Clearing Storm Shots

Sometimes it just takes a little bit of time, but if you can hang out and wait on a cloudy day when the storm is clearing sometimes the desert rewards you with a light show if only for a minute or two... Here's a few glimplses of the Spring mountains from Sunday from across the valley from the Desert Refuge.

Waiting on the light

Well I was waiting the clouds to clear, hoping to get a shot of Mummy. So while I was waitng...

Snowy ride to Vegas

It was raining when I left Reno, but it turned to snow in Yerington. It was a slippery drive to Hawthorne...By the way don't try this at home.

The Raintree

What old pines seem to like may kill them
Higher temps have mountain trees thriving — for now
By Stephanie Tavares (contact)
Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009 2 a.m.

Associated press / courtesy of Brooklyn Botanic garden
Some bristlecone pines, researchers have found, are growing much faster than usual.

Bristlecone pine facts■Bristlecone pines live only in a few spots in the mountains of the West and Southwest. One species, Pinus longaeva, lives in Nevada, Utah and California.■Bristlecones have an average age of 1,000 years. The oldest trees can be found near the tree line at between 10,000 and 11,000 feet above sea level. A bristlecone named “Methuselah” in the White Mountains of eastern California, just across the state line from Nevada’s Esmeralda County, is believed to be the oldest single living organism in the world. Based on a core sample, scientists have pegged its age at 4,767.■One secret to bristlecones’ longevity is their extremely slow growth rate — historically just tenths of an inch in girth each year. Their needles can live for up to three decades, which allows the trees to conserve energy and continue to photosynthesize through extreme weather and drought.
Beyond the Sun■High Elevation White Pines: Great Basin bristlecone pines
Nevada’s famous Great Basin bristlecone pines are experiencing a growth boom as temperatures have risen in their high-altitude homes. But the cause of the trees’ heyday could also signal that death is finally coming for the bristlecones, the world’s oldest living things.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/nov/25/what-old-pines-seem-may-kill-them/

Goldfield

I'm headed up to Reno for the Thanksgiving Holiday, but I couldn't resist stopping in Goldfield to capture few shots. I'll be posting on Nevada Outside while I'm up north.

Link: http://hikingnevada.blogspot.com/

Friends of Nevada Wilderness - Protecting Nevada's wild lands since 1984

Friends of Nevada Wilderness - Protecting Nevada's wild lands since 1984: "The latest and greatest incarnation of Friends of Nevada Wilderness' Wild Nevada calendar is now available for your enjoyment and easy gift giving.
The price is lowered from last year, and the deals are really great and the prices include shipping:
single calendar for $10
three calendars for $25
a 20-calendar bundle is only $110"

I think this years calendar is the best one yet. We have some great images from southern Nevada like the Mt Charleston Wilderness & the Muddy's. The best thing is when you buy a calendar for a holiday gift you're not only giving the gift of Wilderness, but you are helping support the presevation and protection of Wild Places all over the state, including our great Wilderness areas right here in the south.

Call (775) 745-3119

Thanks Kathy

Muddy Mountains Wilderness

A few more from the Muddy's

Baby Rattler

That's one cold snake in the grass

Crosscut Saw

Few things in life are as much fun to use as a two person crosscut saw...no really. I went up the South Loop Trail with Ranger Suzanne to remove a fallen tree that was blocking the South Loop Trail. It was really chilly up there , but the sharp teeth of the saw made short work of the tree.

Muddy Mountains Wilderness

The Muddy's are awesome as a friend of mine said "you almost expect a dinosaur to come out from around the corner...yar".

Careless Camping

I can't remember the last time I saw such inconsiderate and reckless behavior in the outdoors. We stopped at this campsite near Cold Creek. Someone had built some kind of cheesy structure with small living trees they had cut down and lashed together complete with pine boughs for a roof . There were three campfire rings in one camp and one of them was still very hot and smoldering a very reckless thing to do considering that there are fire restrictions in place due to the close proximity of the homes at Cold Creek. I'm not even going to get into what the latrine looked like. We got to clean up our act this isn't the 1800's or the wild west anymore. We can do better, please don't cut live trees, don't build shelters. Please be careful with fires and as my ol' friend Smoky Bear says "make sure your fires are out, dead out" Please be responsible when disposing of waste, human and otherwise. Practice Leave No Trace ethics afterall your not the lone cowboy/cowgirl on the range anymore there buckroo....

Leave No Trace Train the Trainer Class

Leave No Trace "Train the Trainer" Class

Friends of Nevada Wilderness hosted its first Southern Nevada Train the Trainer Class in the Spring Mountains NRA in early November. The class was well attend by folks for the BLM and volunteers from the Red Rock NCA. Each student gave 15 minute presentation on one of the seven Leave No Trace Principles. What are the seven LNT principles you ask....

Plan Ahead & Prepare

Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces

Dispose of Waste Properly

Leave What you Find

Minimize Campfire Impacts

Respect Wildlife

Be Considerate of Other Visitors

We will be hosting another class in the spring. I hope to see you there.

BTW- I love the virtual campfire.

Happy Halloween

Forest Ranger Suzanne gets in the Halloween mood as she goes off to do some trailwork. After seeing that double sided axe; I hope she's kidding.....Boooo!

The Bonanza Extravaganza

We went out to the Bonanza Trail Head last Saturday with a bunch of fun folks. We had a goodtime , got some work done and had a nice little hike afterwards. It was a great way to celebrate Nevada Day. Thank you REI for suppling the funds for breakfast.

Mt Charleston Loop

Brrrr....

My friend John and I hiked up to the top of Mt Charleston last Thursday which just happened to be the coldest day of the season so far. We left the parking area at the bottom of Trail Canyon at 0700 and it was a brisk 12 degrees at the Trail Canyon/ North Loop Trail Junction. When we reached the top it had warmed up to a balmy 20 degress with a stiff wind blowing from the north...I loved it real high mountain weather. We were feeling good at the top and decided to do the whole loop and headed down the South Loop Trail rather than retrace our steps. Around 17:30 we made it back to the car, burned out, but feeling good about what we had accomplished...Good Stuff

Helicopters in Wilderness

I'm not sure what happened, but this helicopter crashed near the summit of Mt Charleston about a month ago, I hiked the Mt Charleston Loop last week, but it was so cold (12 degree in Trail Canyon at 0730) that we just hike up and over the peak and didn't stop. I'm hoping to get back up there to see them haul it out.

November Sunrise

Good Morning! I took this from the Desert Wildlife Refuge this morning. I got to Desert a bit late for the glow, but the desert was beautiful and worth the early morning drive.