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The Toiyabes run along the spine of Nevada, where the ranges parallel each other like some really big corduroy. Basin and range, basin and range. The basins are dry and desolate, have some of the best sunsets you will see anywhere, and always provide an awesome sense of space. The ranges are partly forested, partly alpine, windswept and desolate. It is beautiful country that sees very little use, and where maps are occasionally wrong.
There is awesome ski touring and descents in these ranges, but that's a different season.
Arc Dome, the highest point on the Toiyabe range at over 11,000 feet, is sheltered by neighboring crests and peaks, though it stands alone. It has been and remains an elusive goal....
These shots show part of the long approach on gravel roads. We passed one car in travelling 50 miles. On the way out, we took the road that you can see crossing the Shoshone Range and then up to Eastgate, judging intersections based on the compass and other indications, and passed no one. You wish you had a second car, travelling in a caravan, cause it is a long, long walk to help. Columbine campground is at the bottom of the valley, nestled in the aspens along as charming a creek as you will find anywhere. Here the streams get bigger as you enter the mountains.
The range is complex geologically, with volcanic, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. As we hike towards the crest and the TCT (not to be confused with the PCT), this sure looks volcanic in origin.
The Toiyabe Crest Trail runs along the spine of Nevada for about 50 miles. In two days of hiking, we saw no one else on the trail. This was a weekend in July. Pines and junipers grow stunted due to the constant winds, like bonsai. Arc Dome finally appears.
Past glaciers created dramatic cirques dropping from the range.
To the south, a large remote Wilderness along the upper Reese River. A place for wandering.
In the aspens, the temperatures are mild, the water is refreshing. But watch out for hordes of moths.
Finally I reached the last saddle before Arc Dome. The route was clear, but the time was late, time to turn around. I guess I'll need to go back.
There is awesome ski touring and descents in these ranges, but that's a different season.
Arc Dome, the highest point on the Toiyabe range at over 11,000 feet, is sheltered by neighboring crests and peaks, though it stands alone. It has been and remains an elusive goal....
These shots show part of the long approach on gravel roads. We passed one car in travelling 50 miles. On the way out, we took the road that you can see crossing the Shoshone Range and then up to Eastgate, judging intersections based on the compass and other indications, and passed no one. You wish you had a second car, travelling in a caravan, cause it is a long, long walk to help. Columbine campground is at the bottom of the valley, nestled in the aspens along as charming a creek as you will find anywhere. Here the streams get bigger as you enter the mountains.
The range is complex geologically, with volcanic, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. As we hike towards the crest and the TCT (not to be confused with the PCT), this sure looks volcanic in origin.
The Toiyabe Crest Trail runs along the spine of Nevada for about 50 miles. In two days of hiking, we saw no one else on the trail. This was a weekend in July. Pines and junipers grow stunted due to the constant winds, like bonsai. Arc Dome finally appears.
Past glaciers created dramatic cirques dropping from the range.
To the south, a large remote Wilderness along the upper Reese River. A place for wandering.
In the aspens, the temperatures are mild, the water is refreshing. But watch out for hordes of moths.
Finally I reached the last saddle before Arc Dome. The route was clear, but the time was late, time to turn around. I guess I'll need to go back.
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