Pig Pen for the Cammo Dudes

I was reviewing some of my GPS trails on google earth and noticed some "unnatural" area near the northern gate of Bald Mountain. Go to
N37 29 39.31 W115 42 10.21
on Google Earth. It looks like they capture a dude mobile. It looks like there are fence lines running vertically. I don't recall seeing anything there when I was at the location in the flesh.

It looks better in Google Earth, but you can check it out in Google Maps here:
cammo dude pigs pen

Whilst checking out the area, came across a wierd orange 'marker' when I first zoomed in, this appeared to be surounded by 8 or nine other orange 'dots'. Unfortunately at maximum zoom they fade.

As this feature is north west of Bald Mountain I initially thought it might be some sort of beacon or repeater although it is located low down behind the Bald Mountain installation. And no, I'm not into flying sucers at A51.

Google location; N 37 27 42 46 W 115 45 00 39

Peace!

reply to post by The Wave


N 37 27 42.46 W 115 45 00.39
I got it. [You had some extra spaces, but I figured it out.]

Here is your coordinate on a topo map:
topo map

You can see the spot is in a stream bed, though given that this is the desert, we will call it seasonal drainage. I have no evidence of this, but I would suspect that is the location of a wildlife guzzler. The USAF puts these guzzlers on the range to provide water for the various animals that will eat the tourists, such as cougars.

Now most of the guzzlers you find in public areas around the range look like this:
guzzler

There are round guzzler designs, as shown here:
guzzler photos

The round guzzlers are a common source of arm chair researchers claiming to find entrances to secret underground facilities. '-) But this one seems to be fenced off, so my guess might be wrong.

Sometimes the BLM creates fence off areas just to study the ground without it being distrurbed by animals. But then you wouldn't put a foreign object in the center.

The back side of Bald Mountain might as well be the dark side of the moon as far as being able to observe it from free territory.

reply to post by gariac


Many thanks. Have picked up two more (fenced) north and south of the one I originally found. I live and learn!

Regarding the back of Bald Mountain - I agree - that's why I was looking.

Think it is interesting that whilst the BLM waters the wildlife, the cammo dudes are entitled to shoot tax payers and visitors - seems a fair enough arrangement...

Best regards

reply to post by The Wave


You are correct. There is no hunting allowed on the range except for tourists.

I think if you really dug into it, the guzzlers are probably related to some environmental "mitigation". That is, you can scrape the desert floor to do whatever as long as you provide new habit in another location. It is like making a developer plant 3 tree for every one tree that is chopped down.

N37 27 32.64 W115 25 7.66 is a guzzler off the range if you want to see one in person.

Please post the other coordinates. I'm always interested in checking out altered spots on the range. I really need to make a KMZ of these locations.

reply to post by gariac


I agree - mitigation - perhaps for building the new runway and complex at Yucca Flat without declaring it?

Other guzzlers are actually both south;

N 37 26 18.43
W 115 45 26.24 and

N 37 24 49.83
W 115 47 13.91

Will check out the off range one when over in the summer.

Best regards

reply to post by The Wave


Those two spots are trickier. You can see the shadow of the "dot", so it is a tall structure.

You probably noticed the round rings nearby. Since there is no shortage of rocks in the high desert, they often build corals using rocks. This waypoint is for a rock coral you can see at Warm Springs. I don't have a photo of it.

n38 11 28.20 W116 22 13.84

I guess I need to take a few shots of normal things around the range. It would eliminate a lot of secret underground entrance rumors. ;-)

I've logged 3 well coverings that will eventually show up on Google Earth when they get around to replacing low res imagery with the newer high res stuff.
N37 24 48.7 W115 24 43.3
N37 32 32.2 W115 29 40.3
N37 32 32.2 W115 29 40.3

Jim Gibbons, to get money from developers to fund his first run for Governor, set up a deal for Las Vegas to steal water from Lincoln County. Those are the well heads.

Hi Gariac,

Have been Googling around the back of Bald Mountain some more and found a few more 'guzzlers'.

However, also noticed the white structure to the west of the Bald Mountain complex. From there, there is a distinctive trail to the mid point of the two radars that suggests that general maintenance is done on foot - the road to the white structure is direct and lokks new (well as new as Google allows). I guess heavy drops are done by helicopter but normal maintenance is via land?

Also thinking of the guzzlers - maybe they are fenced to keep quadrupeds away but are there for the birds? (which must piss off the quadupeds!) But having searched around Bald Mountain there seems to be a prepoderance of these 'features' to the west but not east - and all within the range?

All for now - coordinates are:

37 27 33.00 N 115 45 56.02 West and

37 27 40.04 N 115 45 30.88 West

Also - why orange? The guzzlers you showed were wither green or blue?

Peace!

reply to post by The Wave


I think only the first one you found could be a guzzler. I don't know about the other ones.

There are orange feed "bins" in the area, but I don't think the cattle graze back there. This spot is a orange feed bin along the road leading to Bald Mountain.
n37 29 57.36 w115 39 19.50

I did a quick search and can't find any photos of the feed bins that you see on the range.

I can see the utility in photographing ordinary things then comparing them to what you see on Google Earth. FWIW, all the guzzlers I've seen have been the rectangular types that usually butt up against a small hillside, probably to get rain runoff.