Camping and Biking and Trail Running at Sacramento Pass Rec Area

 Last weekend we had Saturday night free, so I came up with the grand idea of camping at Sacramento Pass Rec Area. It was camping night #7 for the kids (12 is our goal for the Desert Survivor's Get-Out-and-Camp Challenge, so we're doing really well!). We decided we would catch our dinner at the Sac Pass Pond, where rainbow trout are stocked by the Spring Creek Rearing Station.

It didn't take Desert Boy long to catch three trout and then Desert Girl two more. They were on the smallish side, but we decided we'd eat them all.

Meanwhile the almost-full moon came up.

And Desert Girl had fun being silly. We moved to the upper campsites to get further away from the road. They were recently redone with money from a SNPLMA grant, and the whole area is so nice. Even though it was a Saturday night, we had it all to ourselves, which was quite surprising because it's so easy to access and free.

We had our little camping trailer, which creaked all night. We might get a better night sleep in our tent, but it still is kind of fun to be in the trailer.

I woke up before everyone and decided to go scamper on the nearby rocks to take advantage of the great early morning light.

The road up and over Sac Pass looked especially pretty, with the Schell Creek mountains in the background.

A bit later I left to go mountain biking. I really wanted to check out the Mineshaft trail, a 4-mile long loop trail that departs from the Lucky Boy spur off the Sacramento Pass trail. Desert Boy and I had biked much of the Sac Pass trail last fall, and so I knew it would be technically difficult. But I found I can only take so much technically difficult. Once I got to the loop part of the Mineshaft trail (1.5 miles from the trailhead), I decided I would be much happier if I just did the loop as a trail run and didn't have to worry about going over my handlebars as I navigated the rocky course.

The views were terrific on the Mineshaft trail, and I enjoyed it so much (even though I didn't have a camera!). It was obvious that the trail doesn't get much use, so I built up some rock cairns marking the trail that had toppled over. If you want technical singletrack all to yourself, this is the spot! If you want a trail run all to yourself, this is also your spot! And the trails are designed for equestrian use, but I don't think a horse has been on them yet.

If four miles is too long, there is a shortcut--a wash connects the trail at the narrowest spot, so you could  make it a much shorter loop. There's also a two-track road that crosses the southwest part of the loop, so you could bail out there if you're bike riding and the singletrack is getting too much for you. 

You can find the Sac Pass Trail map here. 

Time to head outside!

First Night Out Camping in 2015

 With the amazingly warm winter we've been having (sorry East Coast and Midwest!), we decided that we'd start our 2015 Desert Survivor Get-Out-And-Camp Challenge early. Our goal for this year is 12 nights out. Last year the kids got 11, and they are pretty determined to meet the challenge this year. The high was 70 degrees that day (average high for this time of year is about 40) and the low was supposed to be 35. We decided to give our old camping trailer a try, and the kids spent a few hours cleaning it and my husband spent a few hours doing important stuff like making sure the lights were connected and we had a spare tire. Meanwhile, I spent a few hours packing. Camping preparation always takes longest for the first trip of the year!

Finally we were ready and we headed to Ibex Cliffs, about 50 miles west of Delta, Utah. It's a renowned climbing area and the site of a dry lake bed. We arrived in the dark and just parked on the dry lake bed. We could see a couple other campfires along the old shoreline.


I couldn't resist going for a walk and admiring the night sky.

The trailer is small and cozy, and we had fun getting used to it.

During the night the wind started blowing hard and everything started rattling. Fortunately my husband had brought three screw jacks, so the trailer didn't feel like it was going to tip over. But none of us slept that great. Nevertheless it was still a joy to wake up in a different place in the morning. Henry and I went for a morning walk to photograph first light. Here are our shadow selfies, with the cliffs in the background:

We're giants!

The early morning light really illuminated some of the tracks across the playa.

Nevertheless, I could find some undisturbed cracked mud. I love the patterns.

When we arrived back to the trailer, the kids had woken up and were cuddling with dad (below the water stains--we have to treat the trailer gingerly as it's had some stress).

Then we continued on our day's adventures…to be continued.

2014 Get-Out-And-Camp Challenge Recap

 Did you take Desert Survivor's Get-Out-And-Camp Challenge? To refresh your memory, the challenge was to set a goal of a number of nights camping out in 2014 and then try to meet them. If you did take the challenge, how did you do?

Our goal was 12 nights of camping.

How did we do?

I'll tell you in a moment, but first some of the camping highlights.

Over spring break we camped at Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in southwest Utah. We had a dusting of snow surprise us, but that also provided some excellent opportunities to slide down the dunes.

It was nice to have warmer camping as we entered summer. We didn't have to go far to have fun. We had a super time camping in the yard with visiting cousins.


Desert Girl said her favorite camping trip was with cousins up Snake Creek. She loved spending time with her cousin Lola, below, who she doesn't see often.


One of the things I liked best about camping this year was taking photos of the marvelous night sky. The Milky Way leaped out on long exposures.


Another great part of camping was getting out to places as a family that we otherwise wouldn't have visited. One such place was the Schell Creek Range, an amazing place that most people would never associate with Nevada.


Next year we might even try for a backpacking trip. I imagine Desert Girl will still be dressed stylishly.

 Probably the most dramatic camping spot my husband and I visited all year was on Ingraham Flats on Mount Rainier, where we slept on a glacier.

The view was even better from above, where we could see the huge crevasses opening up below the tents.

Some of our camping had fun amenities, like a fussball table. For kids, those extras can make all the difference!


So how did we do for the challenge?
Desert Boy and Desert Girl camped out 11 nights, I camped out 16 nights, and my husband camped out 4 nights. So we didn't all quite meet our goal of 12, but we sure had a good time getting closer to nature.

We're planning in 2015 to do the Get-Out-And-Camp Challenge again. Maybe you'll join us?

Hiking with Kids-North Schell Peak, Nevada

My husband and I will soon be off on our tenth anniversary trip. We decided to climb Mount Rainier, at 14,410 ft. To prepare, we decided we should hike one mountain peak a month, and we've amazingly been able to stick to that training plan.

In April we hiked Crystal Peak, 7,108 ft, 2.5 miles round trip, a few hundred ft elevation gain.

In May we hiked Wheeler Peak, 13,063 ft, eight miles round trip, about 3,000 ft elevation gain.

In June we hiked Mount Moriah, 12,050 ft, 7.5 miles round trip, about 2,000 ft elevation gain.

In July we hiked Pyramid Peak, 11,998 ft, 8 miles round trip, 3,900 ft elevation gain.

And in August we hiked North Schell Peak, 11,883 ft, 6 miles round trip, 2,800 ft elevation gain.

Here's the story of the North Schell Peak trip, a peak I really enjoyed.

The night before we stayed at the Timber Creek campground. Since it's not far from Ely, we fully expected it to be full, but only two other campsites (of about 11 there) had tents up. Each site had a concrete pad, fire pit, picnic table, and lots of space. Potable water and pit toilets were nearby.

It was a chilly night, and we woke to frost on our packs. So we got up, left the tent in place, drove to the end of the road, and started hiking. We followed an old road through the aspens.

The old road followed Timber Creek as it curved to the north. The scenery was gorgeous.

The trail climbed steadily along the drainage. I hadn't even expected a trail so far up, so was very pleasantly surprised. The creek went dry, but we did find an occasional spring.

I even found a few ferns in a cool, moist spot.

And also a deer skeleton. Even though it's bow season, we didn't see any hunters.

The trail petered out as the creek bed merged into alpine slopes. We stopped for one of many snack breaks and snapped a quick family photo (I've learned not to wait until the top!).

Then we knew we just needed to go up. A gentle ridge beckoned us.

The lupine was still blooming, although some seed looked ready.

We found some wood up high on the slope, above any trees, indicating that the forest used to be up higher on the slopes.

Although Desert Girl was carried for about 500 ft elevation gain, she did most of the hike. One technique that was particularly effective was for her to share her dad's hiking poles. When he moved a pole forward, that helped propel her forward.

Desert Boy was charging ahead to the summit, except that what he thought was the summit was a false summit. It was a hard lesson to learn. Fortunately the bribe of pizza after the hike helped rekindle everyone's spirits. Plus as we got higher, the scenery was so dramatic.

Finally we only had the last ridge to climb, past the small wind shelter.

I got distracted by the alpine plants, which are so diminutive due to their short growing season and harsh conditions they have to withstand.

When I looked up from photographing plants, I saw my husband and kids making good progress.

The ridge had looked so sharp from below, but was not at all hard to hike up. We were glad we had our coats, it was cold!

And then we were there! Even our dog Henry made it.

Of course the top isn't the end of the hike, it's only halfway! We still had to get back to the vehicle. We debated going back the way we had come (which would have been a good idea and easier) or following the ridge and taking the straight line down. Since we seem to be suckers for taking the hike less traveled, we followed the ridge.

A huge group of ravens hung out in the leeward side of a saddle.

The buckwheat was beautiful.

Someday I'd like to hike a lot more of the crest. The Schell Creek Range is 142 miles long. I don't think I need to hike all that, but a few more miles would be beautiful.

Can you spot the people? We didn't see anyone else on our entire hike. The register from mid-July had seven people signed in. Nevertheless, North Schell Peak is a popular peak with those wanting to hike peaks with greater than 5,000 feet prominence. (Here's a list of ultra-prominent peaks in the lower 48).

It was blustery on our way down.


Although the landscape views are superb, I like taking in the little details, too, like the little wasp. It had a variety of flowers to visit.

Some of the quartzite rocks had interesting patterns in them.

And here's a pretty butterfly.

The scenery was absolutely spectacular. Have I mentioned that already? I know that I certainly never pictured Nevada looking like some of it does. The Basin and Range topography makes for a huge diversity of habitats.

Before long we reached a huge aspen grove, with most of the aspens bent due to winter snows.

It took us four hours to get up and about 2.5 hours to get down, with a round-trip total of close to six miles. It could certainly be done faster if you didn't need to take as many snack breaks!

Before we left the canyon, we had to stop at the playground. Yes, Timber Creek campground has a playground!

I hope to get back to the Schell Creek Range to do some more hiking. It is gorgeous and uncrowded.