Toiyabe Crest Trail, Nevada

Great Basin road trip part one of three: October 16-17, 2015

Ben’s been in my rear-view mirror for the last four hours. I’m sure he needed to stop for gas about an hour ago, but we’re still driving. Ten long years since I’ve been on a real road trip; the sun is setting behind the Santa Rosa range north of Winnemucca, Nevada and the Basin and Range topography is lit up in its continuous namesake pattern. The 850 miles it takes us to travel from Seattle to the Toiyabe Range in west-central Nevada is not a quick trip, but with high, remote mountains surrounding us even the fatigue of straight-line highways hardly dampens spirits.

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The Toiyabe Crest Trail is a National Recreation Trail traversing the range from the South Twin River at its southern extent to Kingston Canyon, about two-thirds of the way up the Toiyabe. Starting on the southern end at 6300’, the trail maintains an average elevation of 9300’ and dips briefly below 8000’ only once. Opting to try and stay on higher terrain and summit the range’s high point (Arc Dome, 11,773’), we took a cross-country shortcut by climbing Arc Dome’s southeast ridge from the 9100’ pass above the South Twin’s headwaters. We also summitted Cirque Peak (11,290') a few miles later. Our two-day route was ~56 miles with 15,200’+ of gain. We only saw one group of two local hunters on horseback.

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Quaking aspens flared from yellow-gold to burnt copper and even red, their colonies populating the moisture-collecting ravines and valleys across the Toiyabe. The dying grass, sage, scrub plants and pines stand by in near grayscale compared to the aspens. Cottonwoods going yellow, though slightly less dramatically, play a supporting role at lower elevations.   

Ben's single file and my files (day 1, day 2)

Surprised to find a privy at the remote trailhead

South Twin River canyon

South Twin River canyon

Mining relics

Upper South Twin River

Ascending Arc Dome from the southeast

Upper southeast ridge of Arc Dome

Ben on Arc Dome's summit ridge

Looking north along the Toiyabe Crest, from the summit of Arc Dome

Descending the trail on Arc Dome's north ridge

Cirque Peak summit register

Unfortunate shoe color coordination

The two local hunters; the only humans we saw

On the TCT; Ben's photo

A basin on the Toiyabe's west side, with the Shoshone Range

Toiyabe Crest at Ophir summit

Ben at the end of day 1, starting to look for a camp with water

Morning of day two; we camped in the Aspen basin at left, the only running water we found in 22 miles

Lower-elevation aspen-filled basins on the northern half of the TCT

Cat print

I didn't even need to ask; Ben dons a cow pelvis at will

A few fancy signs show up on the northern half

Looking south down the Toiyabe, from the final high point

Descending to Kingston Canyon, below Bunker Hill at right

Time to drive to the next destination...