Moriah: getting back

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest

(red line, map link)

DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3

Another cold morning for getting up and getting breakfast, but no fight was necessary with my now dry boots just to get them on my feet. I packed up and headed out. Turns out, my little pocket of fairly dry area was something special. The spaces I thought would be dry after a sunny day were still very soggy and no warmer than my sheltered area, especially on an overcast morning. I probably had the best spot.

Water flow just below the dry camp.

The wide open meadow below is still very soggy.

Trail covered in aspen leaves below the nude trees.

My shoes got soggy again, but the water stayed on the outside. I was looking for a couple flowers I'd missed photographing in the rain on the way up. There should be a couple of red and a purple.

Forest succession snapshot.

Hendrys Creek under the cliffs.

The purple flowers are a silvery lupine.

A tree Cliff carved also contains an important note... if bears ever decide to live here.

Woods' roses full of bright, plump hips weren't the red I was looking for. Tasted: blandly bad.

One of the reds is a big clump of Bridges' penstemon.

I didn't catch the scarlet gilia on the way down, so the blurry rose hips will have to do for the other red. No rain on the way down either. Just an ever opening canyon under a partly cloudy sky. It turned into quite a nice day.

Many levels of canyon while it is still narrow.

What can be found up these rugged side canyons?

A patch of different rocks lead to different erosion patterns.

There should be an intersection with a trail from the Black Horse area. I took some time to look for it, but couldn't see any sign. The wilderness map from the Forest Service shows this trail and then states there's no trails from that area. It is just a class 1 (minimally developed) trail. Most trails people hike on are class 3, but Hendrys Creek is technically class 2 even though it is old road and looked to have been cleared in the last couple years.

More space, more sun.

Wandering along.

Townsend's solitaire.

Leaving the Mount Moriah Wilderness.

Still amazed there's actually a wilderness sign here.

The trail beside the much lower creek.

Just a lovely day.

Greasewoods are flowering in pinks and tans.

Interesting corner marker between claim sections.

Arriving back at the car, I even had enough time to get out the solar shower and have a clean up in the afternoon sun. I wouldn't mind further exploring this wilderness.

*the photo album*




©2023 Valerie Norton
Written 27 Dec 2023