Curious Minds Want To Know

sitruc

sitruc

New member
A friend ran across these a couple weeks ago and said they are upturned satellite dishes collecting water for a huge tank. Anyone know anything about this? :idontknow:

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Not sure but they could be just that, a means of collecting and storing rain water. There are places all across the desert and mountains with similar setups but typically only one as to a handful like this and they're called guzzlers. Hunters use them to sustain game. Not saying this is what they're for but it'd be my best guess. I've been up in the Pappose Flats a ton of times but never came across these. I suppose it's because there aren't any roads to it. How did your friend find them?
 
Also, I hope you don't mind but I removed the GPS coordinates but added a screen shot of what it looks like.
 
Eddie is correct. I've definitely seen all sorts of stuff used to sustain game, or cattle/sheep, in the middle of nowhere in Nevada. I haven't ever seen dishes though, or that much storage in one place using a bunch of different collection devices. Near as I can tell, these particular dishes were placed sometime between July of 1993 and August of 1999. The placement seems odd for game/livestock sustenance though and it sure doesn't look like there has been much in the way of animal traffic (at least up to the August 9, 2013 Google earth picture). It also looks like there is trash or the remnants of something on the slope of the mountain.
 
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sitruc said:
No worries, I wasn't sure if that was allowed or not.
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We prefer not to post up directions or coordinates on the internet as it makes it way too easy for the yahoos to find cool stuff like this and destroy it. Cool find and I appreciate you posting it up. I do hope your friend wasn't driving off trail to get to them though.
 
Sharkey said:
Eddie is correct. I've definitely seen all sorts of stuff used to sustain game, or cattle/sheep, in the middle of nowhere in Nevada. I haven't ever seen dishes though, or that much storage in one place using a bunch of different collection devices. Near as I can tell, these particular dishes were placed sometime between July of 1993 and August of 1999. The placement seems odd for game/livestock sustenance though and it sure doesn't look like there has been much in the way of animal traffic (at least up to the August 9, 2013 Google earth picture). It also looks like there is trash or the remnants of something on the slope of the mountain.
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That was smart of you to look up old shots. I have seen some big guzzlers setups in the past but nothing quite so elaborate or should I say, cluttered like this before.
 
wayoflife said:
Not sure but they could be just that, a means of collecting and storing rain water. There are places all across the desert and mountains with similar setups but typically only one as to a handful like this and they're called guzzlers. Hunters use them to sustain game. Not saying this is what they're for but it'd be my best guess. I've been up in the Pappose Flats a ton of times but never came across these. I suppose it's because there aren't any roads to it. How did your friend find them?
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He and another were on a nearby ridge when they saw them and drove to the road west of the site and hiked in. Said they were huge dishes. I may have round up some friends and go investigate further. It is curious with the access issue and how many dishes there are.
 
sitruc said:
He and another were on a nearby ridge when they saw them and drove to the road west of the site and hiked in. Said they were huge dishes. I may have round up some friends and go investigate further. It is curious with the access issue and how many dishes there are.
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Yeah, I've been pouring over some of my old maps to see if there has ever been trails that worked its way back in the hills like that and so far, I've found nothing. Of course, the satellite images would have shown some kind of tracks if there had ever been vehicular traffic going to them. Who knows, maybe they were brought in by air? Hard to say for sure - truly a mystery. I may have to work my way back down that way to do a bit of exploring myself.
 
Here's a shot of a really large guzzler out in the middle of Nevada that we once came across. About the size of a really big garage but low to the ground.

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Sharkey said:
Eddie is correct. I've definitely seen all sorts of stuff used to sustain game, or cattle/sheep, in the middle of nowhere in Nevada. I haven't ever seen dishes though, or that much storage in one place using a bunch of different collection devices. Near as I can tell, these particular dishes were placed sometime between July of 1993 and August of 1999. The placement seems odd for game/livestock sustenance though and it sure doesn't look like there has been much in the way of animal traffic (at least up to the August 9, 2013 Google earth picture). It also looks like there is trash or the remnants of something on the slope of the mountain.
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Thanks for the info Sharkey, I've seen a lot of guzzlers out and around the high desert, but none like this.
 
wayoflife said:
Yeah, I've been pouring over some of my old maps to see if there has ever been trails that worked its way back in the hills like that and so far, I've found nothing. Of course, the satellite images would have shown some kind of tracks if there had ever been vehicular traffic going to them. Who knows, maybe they were brought in by air? Hard to say for sure - truly a mystery. I may have to work my way back down that way to do a bit of exploring myself.
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If you do care to explore that area, I'd be interested in joining you!
 
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