Eating My Way up Right Fork Canyon, Ruby Mountains, Nevada

 Back in July (it sounds so long ago now!) we took a family trip to the Ruby Mountains near Elko, Nevada for some camping and mountain country. The Ruby Mountains receive the most precipitation of all the interior Great Basin ranges, about 40 inches a year at the higher elevations. That's quite a change from the six to seven inches we get on our desert ranch!

I'm a little behind blogging about the trip, but am finally getting to it. I'm going to start with the last day first--I got up and went for an early morning trail run. Of course I had managed to forget my running shoes, but I had some trusty sandals. I put some bandaids in my pocket (it's not the first time I've forgotten my running shoes, and I didn't want to get a blister!), and grabbed my camera and a water bottle. Then I was off.

The trail for the Right Fork Canyon (a tributary to the majestic Lamoille Canyon) starts at a cattleguard and sign by what is now called the Lions Camp (previously Boy Scout Camp and Lamoille Camp). I followed the road to its end, passing a lodge with the smell of bacon coming out of it, some tents, and some cabins. Then I followed a little marked trail to the edge of a slow-moving creek due to the presence of some beaver dams.

The trail was narrow but easily followable, and I made good time. It had rained the night before and some parts were quite muddy, and the vegetation was damp. I was glad I had on running shorts. Before long, the trail entered thicker brush. It was still easy to follow, but I got wetter.

I wasn't sure how far I was going to go, but planned a turnaround time in about 30 minutes. I figured that would give me enough time to see some of the canyon, but not too long to leave my family.

As I was closing in on that 30 minutes, I came out of the brush onto some wonderful rock. Hurray! The canyon beckoned me ahead. I so much wanted to see what else was up there. I decided to go just five minutes more.

 Except the trail got really narrow and eventually disappeared in an aspen grove! I didn't have the time to thoroughly scout it out, so I decided that was a good sign that it was time to turn around. And once I got back out to the big, flat rock place, I again had to stop to take some photos.

 I wandered over to the stream to look at a little waterfall. Then I decided I had better get going, so I took off running fast across the rock, and the next thing I knew I had landed hard on my side and ankle. Dang it. After a quick assessment I decided I was okay to continue. I was bleeding and bruised, but I could still move. Plus, I hadn't seen anyone else on the trail and I didn't know how I would get word to anyone if I was injured. (Note to self: maybe it would be a good idea to carry matches for a trail run in order to make a signal and/or warming fire if needed.) I wasn't all that far up the canyon and in fact could see the camp buildings, but I knew no one could see me.

So I gingerly started making my way back down the trail. And that's when I saw something that made me forget all my aches and pains:

 Thimbleberries! On the way up I had only seen the white ones, but on the way down I found luscious red ones, ripe and wonderful. They are related to raspberries, but even larger and sweeter.

 Then I saw what looked like blueberries. These aren't the sweet kind found in the Midwest and Alaska (and I'm sure other locales), this is a western version that grows on alkaline soil called Serviceberry. I picked some and ate them. They aren't very sweet, but they're okay.

 I saw these white berries, but they looked suspicious, and I wasn't sure what they were, so I didn't touch them.

 I also saw these alluring red berries, but they're baneberry and very poisonous. You really do need to know your berries before you eat them or you could be in a lot of trouble!

Not all red berries are bad. These currants were prime for the picking and delicious! I spent so much time eating my way back down the trail that my downhill return trip was only one minute faster than my uphill jog. It was worth it though, and I look forward to returning again. If you'd like to eat your way along the trail, late July is an ideal time.

Hiking the New Serviceberry Trail, Great Basin National Park

The weather forecast was perfect--warm and clear, and Jenny and I hadn't been on the Serviceberry Trail up Snake Creek in Great Basin National Park. We decided it was time! We were joined by some friends to make a big group hike after school one day. It was a warm day, in the 80s.

The trail was just finished last year, although the designer is quick to point out that it's not totally finished, some of the trail needs work to make it more level (a lot of it is sloped and off camber, which can make difficult footing for some, but the trail itself is easy to follow). It's either 3.2 or 3.6 miles long, depending on which sign you believe.

Little Willow was so ready to go hiking!

Hiking with a bunch of kids is lots of fun, as they entertain each other. And it's nice to get some adult talk in, too.

Desert Boy also brought along a book. My little bookworm.

We also brought some walkie-talkies and the kids took turns using them (or fought about if it was their turn).

The kids wanted frequent breaks, and we taught them to stop in the shade. At one stop, Desert Girl pulled out her notebook and started sketching. It totally took me by surprise!

Finally we finished going up the sunny, steep switchbacks and made it to the other side of the ridge. There we found an awesome granite boulder for the kids to climb.

This part of the trail was full of surprises, like this beautiful aspen stand.

Desert Girl took lots of photos. Like over 150! I still haven't downloaded those.

We saw some flowers still blooming, like these lupine.

I really enjoyed the aspen grove and the granite boulders.

The aspens were turning colors and were so beautiful. It was getting late, as we started the hike after school and the sun was now going down behind the mountains.

Some of the kids were getting a little tired (especially Desert Boy), but they kept hiking; they didn't have much other choice.

Desert Girl kept taking photos.

Here's Jenny coming up the trail.

Then we popped back over the ridge and saw some gorgeous aspen colors up towards Pyramid Peak. The buckwheat was another flower still blooming strong.

The trail went further to the west than I expected, allowing for some really nice views of riparian aspen and sagebrush-covered hills. There's mountain mahogany in the foreground and white fir in the background.

More fall colors

I got distracted taking photos and some of the group got ahead of me. Can you see them in the photo below?

Little Lily was getting tired. Jess got extra exercise carrying her almost the whole way.

The last part of the trail went through the riparian area next to Snake Creek.

It was time for a run once we spotted the vehicles!

At the finish, the kids were rewarded with popcorn.

It was a really fun hike, with friends through a variety of habitats. We had been told it was an easy, rolling trail, but I would classify it as moderate. There's more elevation gain than I expected (650+ feet), with some steep switchbacks on one side. It took us about three hours to hike the 3+ miles with kids and lots of stops. Thanks to everyone who came with!

Kershaw-Ryan State Park - Spring Break 2015

 We were headed home from Las Vegas, a five-hour prospect, and the sun was setting quickly. We had to make a decision: drive all the way home or spend one more night out? The plan had been to camp one more night (night five), but being so close to home, we could also feel the pull. When I thought about driving so far in the dark, though, with lots of animals along the road, I decided we would stay one more night. That way we would have time to explore a little more. And I'm all about exploration.

I started with the beautiful Joshua tree forest along Highway 93 west of Caliente. This isn't a forest like you see in the Eastern United States or in the Pacific Northwest or the Rocky Mountains. A Joshua tree forest is spectacular in its own way.

The setting sun really lit up these trees. Then I noticed two hawks talking to each other from the tops of two trees. I went a little closer to get a better look and found they were Swainson's hawks. These hawks winter in Argentina and are now back! Hello!

The flowers on the Joshua tree come in big terminal clumps.

The individual flowers themselves might not be so showy, but altogether they make for an impressive display.

We had to decide where to camp. We had several options: trailheads for the Silver State OHV trail, Kershaw-Ryan State Park, or Cathedral Gorge State Park. We ended up choosing Kershaw-Ryan, as I had never been there and it was only two miles from Caliente. We pulled into the 15-site campground and selected a site. The kids put up the tent all by themselves while I made their meal of choice: top ramen. Yep, we were living it up!

The very nice ranger stopped by and gave us a brochure and told us about the pay showers (8 minutes for 50 cents) and the firewood. We availed ourselves of both, then went to bed.

The next morning was chilly, so I started a fire and roused the kids to eat some hashbrowns. Yum!

I got just a little bit of attitude.

We wanted to get home by lunch so we could see my husband and have the afternoon to unpack, so we packed up and headed further into the park. We were amazed at what we found. A small wading pool was near the end of the road. Since it was March, it didn't have water in it, but we could imagine how much fun it would be in summer.

We also found a playground, which the kids loved.

We decided to take the Canyon overlook trail, about 1.4 miles long. But since we didn't have much time, I told the kids we were going on a trail run. They were good sports and started running.

The trail was great, with nice views.

And benches for resting and goofing around.

We kept climbing higher, getting a view of more of the park.

I wondered what was up the side canyons. Although the principal vegetation was sagebrush and everything seemed quite dry, these canyons are subject to flash floods. In fact, nearly all the park facilities were wiped out by two back-to-back flash floods in 1984, and it took a long time for the state to appropriate money to rebuild.

The canyon was originally developed in 1873 by Samuel and Hannah Kershaw, who called their ranch Meadow Valley Wash Ranch. In 1904 they sold it to rancher James Ryan, who then donated it to the state in 1926 as a park. The Civilian Conservation Corps developed facilities in 1934, and it became a state park in 1935. Although in some ways you feel like you're going back in time in the park, the frequent trains (we heard about ten during the night) remind you that progress is chugging along.

Leaves were just appearing on some of the trees.

When we finished the trail run (which the kids rocked!), they checked out the fish pond.

The ranger let them feed the fish, which they loved.

I'm looking forward to visiting again in the summer to check out all the rose bushes and for the kids to take a dip in the wading pool. This is truly an oasis, and the bird life is terrific. Kershaw-Ryan isn't far off the beaten path and definitely worth a stop. It was a wonderful way to end our fun spring break.