Up to Mount Moriah via Hendry's Creek, White Pine County, Nevada

After such a lovely October trail run up Hendry's Creek to the Table, I decided I just had to go again. I really wanted to summit Mt. Moriah via Hendry's Creek. I had the stamina, the time (a day off work), and the weather was cooperating. The hardest part was that the days are short in November, so I got up before sunrise and drove to the trailhead. I started off in the twilight, but before long the sun came up. I took fewer photos along the trail, but was impressed with this huge log (above).

I also found an arborglyph I had previously missed. Coming down the trail it's near a stream crossing and says "Turn here or the bears will get you." I had to laugh. There are no bears in the area, but it is attention-getting.

I took less water with me and brought a water filter, so about mile 8 on the trail, I stopped at this beautiful section of creek and filled my water bottle. 

Then I kept going. I stopped to admire this twisted bristlecone and eat a snack. I call this bristlecone the Dancing Bristlecone and got to visit it earlier in the year. It's one of my new favorites.

The twisted trunk was worth a closeup.

Once you get up to the Table, the trail up Mt. Moriah is almost non-existent. There is a very faint on one that starts on the northeast side.

I followed it awhile and then went straight up to Mt. Moriah, which is the peak in the background. Previously we've followed the very faint trail to the southeast side of the mountain and then climbed up a gentler slope. 

It was beautiful at the top, warm and calm. It was hard to believe it was early November! It took me a while to find the register, it's hidden on the outside of the stone shelter, in the rocks in the foreground. 

Yes, I really made it! I had the whole place to myself.

My Plan A was to continue south along the ridge and visit more of the alpine area of Mt. Moriah, then bushwhack down a ridge to the trail. I assessed how I was feeling, what the weather was like, and the time, and decided to go for it. The ridge was beautiful, although the flowers were past blooming and there weren't any animals to be seen.

It was so beautiful hiking. 

The trees near the top took twisted and bent forms. 

I was still feeling good, so I continued on my Plan A. I had a topo map up on the app Earthmate on my phone so I could see exactly where I was. I knew that I would meet up with the trail any which way I went downhill, so I tried to pick the path of least resistance. It was steep.

The top was rather clear, but as I got lower I got into a lot of downed trees. Then I reached mountain mahogany and had to climb my way through a thicket. That was the hardest part. But eventually I reconnected with the trail.

As I headed down the trail, I wanted to try and find the intersection to the fork that used to lead over to Silver Creek. And I did! I saw these blazes on the trees and a very faint trail going off into the distance (with another blaze down the way). It would be so cool if this trail was cut out and connected.

I was treated to a beautiful display of color when I got back down into the cottonwoods. I wasn't expecting so much color in November.

Here's the overall route I took. I got back to the truck after the sun had set. The whole adventure took covered 21.9 miles and took just over 11 hours. It was over 6,000 feet elevation gain and loss.

I was so glad I had finally climbed Mt. Moriah via Hendry's Creek. It was gorgeous, epic, and I want to do it again.

Pole Canyon Loop, Great Basin National Park

My niece Kayli suggested getting a Great Basin National Park map and marking the trails she runs. I thought that was a great suggestion and so when I wanted to do a longer run, I decided to go on a trail I hadn't yet run this year, the Pole Canyon Loop. It's about seven miles total and goes through a variety of habitats.

I parked at the Grey Cliffs Campground entrance, at the north end of the map. Then I headed downhill (east) to the Pole Canyon Picnic Area, crossed the bridge over Baker Creek, and started up the Pole Canyon trail. The trail starts in pinyon juniper woodland, but before long it transitions to a riparian area with aspens and nearby white fir.

The horsetails along the edge gave some extra indication of the tiny stream that flows along sections of the canyon.

Then the trail comes out into shrub-grasslands, with a scattering of ponderosa pines and aspens ahead. A cloudy sky helped it from getting too hot.

Finally I could see the trail sign that indicated I was going to turn west and head up and over the ridge.

From the sign it's shorter to get to the Baker Creek Trailhead, which is a nice thought. The next part is uphill.

After going through some mountain mahogany, I reached the saddle. The clouds were cool over the backside of Wheeler Peak and Doso Doyabi, so I decided for a selfie, using the timer.

 A little scarlet gilia provided a bit of color. It's not a great wildflower year, it's been too dry.

Then I headed down to the trailhead via the Timber Creek Trail and through Baker Creek Campground, which was completely full except for one walk-in site. There's a little trail between Baker Creek and Grey Cliff Campgrounds, and it is a delightful trail.

I saw so many flowers along it.

There are a couple cute little bridges...

...and butterflies...

...and flowers...

...the monkshood is at its peak...

The backlighting made the timothy look very cool.

And I went quite gaga over the streamside orchid. Orchids in the desert, it's such a delightful juxtaposition.

It's such a lovely trail. I didn't see anyone on the trails, just in the campgrounds. It's at a lower elevation, so early in the morning is a good choice in the summer. In spring and fall, it's often snow-free longer than most trails in Great Basin National Park. And in winter it's even possible to snowshoe or ski it. Enjoy!

2020 Trip up Wheeler Peak

The highest peak around, Wheeler Peak, at 13, 063 feet, was calling my name. I didn't want to spend a whole day going up it, so I decided to do a trail run up it to make it faster. That meant an early start, a light pack, and few breaks.

My niece Kayli said she was interested, and since she's on her school's cross-country team, I knew she could do it, even though she hadn't been up the peak before.

We were the first ones to the trailhead at about 6:30 am, which surprised me, as that wasn't super early. We started off at a slow jog, interspersed with fast walking, as even at 10,000 feet, the air was a little thin. As we went higher, we did a lot more walking than jogging.

When we got to the ridge, we took our first break at one of the wind shelters. It was nice to sit down for a few minutes and have a quick snack.

Then we headed up to the summit, pausing here and there for what I call breathing breaks. We crossed a couple snow patches. We didn't see many flowers, probably because it has been so dry. When we got to the top, we signed into the full register and then took some photos. I didn't want to rush the top, so we decided to spend 30 minutes up there.

I'm not good at staying still, so I took Kayli down the summit ridge so we could get a good look at Doso Doyabi, at 12, 776 feet. It has an impressive face.

The most common flower we saw were sky pilot (Polemonium viscosum). They were in the best shape on the southeast side. As they mature, they start smelling like skunk, hence another common name for them: skunkweed.

We descended a bit so I could get a good view of the Wheeler cirque rock glacier. The lobes in the upper part of the rock glacier indicate movement, or where there is still ice under the rock. The section farther downhill, where the rock glacier gets narrower, does not appear to have ice under it anymore.

 We found a survey marker from the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1944. This one was No. 5. 

We also found No. 4. Now I'm wondering if Numbers 1, 2, and 3 are also on the summit. I'll have to look next time!

The large rock shelters on Wheeler Peak started as heliograph stations. They were used during two winters(!) to help map the 39th parallel west of the 100th meridian in the 1880s. Other nearby peaks with heliograph stations on them include Ibapah Peak in the Deep Creek Range to the north, Mt. Nebo in the Wasatch Range to the east, and Troy Peak to the west.

Often in July, a hiker can see lots of Parry's Primrose near the top of the peak. This year, though, I only saw two that were blooming. We might have been a bit early, but it just seems so dry.

We found some gray-crowned rosy finches on the snow. They eat the little insects that get trapped.

As we headed down, we found we were able to jog more than we expected.

We also started meeting people coming up. About 15 people were headed up. We had fun chatting with some of them. The temperatures were also heading up, so we were glad we were going down. We didn't need to carry as much water due to the cooler temps.

Kayli got in quite a good workout for cross country!

We were surprised how fast it was to descend. I always considered the descent fairly difficult, but maybe all the trail running I've done over the past couple of years has helped me to reframe my thinking. We didn't break any Strava records by any means, but did get back to the vehicle by about 10:20. That meant we still had the rest of the day for more adventures!

Short Jaunt Up Hendry's Creek, White Pine County

A great trail in Snake Valley is the Hendry's Creek trail. You'll need high clearance to get to the trailhead ( 39° 12.615'N, 114° 4.773'W), or just park a little farther down the two-track and walk up. The trail starts through sagebrush steppe and later enters the forest.

The unassuming Hendry's Creek trailhead is pictured above. The trail ultimately leads 11 miles up to the Table, a broad plateau under Mt. Moriah. The upper parts are usually snow covered until early June.

   

After the third stream crossing (there are many on this trail, so watch out during high water!), if you pause you can find four tree species. Do you see them in the photo?     

On the left is ponderosa pine, with its long needles. Behind it and darker green is Utah juniper. In the center back is pinyon pine. And on the right with the bristly branches is the big surprise, a bristlecone pine! Sometimes higher elevation trees will grow at lower elevations near creeks. Most bristlecone pines grow above 9,000 feet, so this one is about 3,000 feet lower than that!

The trail has some magnificent views of the quartzite cliffs that surround it.

  At 1.5 miles from the trailhead, you enter Mt. Moriah Wilderness Area.

Farther up, you see more and more ponderosa pines. I was on a trail run and turned around about 2 miles up. I wanted to keep going, but had people to meet. So I will go back again!

Added bonus, before we even got to the canyon, we saw seven bighorn sheep ewes by the rocky outcropping. I just had my phone camera, so the photo isn't too great. I was so excited to see them! They will head to higher elevations as the snow melts and more food becomes available.