Ranger Outpost Gerlach Expansion Project

Howdy Rangers! Crow and Keeper here with big news from Gerlach. After 14 years and much soul searching, we recently took the leap to expand Ranger Outpost Gerlach. It’s a big reach for us financially, but we felt like it was an awesome opportunity that could benefit the Rangers and our own family, so we took the risk. If you are willing and able, we could use some help.

Tl;dr: We just bought the house next door, and we would greatly appreciate whatever support you could give us.

Why would you help us with this project? Read on.

A little history: Crow and Keeper moved to Gerlach in 2008, determined to make an “in-between” space for Rangers coming from points beyond to Black Rock Desert. We named it Ranger Outpost Gerlach with the idea that an outpost is a welcoming place to meet a traveler’s needs, whatever those might be… from a flushing potty or taking a quick shower to a porch dinner and drinks to a crash space to a place to fix a thing that needs fixing. If you’ve been here before, you know what we mean, and if you haven’t, you should stop by sometime!

Over the years, the many uses of the Outpost have expanded. It has become a crucial asset to Ranger operations both on and off playa. Back in the day, the DPW Ranger crew began by setting up their daily operations on the Outpost porch. Then, the Outpost became the location of the Gerlach Patrol, a program started in 2014. (Gerlach Patrol grew from a pair of Rangers stationed here during daylight to several Rangers, 24/7 throughout the event.) Additionally, we’ve coordinated staging and 4th of JuPlaya Ops for over a decade; housed Rangers for years at a time; housed Rangers for DPW and NV Ops; provided a safe space for crew members in crisis or needing to have private conversations; been an integral part of BRARA’s ham radio effort; collected mail and packages for Rangers on playa; and hosted countless Rangers who want to check out Black Rock Desert during the off season. In 2020 and 2021, the Outpost housed central operations for ONE and ONE-2 (the non-event safety support that the Rangers lended during the pandemic). We are on comm and have been monitoring the radios 24/7/365 out here since February of 2008.

We do all these things without regular or formal support from BMP.

We put a careful eye toward developing the Outpost for Ranger needs. For example, this past summer, we began building an outdoor shower, finished a new burn barrel, and built a bar/hang-out area in the back corner. We made improvements to an old RV (the Phat Puppy, formerly known as Outpost Zero) so it has an AC and a bed, allowing extra Rangers to stay here for ONE-2. We upgraded the sleeping and living arrangements in the Bunkhouse to make it cooler, darker, and more private. (In fact, Crow originally got the Bunkhouse back in 2011 while Keeper was very pregnant and brought it from Tahoe to Gerlach with help from Haggis. Special thanks to Rabbit and his family for this gift.)

All that said, we could use some help. Washoe County housing prices have skyrocketed, and Gerlach is no exception. In the past, we have only received limited support from BMP when there has been a direct expense. For example, one year our washer/dryer broke after many years of use by Gerlach Patrol and Rangers, and BMP bought us a new one. During ONE-2, they bought a big refrigerator for the porch to support us running a Ranger commissary. Aside from these examples, building, maintaining, and growing Ranger Outpost Gerlach is something that Crow and Keeper have largely done independently (with a lot of help from our Ranger friends).

As you can see, the Outpost is a group effort. It takes a village, and every little bit helps! We survived the pandemic and are excited to build the next phase of Ranger Outpost Gerlach. Thank you for your support, and please let us know the next time you’ll be in town - we’d love to see you!