Continued...
I spent the night camped off Nevada SR160 north of Pahrump, hoping to do some
peakbagging in the area the next day in spite of the expected storm. The rain
started shortly after I laid down to sleep in the back of the van and kept up
a steady patter on the rooftop pretty much all night long. In the morning I
noted that the intensity of the rain in reality didn't match the amplified
sound I'd gotten through the roof and decided to do a few easy peaks from
Courtney's Rambles & Scrambles since the precipitation wasn't that
bad. A rainjacket sufficed for wet weather gear, my pants sometimes getting
wet but the wind drying them almost as quickly. My boots wouldn't dry as
easily but they never soaked through to my socks in the few hours I was out,
so it worked out well with the on and off again drizzle and heavily overcast
skies.
North Chance Peak
This is the northern most summit in the Last Chance Range just north of
Pahrump (not to be confused with the similarly named range in Death Valley).
Courtney describes a good dirt road off the highway north of the summit that
can be used to access the suggested route up the North Ridge. I found the road
driveable by the van and used it to drive in about a quarter mile, but the
summit is only 2mi so there isn't
that much to
be gained. I took about an hour and a quarter to climb the 1,500ft to the summit
along the ridgeline, finding of class 3 with the rest class
2 on
decent, but not great limestone. The nice part is that the limestone maintains
good traction even when wet. From the summit one can survey the surrounding
desert, almost immediately noting the much higher and more impressive range
highpoint .
How is that the this other summit with 1,700ft of
prominence gets no mention in the guidebook? A small mystery. In drier weather
I might have tried traversing the 1.3mi along the crest between the two, but
not today. I decided to descend to the northwest off the summit and into an
interesting-looking drainage on the west side of the ridge. It would prove
longer in both time and distance than the ridgeline, but it made a nice
alternative and gave me a chance to study the many varieties of desert grasses
and shrubs that were beginning to green nicely with the recent rains. It's
really quite amazing how many hundreds of seeds can lay dormant in a square
foot of desert terrain, only to spring to life with a bit of prodding from a
fresh rain shower. There were some small pools in the gully but
no running water, at least yet. If the rains really started to come down I'd
have to scramble to higher ground to avoid a sudden surge down the canyon.
The drainage led to the dirt road I had driven in on, the last 2/3 mile
finishing up .
Skull Peak
I didn't check, but I'm pretty sure the name comes from some animal skull that
Courtney ran across while climbing it. The summit is the highpoint of a two-mile
ridge that stands alone between the main crest of the Last Chance Range and
SR160. The climb from the road up the East Face rises 700ft in 1/3 mile, a
pretty steep limestone slope. Courtney describes it as as "enjoyable scramble"
but I thought it somewhat mundane. Maybe that was because it was still raining
lightly, but it's also because the rock is rather broken without much of what
I would consider good scrambling. Still, it wasn't hard and only took about
15min to make my way to the summit from where I parked on a dirt road
. In better conditions it would have a nice view of
and the Spring Mtns, but all was pretty hazy today through the
drizzle.
Exploration Peak
On my way into Las Vegas to pick up my wife at the airport, I found myself with
a few extra hours to kill before her arrival. I spent about half an hour at
, found just south of Blue Diamond Rd
(also SR160), about 5mi west of Interstate 15. The city park looks relatively
new with ample parking, an elaborate, ,
picnic and grass areas, all found on of the peak. A
fence with openings separates the kid's park from the trails leading to
Exploration Peak's summit. Signs at describe
the trails as "unimproved" but that really only means they're unpaved. They
are quite nice by most any normal standard, providing several means by which
the unassuming summit can be attained. A large, rock-walled
with plaques describing the views is found at the top,
along with a shaded picnic site. Almost spotless now, It'll be interesting to
see what the park looks like in ten years when
the newness has worn off. Though it had stopped raining more than an hour
earlier, the overcast skies and threat of more rain kept the park relatively
empty during my visit around noon. It was time to switch gears, head into the
city and get ready for the another volleyball tournament...
Continued...