Continued...
On the third and last day chasing P1Ks in the northeast corner of the state,
I had a selection of mostly drive-ups to do before heading home. Because of the
rough road driving, I might have only gotten to two of these if I was still
driving the van instead of the Jeep. Rather than thinking of it as allowing me
to be lazy, I'd like to believe it just lets me get to more peaks.
Spanish Springs Peak
I'd camped on the dirt road leading to the Ramhorn BLM Campground the
night prior, up early to drive beyond the campground before turning left on
a rough 4WD road. This leads past the Summit Troughs (depicted on the topo map,
there is to open here) to within a quarter mile of the
summit on its south side in an open grazing area. Grassy slopes littered with
rocks rise up to with open views in about ten minutes.
John Vitz had left here two
and a half years earlier without another signature since. It was just before
sunrise with a shady view to the higher Observation Peak to .
Shinn Mountain
After returning to the main road in Rye Patch Canyon, I found another
leading south up towards Shinn Mtn. This road, used to
access grazing sites on the north and south sides of the mountain, goes over
less than half a mile east of Shinn's highpoint. An
goes about 0.4mi to in about 15min. Vitz had left
another here three months later, this time with half a dozen
, though it's not obvious why this one might be more
popular.
Snowstorm Mountain
This was the only real hike of the day and I made it about twice as hard as it
needed to be. The peak is located on the west side of US395, about 10m SW of
Shinn Mtn. Various roads are depicted on the topo map approaching the summit
from the east, north and west, though their utility varies. Most seem to be
overgrown and little-used access points for grazing areas and I found the going
brushy. I stopped on
I checked when I was about 3mi from the
summit and decided to walk from there. Had I pushed just a bit more through
the brush I could have driven half the remaining distance to the top, but I
didn't figure this out until the return. I headed
soon after
starting out (unnecessarily so), thinking a shorter route would be less work.
Though none of the going was difficult, little of it was very easy. There was a
great deal of rock scattered about the tall, dry grasses that kept my eyes
glued to the ground to keep from tripping. The mountains here are really more
like rounded hills, without striking relief, trees and other features to grab
one's attention - a lot like hiking in the Diablo Range, actually. About 2/3 of
the way to the summit I came upon running the
I was
following. It was brushier going here, and I moved from one side of the fence
to the other
looking for cow or horse trails or easier travel of some sort, all to no avail.
It would take me a solid hour and a half to cover the three miles, finally
reaching just before 10a. Vitz had left
, this time
a day before the one he'd left on Shinn. There were three other entries on this
one too, a little surprising given it had only been two years. With a better
understanding of the roads and the lay of the land, I was fifteen minutes faster
on the return and happy to be done with it. Not an enjoyable summit, this one.
Shaffer Mountain
This peak is 13mi due south of Snowstorm, also on the west side of US395. a
goes all the way to the summit in 6-7mi. A quarter
mile below the summit is encountered, at least by the
looks of it. A close
inspection showed one of the locks in the chain to be unlatched so I was able to
drive all the way to the top where an array of is
located including a bevy of - it was the best cell
service I'd had the whole trip. I walked around a bit to take photos in the
, then
headed back down, intending to be done for the day.
Thompson Peak
I had texted home to let the family know when to expect me in the evening, only
to find wife and daughter would both be out until later in the evening. No need
to go home so early, I figured, so I looked around for something else I might
visit. I found it with in the Dixie Mtns, a subrange of
the Sierra overlooking Honey Lake, about 19mi SW of Shaffer. Though it's a
longish drive, much of it is paved, then switching to excellent gravel road.
Only the last are dirt where it gets a bit rough and steep
(high-clearance needed). There is perched atop the
with surprisingly . The caretaker was
an older gentleman who welcomed me up to his cabin. We talked a bit about him
and his duties, discussed the weather and fires and the surrounding terrain,
among other things. Afterwards, I went out to visit found
along the rocky ridge
about 100yds from the tower. It was after 2p before I started back down the
road. Google maps took me back down US395 to Interstate 80 through Reno, about
six hours to San Jose from Honey Lake. It was after sunset before I got home and
parked the Jeep in the garage - it would have to wait for the following day to
get cleaned up and ready for its next adventure...