SCHEDULED TRIPS

Cogitations of a Labor Arc Domer      Bob Greenawalt The fall 1971 UPS climbing schedule kicked off Saturday morning, Sept. 4, when 15+ eager contestants met at Carver's Cafe in central Nevada to begin the caravan to the Arc Dome trailhead. The 3 miles of dirt road were tolerable to all modern cars. Within an hour we were seen trudging up the first ridge, one that begins immediately after leaving the cars and whose 400 feet or so of gain is slightly depressing. Arc Dome is one of those intriguing peaks, not to be seen until a couple of hours short of its summit, and one that is well into the Toiyabe Range. Saturday was spent in arriving at base camp, and the most enticing part of the whole weekend was the flowing stream, known as South Twin River. The Twin Rivers lie in two narrow canyons and meet not far below the parked cars. Can you imagine a fine flowing stream in the middle of Nevada in September? THIS IS THE PLACE. The stream is bordered by many trees, species unknown to the writer, but upwards in the canyon we came upon intermittent stands of friendly quaking aspen. The wild roses had bloomed and their brilliant red seed pods added to the area's color. In profusion were ripe elderberries, and we found them to be a good purgative when eaten in excess. A couple of miles up the main canyon is an interesting old mining operation, consisting of a demolished shack or two and a mill structure with a 10 foot diameter wooden waterwheel. A flume had been used to divert stream water to power an ore crusher and ball mill. Naturally some of the youngsters wanted to bring home some of the 4" spheres as souvenirs. Imagine those in a Kelty. We noted the names of Tonopah Belmont Development Co. and Tonopah Extension liming Co. on equipment and judged they were in use in the 20s. About three minutes above this activity the canyon divides, as did our route. The south fork continues over to Jett Canyon (posted with a good sign) and several minutes up that trail one can find remainders of another working, complete with a partial Model T Ford. Apparently this was the mine served by the mill below. Only one of our party went up to see this mine. The Arc Dome trail continues up the west canyon and the signed junction indicates 6 miles to the peak. About two miles up this canyon, and after having crossed the stream numerous times all day, the vista opens up and signs of cattle were noticeable (bones and dung only). Presently a small stream from the north intersects the trail, and a sign "North Twin River, 4Mi." points over the saddle to the adjoining parallel canyon. Perhaps a mile westward of this sign we met a 100 ft square corral, surrounding willows rather than cattle. At its north side was a plastic drum with a food cache, either for cattlemen or Forest Service people. We chose to camp a few hundred feet to the north of this corral. Here a watered canyon from the north joined us and provided a fine place to camp. Former use by careless persons was attested by the old cans and bottles. Call this Canyon #1 for lack of better definition. Since the only known topo sheet of the area is the 1:250,000 Tonopah Quadrangle, its small scale makes for rather useless information in these parts. With pleasant temperatures and an unrelaxed one campfire rule, night sped by rapidly under a full moon. By 7 AM Sunday, all ten dedicated climbers were on their way to Arc Dome via the bull and heifer route. We scouted up about two dozen beeves before the day was through. Also seen were red columbines, a treat

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