A late season storm, not particularly strong, was moving across the Sierra as
I was driving up SR88 on my way to Nevada where I planned to spend a 5-6 days
tagging P1Ks around Yerington. It was 11p when I started to find the highway
wet above 6,000ft and was soon enveloped in a fog. I slowed to about 30mph but
found the driving somewhat straining. I came up upon a car that pulled over to
let me pass, then promptly got on my tail, figuring he had someone to lead him
through the fog. With heavy fog in front and headlights behind me, I got tired
of this after about 15min. The next junction I came to I pulled over, found a
flat spot to park the car and went to sleep in the back. That guy following me
would have to find his own way over Carson Pass. Periodic drizzles would start
up on the roof of the van, soon stopping, then repeating a few times before I
drifted off. In the morning the weather had improved only slightly, the fog as
thick as before but easier to navigate with the filtered daylight. The fog
disappeared before I got to Kirkwood and would stay on the west side of the
crest the rest of the day. I drove through Markleeville and up towards Monitor
Pass where I planned to spend the day. The highest point around here is
Leviathan Peak which I had climbed some years ago. Today I was after half a
dozen other summits in the area. The weather was windy and overcast for
almost the entire day. The ground and flora were wet in the morning which
meant my boots and pants would be wet almost right out of the gate, but they
would dry nicely by the afternoon before I finished.
Peak 7,779ft
This peak has 500ft of prominence, but not much of a summit. The hike to the
summit is only half a mile and I was up and down in
short order. It does have a good view of Leviathan Peak. The view of the Sierra
Crest to would also have been pretty good if it wasn't mostly
buried in cloud layers.
Peak 8,090ft - Silver Hill
Peak 8,090ft is a P900 and the summit I was most interested in. I drove
1/3mi up a dirt road to an for ,
a short hike away. I turned off the road as soon as I went through the gate,
up towards Peak 8,090ft. There were some pretty
wet and sloppy slopes to cross, a little frustrating but compensated by some
of spectacular . Upon reaching the summit,
I was treated to some to where some
light rain was still falling through the morning hours. Silver Hill overlooks
Silver Creek and SR4 (closed for the Winter still) to the southwest. There are
half a dozen other placenames with "Silver" in them around the area, but despite
this, little silver was ever extracted. Silver Hill has little prominence and
seems very unsummit-like from the northeast where I approached it. I imagine it
must look somewhat better from down below at SR4. I followed a series of
for the 1.4mi the two summits. Some of
these might still be in use, but they looked to see little, if any traffic. On
the return it was necessary to go back and almost to the top of Peak 8,090ft
again to get back to where . These summits might just
as easily be reached starting from SR89, saving the dirt road driving.
Peak 8,930ft
This peak has been called "Monitor Pass Peak South" on PB, a rather long name
but at least descriptive. It has 710ft of prominence and forms the highpoint
of the ridge running south from Monitor Pass to Rodriguez Flat, twelve miles
away. A Forest Service heads south from SR89 about half a mile
west of Monitor Pass. There is a whole network of jeep roads back in here (and
in fact, on both sides of the highway around the pass) that can be explored.
High clearance vehicles can drive nearly to the summit when the roads are dry.
Parking at the highway, I hiked the three miles to , making
use of the roads for much of the route, some modest brush to deal with in the
cross-country portions. The hike is pleasant enough through high meadows and
forest, all of it above 8,000ft. There was a large snowbank on the
of the summit, but it was easily bypassed on either side. The
summit has a nice view of Slinkard Valley to and Bagley Valley
to , the snowy crest of the Sierra still partly shrouded in
clouds behind it.
High Peak - Peak 7,990ft
After returning to the van I had a snack before heading north across the
highway, leaving the van where it was. I followed another Forest Service
for two miles, bypassing on its west side
as I made my way to
High Peak, further north. The brush was thick in places for the cross-country
portion leading up to the summit, but my route didn't seem all that optimal.
An old and baling wire can be found among the summit rocks,
perched at of the steep overlooking US395
and the Gardnerville areas. Like all the peaks I visited today, there was no
register here, but seeing as it was one of the more interesting ones, I left a
register of my own. Another mile to the north is , my last
summit of the day. There was more brush to contend with on the traverse (though
on the return I did a much better job of minimizing it) and the last few hundred
feet provided some fun scrambling in both directions. One gets a good view of
the to the southwest from the summit, a sprawling
complex hidden away from view from the highways - I had no idea such a large
enterprise existed up here. It would be nearly 5:30p by the time
to Monitor Pass and my van, giving me just enough time to shower and
drive to Topaz where I was to meet Sean Casserly and Asako for the next two
days of hiking. We ate at the Iggy and Squiggy Bar & Grill (cash only, decent
but not great food) while we watch the Warriors lose game 4 of the NBA Finals.
Afterwards I drove east into Smith Valley where I would spend the night...
Continued...