Mine VABM 7129 ft (2173 m) — 418 ft gain 2022.07.10 Motivation is hard to find in the long, repetitive days of summer. The Great Basin Desert seems to curl and fold within itself, even as hazy heatwaves dance across the expanse. The high-pressure domes that keep moisture at bay…
Nevada High Points #102 – Pinto Peak
Pinto Peak 6711 feet (2046 meters) — 630 feet gain 2022.05.25 Pinto Peak Collection The ancient Cottonwood Caldera, a massive volcano that erupted sometime around 17 million years ago, dominates the landscape west of High Rock Canyon and the Black Rock Desert. With basin-and-range faulting, several small ranges form the…
Nevada High Points #99 – Cocoon Mountains
Alkali VABM 6104 feet (1860 meters) – 2700 feet gain 2022.03.13 The forecast promised wind, and the day delivered. Although we drove into early morning darkness, an eastern glow of dusty skies preceded with the coming sun. Robert, my son-in-law, joined me on this one-day journey to the Cocoon Mountains,…
Nevada High Points #97 – Paradise Range
Sherman Peak 8957 ft (2639 m) – 2464 ft gain 2021.12.19 Sherman Peak – Paradise Range Collection Winter’s coming, and the first snows have arrived. Although it snowed a little at StoneHeart in Carson Valley, I had watched the storms reorganize over the central Great Basin. How much would there…
Nevada High Points #96 – Sahwave Mountains
Juniper Mountain 7475 ft (2278 m) – 1960 ft gain 2021.11.27 Juniper Mountain – Sahwave Mountains Collection Desna, my wife and partner, was at Planet X for the weekend, it is winter sale time. Although the forecast remained stable with blue skies as far as any meteorologist could see, I…
Nevada High Points #95 – Palmetto Mountains
Harvey Peak 9285 ft (2830 m) – 1775 ft gain 2021.11.12 Harvey Peak – Palmetto Mountains Photo Collection I had planned to get out early for Second Friday, but because my brother, Darren, could not join this weekend and my back has spasmed oddly yesterday, I slept late. The schedule…
Fall Color – Smith Valley, NV
A storm had set in; great wind and slashing rain at StoneHeart throughout the night. And yet the Sierra seemed to have caught the storm by the tail keeping it from breaking further east. When this happens, the sunrise has promise. Hunting color at the edge of the storm, I…
Nevada High Points #94 – Bird Spring Range
Peak 5695 5695 ft (1736 m) – 1050 gain 2021.10.15 Peak 5965 – Bird Spring Range Photo Collection Thankfully, my time in Vegas was about over. Leaving the conference hotel in the early evening, I worked my way south toward Jean, Nevada, eventually turning west toward Goodsprings. I hit the…
Nevada High Points #90 – Madelin Mesa
Rowland Mountain (‘Rocky’) 6911 ft (2107 m) – 650 ft gain 2021.09.24 The mornings have the feel of autumn, but the midday still holds the heat of summer; it is that time of year. Here, at the close of September, I had a landform mapping project in support of archaeological…
Nevada High Points #88 – Butte Spring Hills
Peak 6507 6507 ft (1983 m) – 910 ft gain 2021.09.11 On Nevada Highway 34, a wonderful dirt road north of Gerlach, there is a steep right-hand turn just after the Lund Petrified Forest. The forest consists of a couple of upright trees trapped behind a fenced enclosure, but we…