Shingle Peak

Caliente Field Office BLM

(map link)

I headed over to one of those maintained roads indicated on the trailhead sign at Sheep Pass Canyon. It is probably called Shingle Pass Road, but there's no sign. Nevada really isn't too worried about signs. You can see there's a two lane gravel road over there as you approach. There aren't any others for miles. You know it's the one you want. Right? I followed it to an old corral, which is generally a good bet for a dispersed campsite, to hike the high point of the Far South Egans Wilderness. I'm afraid I was lacking imagination for a hike in this wilderness and settled for what is rapidly becoming the usual route for bagging its high point.

The good road over Shingle Pass. We do get a sign for the South Egan Range Wilderness (established 2006) on the left, but none for the Far South Egans Wilderness (established 2004) on the right.

I almost flinched. I almost decided against doing this hike. The descriptions, particularly one who had gone up a ridge earlier than the more common route, keep mentioning actual scrambles. In this rugged terrain, scrambles aren't so surprising, but I'd rather not have much of it. I almost decided this bit of unknown was too scary. Perhaps it was that I was embarking on the most difficult hike of this Nevada outing and I still felt likely meaningful pain from smashing a rib onto my camera in a fall three days before, but it felt like something more. It was that something more that made me decide I couldn't give in to it.

A little of the area near the corral with its well used loops.

I shouldered my pack and headed off. The first part is to just cross over to the next wash, then turn up it for about 2 miles. There wouldn't be much views for this part of the hike. There would be a little brush to deal with and people had made suggestions about how to encounter less of it.

What counts as a view from down in the treed wash.

Most of the view is a bit more like this.

Crossing involved just going for it. There were two minor washes to cross, but they were no difficulty. I was surprised at how undefined the main wash seemed to be. It looks like a canyon on the topographic map, but there seemed to be multiple dry flows separated by slightly higher hills in the actual. I went up beside one and it seemed to be the right one although nothing distinguished it.

Rocky slide below a rocky cliff. Stay on the rock slides for the least vegetation.

I began to see the evidence of humans passing before. There are some very old stumps and quite a number of logs cut to 8 foot chunks.

One of many stumps that are generally larger than what is growing now.

A log cut to about 8 feet and left.

A great variety of limestone.

Horses have been here, too.

Passing a spiked ridge.

The smidge of a valley view once high enough in the wash.

It says the sharp eyed will find fossils. All I found was maybe fossil mud.

Definitely not the right ridge for me.

I got to the right ridge and it was time to turn upward. This first climb out of the wash is the steepest part of the hike. It's a lot of work and quickly gains rewards in the form of views!

It is always interesting to find snails in such a dry place, even if they are long gone.

Time to turn.

Now really getting a view of the valley.

Heading up the right ridge. Don't worry, it can be a walk all the way.

This is the ridge just before the saddle at the top.

I worked my way toward the top of the ridge. The map indicates cliffs on the right side, so I yielded to the left whenever there was the suggestion of a need to climb. It worked great.

The merely South Egan Range from the Far South Egans.

You could just scramble up this, I suppose, but it is much easier to walk around.

There's one last steep push to get to the top. I was surprised to find aspens just before getting there. Maybe there is water stored underneath.

Arriving at the top where a little red register can peeps out of the rocks.

I found myself on a fine place to be looking out over the landscape.

The waters southwest are the reservoirs of the Wayne E. Kirch Wildlife Management Area. My expected next stop.

The western panorama. (bigger here)

One can see a lot more to the east over the saddle now. Lots of Cave Valley. (bigger here)

Pondering what is going on in Cave Valley.

There's a bit of a rise to the south. I decided to visit it before I left and am glad I did. All sorts of view that was missing before was revealed to me.

The grand view to the south. (bigger here)

The furthest south of the Egan Range.

A weathering tree overlooks the basin and range.

I stayed perhaps a little too long, then headed down. The ridge up from the saddle is tempting, but I stayed to the one I'd come up. Again, I stayed away from the cliffs to the north. They're real!

Well, I did have a little look at a cliff. It has bristlecones.

Cave Valley vanishing to only being visible through the saddle.

Already deep shadows in the deep canyon.

I got a bit too far left very near the bottom and ended up coming down some rather steep stuff, although not a cliff. It was a little harder to walk than the way I went up. I tended to the right of the canyon on the way down and was more willing to hop along the rocks. It did seem to be less brushy on the way. It could be drier as well as rockier to help with that.

Getting quite late on leaving the wash.

I found a cairn there on the right side of the canyon at the end of what looked like a built trail, or perhaps the remaining edge of a road. I followed it up and it indeed expanded into an old road track. I decided to follow it back.

Generally clear old road bed.

I lost the road in a flatter area where there might have been camping a few times. Besides that, the light was pretty much gone. Everything was against me following it all the way. I ended up cutting across a dry creek to a Jeep trail that is still on the map and following that down to the corral area.

Last of the light is in the sky, not under the trees.

It was a great hike and didn't seem to have aggravated my injury any. In spite of that, I was having thoughts of taking some easier days.

*photo album*




©2023,2024 Valerie Norton
Written 10 Jan 2024