild horses and other potentially hazardous wildlife.  While riding on these routes, there is always a possibility that wildlife could cause serious injury or death.  Don't mess, play, harass or kill wildlife.  Be smart and give wildlife a wide berth.

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7. Trash:  "Pack it in.....Pack it out!"  The quickest way to route closure is leaving trash behind you.  Leave the route better than you find it.  Not only carry all of your trash out, pick up other trash you find on the route and carry it out.

 

8. Communication:  Always have good communication devices while traveling in Nevada's backcountry.  Mobile cell phones and satellite tracking transmitters (i.e. SPOT, Garmin inReach) are important safety equipment.  There is limited mobile cell phone service on these routes.

 

9. Livestock & Wildlife:  Do not chase or harass livestock or wildlife.  Help keep cross-Nevada and backcountry routes open by respecting rancher's livestock.  Backcountry Nevada animals have a difficult enough time surviving without the stress of being chased.

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10. Respect Private Property:  Do not camp on private property unless you have the owner's permission.  Do not camp on abandoned private property without owner's permission.  Don't be the person who causes a route closure by camping on private property.

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11. Gates:  Leave rural gates as you find them, unless signed otherwise.

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12. Be Visible:   Always have forward, side and rear lights or reflectors on your bike.

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