Nevada and Utah June 19th - July 11th

[Cort]

I will be heading out to Nevada and Utah between June 19th and July 11th. I am planning on spending time in the following areas:

Nevada: Austin Area: Arc Dome Wilderness Area, Alta Toquima, Table Mountain.
Utah: Canyon Lands, Capitol Reef, San Rafael Swell

Goal of the trip. Explore as many dirt roads as possible, spend as little time as possible in improved campgrounds, relax, and provide some information about the areas listed above in Nevada.

I know Utah fairly well from several trips and there is tons of info on WTW so I am pretty set there (suggestions always welcome though).....just need to actually sit down and commit to something....or not and just see what happens. There is not much on WTW about the area in Nevada that I am planning on explore (well at least not that I could find). I have driven through this area of Nevada but never really had time to stop.....I think it is well worth exploring. If anyone has any first hand or second hand knowledge of the area in Nevada that I have mentioned I would love to hear it.

I would also be interested in meeting up with some folks if anyone is out in either Utah or Nevada during the time frame I mentioned. My only commitments at this point in time is that I have to be in Vegas between June 28 and June 30th (Work Conference: Federal Interagency Sediment Conference).

Cort

 

[ski3pin]

Cort, south of Austin is the Big Creek area with a road over the Toiyabes east down to Kingston in the Big Smokey Valley. You get into nice alpine areas, although this is a very late spring. Get an Austin District map of the Toiyabe National Forest. You may want a Tonopah District map also for the southern end of the Toiyabe and Toquima Ranges. We were just north of Arc Dome when we hiked up above Ophir Summit, a summer trailhead for the Toiyabe Crest Trail. Beautiful country. We were looking across the Big Smokey Valley at the Table Mountain and Alta Toquima Wilderness Areas in the Toquima Range. We could spend the rest of our lives poking around out there.

 

[Cort]

My thoughts exactly....thanks for your recent Nevada report, it has given me some ideas. I was already thinking of taking the road from Big Cr over the pass and down into Kingston. Cosidering the precip that we are getting right now is warm I think that I may just be able to do it....we will see. What was the snow level when you were out there?

Cort

 

[ski3pin]

Although it was snowing down to 6000 feet - end of the storm, cold unstable air, lots of graupel - it was sticking only above around 8000. This last storm put a foot of new on the crest. Climbing up, we did not hit patches of old snowpack until around 8000 to 8500. These are the longest days of the year now. Snow can go quick. Have a great time!

 

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

Cort, it will be hot in UT in late June/July so you might plan to head into the higher elevations.

 

[nixfwc]

Spencer hot springs is a great place to take the kinks out of you after a long drive. Sat in the upper pool during a snow flurry a few weeks ago and it was beautiful. Also the pictographs at Toquima cave are interesting and there is a good BLM campsite at the cave. I did not do it as I was on my way to Cathedral Gorge SP but you can continue on from from Toquima cave to Diana's Punch Bowl and some remote country from the cave.

 

[Cort]

Well we just got back. Had a great time.....Lot's of pics to go through. We had great weather the whole time and got to see some places in Nevada I had never been to. Trip report to come.


Cort

 

[ski3pin]

Sounds like you had a great trip and adventure, looking forward to your report and photos!