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Tag: basin and range

Stories on Stone: Rock Art from the Pahranagat TrailStories on Stone: Rock Art from the Pahranagat Trail

Stories on Stone: Rock Art from the Pahranagat Trail

Presidents Day Weekend | Thursday – Monday, February 15-19, 2024

This year for the Presidents Day holiday weekend I decided to take Friday off from work so I could spend four days exploring and searching for rock art along the Pahranagat Trail, which straddles the Mojave Desert and Great Basin Desert in southern Nevada. Just like last year, I invited my friend Jared along and he was up for joining me again. Unfortunately, he was unable to get Friday off from work so we planned to meet up later that night, which meant that I was on my own for Friday. I left from work on Thursday afternoon, headed to St. George where I grabbed a late dinner and then found a spot to camp just over the state line in Arizona. On Friday morning I was up early and on my way into Nevada.

CONTINUE READINGStories on Stone: Rock Art from the Pahranagat Trail
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The Sky Islands of the Chihuahuan DesertThe Sky Islands of the Chihuahuan Desert

The Sky Islands of the Chihuahuan Desert

Chiricahua National Monument to the Pedregosa Mountains and Dragoon Mountains
Arizona Winter Loop | Monday – Wednesday, January 30 – February 1, 2023

After a brief stopover in Petrified Forest National Park we continued south through Arizona on our way to the Sky Islands of the Chihuahuan Desert in the southeast corner of the state. A Sky Island is a mountain range that is separated from other mountain ranges by distance and by surrounding lowlands of a dramatically different environment. The result is a habitat island- such as a forest surrounded by desert. After leaving Holbrook we would cross the canyon of the Salt River and then follow the Gila Valley until we reached Safford and eventually Willcox later in the evening. Since I knew we would be arriving late I had booked a hotel room in town to stay at before we continued on to Chiricahua National Monument first thing in the morning.

CONTINUE READINGThe Sky Islands of the Chihuahuan Desert
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Valley of Shining Water: Along the Pahranagat TrailValley of Shining Water: Along the Pahranagat Trail

Valley of Shining Water: Along the Pahranagat Trail

Rock Art of the Pahranagat Valley: In Search of the Pahranagat Man
Thursday – Sunday, January 12-15, 2023

This holiday weekend I took an extra day off from work on Friday so I could spend four days hiking, camping and searching for petroglyphs in the warmer temperatures of the Pahranagat Valley in Nevada, which straddles the transition zone between the Mojave and Great Basin Deserts. But just like during my recent New Years weekend, the weather would have other plans for me this weekend. I left from work on Thursday afternoon and made my way down to St. George where I grabbed a late dinner and then found a spot to camp just over the state line in Arizona. Jared also drove down that evening after work and joined up with me at my campsite after I had already fallen asleep. In the morning we both got up just before sunrise and headed further southwest to the Moapa Valley where we followed the Muddy River to the mouth of Pahranagat Wash and went on our first hike into the narrows of Arrow Canyon.

CONTINUE READINGValley of Shining Water: Along the Pahranagat Trail
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A Morning in the Northern Snake RangeA Morning in the Northern Snake Range

A Morning in the Northern Snake Range

Saturday & Sunday, July 16-17, 2022

After hiking Telescope Peak and leaving Death Valley National Park earlier in the day, I stopped for a quick dinner in Tonopah and then continued driving east across the Great Basin of Nevada as I made my way back home. I made another quick stop for fuel and food in Ely and then continued on into the northern portion of Snake Range to find a place to spend the night at a higher elevation where it would be cooler out. After leaving the paved highway and driving across the bottom of Spring Valley, I followed the steep switchbacks of a narrow dirt road into the Humboldt National Forest in the dark and then stopped at the first decent campsite I found along the way. It was about 9:30pm when I finally stopped for the night and I was pretty tired since it had been a long day, so I quickly got into my sleeping bag and went to bed.

CONTINUE READINGA Morning in the Northern Snake Range
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Telescope Peak: Towering Above Death ValleyTelescope Peak: Towering Above Death Valley

Telescope Peak: Towering Above Death Valley

Highpoint of the Panamint Range & Death Valley National Park
Friday & Saturday, July 15-16, 2022

For the past couple of years I have been trying to make plans to hike Telescope Peak, the highest peak in Death Valley National Park, but so far all of those plans had fallen through for one reason or another. However, now that I was in California for the past week, I figured this would be the perfect opportunity for me to finally make it there, although I was a little worried about hiking the peak after spending five days at sea level because it’s been a long time since I’ve been down at this low of an elevation. So, after spending way too much time around way too many people in San Diego this past week, I definitely needed to get back out on a long hike into the wilderness to decompress, so I made sure to take a detour into Death Valley National Park as I started my drive back home to Colorado!

CONTINUE READINGTelescope Peak: Towering Above Death Valley
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