Why is this guy smiling?

Photo by Wally Wallace

Because it's Public Lands Day!

The Falling Man

Falling Man, free falling all these years in the Nevada Desert. No one knows what happen to you so long ago. We're sorry you fell, but we're so glad that some one thought so highly of you that they left an image that has endure the test of time.

National Public Lands Day

National Public Lands Day has to be one of my favorite events of the year. This year I attended NPLD in Gold Butte ACEC , the event was co-hosted by the Friends of Gold Butte and the BLM. We had diverse group of folks, sportmen , off-roaders, conservationists, hikers, and Wilderness folks all coming together for a common purpose, to protect the Falling Man. We fenced the parking area, restore an old route, and planted 50 native plants. There were lots of great folks who gave up their Saturday to give to their public lands. Manys thanks not onlt to these volunteers, but to all the volunteers everywhere who participated in National Public Lands across the country.

Southern Nevada Rock Art

It was a bit of a drive and rather warm (102) in the backcountry today, and the light was very harsh, but seeing this rock made it all worth while. The southern Nevada backcountry is amazing; I feel so fortunate not only to be able to enjoy it, but to be involved in protecting it.

BTW- To get a better view of the rock art panel click on the picture.

Mummy Mountain

Oh Mummy what can I say, I love the way the light dances on your face and the antics of the clouds as they tickle your toes & pat your tummy...Mummy I love to take your picture.

Cave Springs Project

Workin' for Wilderness

Six volunteers hiked up Trail Canyon armed with shovels, rakes, a pick and of course a couple of cameras to get some stuff done at a beautiful spot named Cave springs. Now you Charleston locals you know that Cave springs is one a few places that you can get water along the trail . A few folks have been camping close to the springs and user created trails are sprouting up everywhere. Someone has hooked the piping back up to one of the springs but some of the old used piping was sticking up and laying exposed. The PVC it was cracked, plugged up, and sticking up out of the ground like giant alien bug antennas from a 1950's horror movie... a real eyesore. So Friends of Nevada Wilderness volunteers hiked in and removed the old pipe (we left the one piping system that still works, so water still flows to the trough). Volunteers also removed the campfire rings and naturalized four of the campsites that were right on top of the springs. Volunteers also concealed some of the other spring piping to keep the area looking natural. I suppose that some backpackers don't realize that we're not the only ones that need water; animals need water too. Camping at a spring not only deprives animals of much needed water , but it also increases the probability of lots of human waste & trash will eventually damage the spring area (yuck!). I know that no one wants to do the wrong thing, we just need to get the word out to folks. So practice a little "Leave No Trace", please carry out your trash, bury your waste properly and camp at least 1/4 mile from any spring. The animals will love you for it.

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Special thanks to John, Bill, Carl, Pat, Mike and John, who made the long hike up the trail and made a huge difference for the wildlife that call the Mt Charleston Wilderness home.

Fall at Mt Charleston

Leaves of Gold are popin' in the Mt Charleston Wilderness. I've been hiking around the Mt Charleston Wilderness the last couple days and I just happened to get some fall color photos. Here a few from Trail Canyon and the North Loop Trail.

Keeping it Wild

Making a difference.

Sometimes we ask ourselves, "what can I do?" Well if you were to ask Bill James, John Hiatt & John Bialecki they would say "a lot." We were all sadden to hear of the graffiti in Fletcher Canyon, one of the prettiest canyons in the Mt Charleston Wilderness. I heard comments from a lot of folks, about the graffiti and how somebody needs do something about it. Well when these three guys heard about it they asked, "when are we going up there to clean it up?" Thanks to the partnership between Friends of Nevada Wilderness and the good folks at the US Forest Service we got our opportunity today. It took about 6 good hours of hard scrubbing but these guys made a real difference...Fletcher is Wild once more. If you want to get involved, if you want to make a difference on your public lands, please join us on a Friends of Nevada Wilderness stewardship project. We would love to team up with you to Keep it Wild.

Desert National Wildlife Refuge

The Desert National Wildlife Range or Desert as it is called by the folks at the Fish and Wildlife Service. The place is getting to be one of my favorite's near Las Vegas. The sheer expanse of Desert is amazing...wide open & Wild. It is the largest wildlife refuge outside of Alaska; I can't wait to get out in the middle of it one of these days.

Anyway, I went there last night to get some photos for an upcoming project. Here are a few of them...enjoy.

Mt Stirling WSA

The Mt. Stirling Wilderness Study Area is the redheaded step child of the Spring Mountains; I don't think a lot of folks even know it is there. If you want a high quality wilderness experience and you don't mind a little bit of bushwhacking then Stirling is the place for you. You won't find a network of trails instead you'll have to rely on your own route finding skills. The canyons are rugged and steep, the PJ forest is thick in places,but the rewards are huge. Mt Stirling is the Wild side of the Springs.

Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge

We were headed west out of Pahrump and we couldn't resist to say hello to the pupfish at Ash Meadows. Fish in the desert?

Bedroll

Yeah, yeah I can still hear my old man...one of these days you will have to get organized. Here's a shot of "my space" at our camp along the Telescope Peak Trail...nothing like breakfast in bed

Telescope Peak 11,043 ft, Panamint Range

One more for the "it ain't Nevada file", my Labor Day weekend adventure to Telescope Peak. It was 112 at Park Headquaters, but 66 when we got out of the truck to start hiking. I love hiking late in the afternoon and hiking until dark . The views from the trail and the top of the peak were amazing, even though they were hampered by smoke from the SoCal fires. I haven't been to Death Valley since the the '70s , but I going to take advantage of being so close. Death Valley is a desert hikers dream...Good Stuff .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telescope_Peak

White Mountain Sunrise

Petroglyph

Somewhere in Southern Nevada

Bristlecones

Sometimes... if you look really quick out of the corner of your eye you might just catch the Bristlecone dancing

Ticking......

The Aspens can sense the approach of autumn. They sit waiting like a time bomb ready to explode into a flash of gold marking the coming of fall ....I can't wait.

Wild Folk

Here is a couple of the great folks I've had the pleasure of hiking with since I've been in LV...Scott & Lori ...big Wilderness fans. Scott is one of our Wilderness monitors in the Mt Charleston Wilderness