Below Corey Peak

tagged:

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest

Stillwater Field Office BLM


(map link)

I stopped by the Mineral County Library in Hawthorne to do a few things on the web. The stop lasted a bit longer than expected because they have jigsaw puzzles out for working. I managed to head out in good time to find a camp site in the light and getting to the top of the top of Lucky Boy Pass took less time than expected as the road was recently graded. What to do with 40 minutes of light? The world was clearly directing me to go find the "Below Corey" geocache. I decided to let it push me along that way since it would mean I at least stepped foot into the forest. Along this road, it is essentially Bureau of Land Management on the north side of the road and National Forest on the south side. Besides, I do like a lonely cache and this one hadn't been visited in 6 years! This is doubly surprising since nearby ones have had much more recent visits.

43: graded road
Lucky Boy Pass Road so recently polished by a grader that the grader tracks remain.

44: well eroded road
The forest road going near the geocache is a little rougher.

45: cross country
Nice rocks ahead as the travel hits steep but easy cross country.

46: higher peak
A slightly higher peak to the south, but this one gets some views too.

47: much higher peak
Corey Peak (left) to the north, a preview for tomorrow.

48: top of this little bump
Spot elevation 8211, the top of this little peak.

I tagged the peak and had a look around before going to look for the nearby geocache. Priorities. You don't get away from mines just because you're in the USFS instead of BLM lands.

49: hole in the ground visible
That bare spot just over the short hill is the striped earth of the Borealis Mine (active).

50: strip mine
Silicon Group mining to the east, apparently for silica.

51: mountain with many peaks
Shift a little for a look at the unnamed peak short of Buller Mountain instead. (The mountain is out of frame to the right.)

The geocache was in perfect shape right where it said it was, last signed in 2017. You never know why these get missed. Admittedly I missed the others nearby.

52: camping on the pass
The view of Lucky Boy Pass from the geocache site shows a little of the common dispersed camping areas just north of it. Also a car and a grader.

I hadn't actually found a camp yet and the sun was getting low in the sky. I headed back and then up the road a little to find the most used camp quite empty and decorated for the season. Once the sun went down, the lights were even willing to come on for maximum holiday cheer.

54: big flat spot
This is probably intended as a helipad rather than a dispersed site. Be careful of nails near the fire ring.

So that was a nice little look around and camp found for the night. There are smaller sites a little higher up, but the one I would have liked is just past where the little car can reasonably go. I worried about how cold the night would be at over 8000 feet, but it was fine.

56: southwest view
Low sun, but still a few minutes of light.

*photo album*




©2023,2024 Valerie Norton
Written 20 Feb 2024
location: Lucky Boy Pass, Nevada, USA

Liked this? Interesting? Click the three bars at the top left for the menu to read more or subscribe!


Comments

Post a Comment

popular posts:

California Coastal Trail - Arcata to Crescent City - hiking guide

Image
Little River State Beach, Trinidad State Beach, Sue-meg State Park, Humboldt Lagoons State Park Redwood National Park, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park Introduction The California Coastal Trail (CCT) is approximately 1200 miles of interconnected public trail following the coast from Mexico to Oregon. Or at least that's the dream. Currently, the trail is about 60% complete. In more populous areas, it often takes the form of boardwalks and multi-use paths marked by the swirl of blue wave crest. In rural areas, it may be pushed to the beach when that is usable, or to the nearest public route when that is not. The crest for the CCT marks a coastal access trail at the Lost Coast Headlands. There are thoughts of a route beside the ocean, but the primary route is substantially inland along Mattole Road for now. The beach becomes impassible in several places south of here and above the high tide mark is private property. The hiking trail rout
read more »

Bluff Creek Historic Trail

Image
Six Rivers National Forest DAY 1  |  DAY 2 (map link) Bluff Creek Historic Trail gets my attention as I zoom by because it is clearly signed to be visible from the road and the trail is obviously used and in good shape. Also, why is "Historic" stuck in there? (Besides the obvious, the Forest Service simply says, "Gateway to Bigfoot Country" , which doesn't seem particularly unique along the Bigfoot Scenic Byway.) It doesn't get my attention when I'm looking at a map because it just offers about 1.5 miles of connecting the highway to Slate Creek Road, a paved road that leaves the highway a short distance northeast of the trail. However, further along in the same direction and connected by an unimproved road is "Wright Place (site)" which sits next to Bluff Creek. The trail is numbered, the road is not. While it is tempting to think that an old road is bigger and therefore more likely to be passable, it doesn't really work out that wa
read more »

Jennie Lakes: Belle Canyon and Rowell Meadow

Image
Kings Canyon National Park Sequoia National Forest Giant Sequoia National Monument Click for map. DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4 It was another mild night, but the mosquitoes very nearly vanished early on into it. The sun comes quickly here and the morning golden hour is really quite something. I enjoy it with breakfast and happily the mosquitoes seem to be slow to wake up. Our northerly view from near camp: the morning sun as it hits Ball Dome. Morning over Ranger Lake. We head out to the trail again and wander gently downward, still high above the valley bottom. The air seems a lot clearer today and the snow on the far mountains is much more defined. The snowy distances.
read more »

Loleta Tunnel

Image
Loleta Community Park ( map link ) I've seen that this hike is detailed in a couple news articles and blog posts and YouTube videos and Hiking Humboldt volume 2 and that it even has a geocache along it. It was seeing that the last barrier to the Great Redwood Trail has fallen and the right-of-way is now property of the Great Redwood Trail Agency (GRTA) that got me thinking more about it. It was seeing trucks marked "CCC" out on the rails clearing vegetation from the Humboldt Bay Trail , which is part of the Great Redwood Trail, that got me to come out and do it. On the drive here, I even spotted a sign claiming that the Humboldt Bay Trail - South was now under construction just south of the industrial park at Bracut. The north part of the trail currently ends at a missing bridge just north of Bracut. It all served to embolden me about this other little piece of the same right-of-way. The start of the trail in Loleta. In the newspaper articles, which are only a c
read more »