A special centennial
outing by three Sierra Club chapters was organized by Vicky Hoover of the San
Francisco Bay chapter. The purpose was to acquaint peak climbers with
infrequently visited ranges in Eastern Nevada. The peaks we climbed are located
either within the 1990-enacted U.S. Forest Service Nevada wilderness bill
areas, or within areas which should be considered in the future for F.S. or
Bureau of Land Management wilderness designation. I served as Vicky's assistant
leader during this week-long trip. Besides Vicky Hoover and myself, our
Desert Peak Section people included Fred Johnson, Mary Sue Miller, Gall Hanna,
and Pete Yamagata. The S.F. Bay and Toiyabe chapters were represented equally
among our 17 participants. Serving as our "guide and mentor" was Marjorie Sill
of Reno, who worked tirelessly, eventually succeeding, to bring about the 1990
Nevada Wilderness. Our three climbing destinations were Currant Mtn, the
Schell Pks, and Mt Moriah (the Schells, and many other high peaks, are not yet
wilderness-protected). All are located around Ely, Nevada, and our various
drives passed through the town often enough for us to become familiar with its
restaurants and shopping mall, as well as its two museums and the Ranger
district office.
Corduroy Mtn (9600'+), 28 Jun 92 We met in
the morning at the roadside cafe and gas stop of Currant. With Vicky and
Marjorie leading, we then caravaned to the pleasant White River Campground,
where we found the river to be really only a small creek. Some of us decided on
an afternoon warmup hike. We drove up the road to a place marked Saddle Spr on
the 15' Currant Min quadrangle. From here we hiked along a use trail west to a
saddle, and followed a connecting ridge to the north summit of Corduroy Mtn
(from a distance its summit ridge appears convoluted, thus its name.) A strong
headwind was encountered along the 3/4-mile ridge to the slightly higher south
summit. |
Currant Mtn
(11,513'), 29 Jun 92 The highpoint of the White Pine Range is Currant
Mtn. We hiked up one of the canyons leading to the ridge south of the peak.
Although we climbed in a pine forest, loose limestone scree proved difficult
and some people turned back. We gained the summit ridge where we viewed the
impressively barren and steep-appearing summit. The climb was easy, and many in
the group continued the traverse northward below the serrated ridgeline to
climb Duckwater Pk.
Blue Eagle Mtn (9561'), 1 Jul 92 We
drove east of Ely to the Timber Creek forest camp in the Schell Creek Range. A
few inches of snow fell on our our camp during the night and our plan to
traverse from the North to the South Schell peaks gave way to climbing a lower,
less storm-affected peak. After a day of bumming around and waiting for the
rain to let up, we drove back by way of Currant to the BLM administered
northern part of the Grant Range. After hiking up beautiful Box Cyn, which
circles north and east of Blue Eagle Mtn, we passed over a forested plateau,
and later some brush had to be dealt with. We finally reached the open
limestone ridge and were soon on the summit. This day proved to be our longest;
our descent via a "direct" route actually took hours longer, and we didn't make
it to camp until 11 pm.
Mt Moriah (12,067'), 4 Jul 92 The
choice of a backpack to climb this peak, up Hendrys Crk within the northern
unit of the Snake Range, was excellent. We enjoyed a fine 7-mile hike within
aspen to a sheepherder's camp along the creek at about 9200'. Our climb
followed the pack trail marked on the Mt Moriah 7.5' provisional sheet, to a
prominent ridge where we left the trail and hiked upward through a mixture of
pines including bristlecone. The summit, once again. was barren limestone. With
this peak a splendid week ended, and the climbs gave many of us an insight into
the urgency for seeking additional wilderness protection for these Nevada
ranges. |