I'm not sure when I'm going to be heading towards Vegas again - but every time I do i try make a Wheeler Pass run. I was trying to get out of Vegas for a long time so I'm not really in a hurry to get over there again.
My only problem with the place is there is NO WATER! So if you go camping you'll have to bring your own. It was awesome being that the place was so close to Vegas that it was prefect for day runs and there are also a lot of trails up there other than Wheeler pass and some of them can be pretty challenging, for instance there is a 500ft gorge that you have to to descend and ascend on one of the trails, I saw a large lifted suburban stuck in the bottom of it with all 4 wheels off the ground, stuck on the front and rear bumpers, the descent and ascent I would say is a 15% grade, straight up, no switchbacks - The 500 foot proving ground
. There is also some awesome geology up there as well as different habitat types. You start off in the at the bottom of the desert and work your way up into pinions and sagebrush (high desert) and there is some areas that are full-on alpine and it's funny because that mountain range is completely separated from any other alpine range for quite some distance. The alpine areas are not on the main wheeler pass, but once you get over to the west-facing side of the range you can find some trails that lead into some alpine areas.
Here is a video I found on wheeler pass, check it out:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-115675295219226467#From living there for so many years I pretty much know every trail within 150 mile radius of Vegas excluding Death Valley and Dumont area (other than the dunes, been there.)
High Sierra's are my location of choice. I'm def going to plan a 3-4 day trip to take a tour of some of my favorite trails along the 395 between Bishop and Lake Tahoe on the Nevada side of the Sierras some time this year. I know of some pretty epic places that are always close to water. I'm also all about off-trail driving and camping as much as possible when it's legal, some of the best places to camp have no roads and you have to make your own fire ring. There is also lots to discover up there such as arrowheads, old homesteads, precious stones and ancient alien technology. I have some great pics of my last trip up there in my prerunner Tacoma - and there were some places I just couldn't make it to with just a rear locker. If anyone wants to go this year let me know. I'd like to get out and practice the traditional nav methods as well... topo/compass, sextant, stars, pure reckoning
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