Juniper Peak P2K
Sep 12, 2019
Sep 12, 2019
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Juniper Peak is the highpoint of the Truckee Mountains of Nevada, located SE
of 
Pyramid Lake
and north of Interstate 80. I was on my way home from Colorado
and figured I had one more peak I could manage before I was due back in San
Jose. I got driving directions off PB, using Dean Gaudet's driving track from
the west starting in the Indian town of Nixon. A decent dirt leaves the town
and SR447 to head east into Little Valley, about nine miles of mostly flat
road that you can drive at good speeds. The road exits the reservation property
at an unsigned fence, to the east of which is a patchwork of BLM and private
ranch lands. I saw no cattle and no one else the whole time I was out there.
Once the base of the mountain is reached, the last 2.6mi of road gets rougher
and slower and high-clearance is definitely needed, 4WD helpful. The road goes
over the Truckee Range near a wide, low saddle, paralleling a transmission
line and buried pipeline. The 2.6mi hike from near this saddle follows the
ridgeline to 
the southeast, up and over a couple of
minor points. It would make for a 
pleasant, scenic hike
if there wasn't so many rocks half-buried in
the grass that keep one's eyes glued to the ground for every step. The rocks
aren't loose, but they can be ankle twisters if you aren't careful. It took me
an hour and twenty minutes to cover the distance with somewhere around 2,000ft
of gain. The summit has a very tall cairn (expertly constructed with
near-vertical sides) where MacLeod & Lilley left a register 
in 1999.
Almost all of the 11 pages of entries were from the usual suspects - P2Ks seem
to attract this crowd like flies on .... :-)
The whole hike took 2.5hrs, getting me 
back to the car
not long after 10a and
back to the highway around 11a. I would manage to get home easily before dark,
which made the wife and daughter happy. After almost four weeks on the road,
it kinda made me happy, too. But I suspect it will only be a few days before I
start getting the itch again...
This page last updated: Mon Sep 16 19:22:31 2019
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