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whitebark Member
Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Posts: 1864 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle |
After visiting Steens Mountain in Oregon(Hike #3, To Be Published), we drove into the remote terrain of northern Nevada and visted Duffer Peak in the Pine Forest Range. This small but interesting range features meadows and lakes in glacier-carved basins and a "relict" (left over from more climatically favorable times) forest of whitebark pines. I've wanted to summit Duffer Peak for years, and armed with Jim's RAV 4 I got my chance.
Access to the area is hard to figure out. Drive to Denio Junction in Nevada, a miserable small place with a worthless store, then locate either of the east or west roads leading to Onion Valley Reservoir in the Pine Forest Range. The BLM map, if you can find it, will best show the roads leading there. The west approach, from Knott Creek rd, is in slightly better condition, but a high clearance vehicle is recommended (although someone told me that some brave, tough sedans have made it). The information in my guidebook, Hiking Nevada [Falcon Press] was old and misleading, as it turned out. Doesn't show the best road or peak approaches.
We did the west approach to Onion Reservoir. Even in the RAV 4, the steep rutty road was intimidating, and when the reservoir came into view, though partly dried up due to drought conditions, we felt quite relieved. From there, we drove a crummy side road to Little Onion Reservoir and parked at the guidebook's recommended spot by the reservoir. Here there was a tin-sided rancher's shack next to a meadow bordered by aspen, a pleasant spot. Up at 7200', the temp was nice and cool compared to the blistering heat in the desert below.
In fading afternoon light, we donned backpacks and headed up the Alder Creek drainage as recommended by the guidebook. This route was initially nice but turned into a nasty brush bash through aspen and large sagebrush. We were exhausted by the time we reached the first meadow at 8000'. The meadow was pretty but had a distinct odor of cow pasture. "How did those bovine invaders get up here", I wondered. The cow is the curse of the Great Basin hiker. Due to the combined effect of drought and cows, the creek in the meadow was a miserable mucky trickle and we had a nervous moment wondering where to get good water until we found a nice spring at the meadow's east end. The cows had tried, but fortunately failed, to ruin it. We set up a pleasant camp in the soft grass next to the spring. After a few glasses of wine, all pain was forgotten.
The next day we headed for 9400' Duffer Peak. We followed the drainage up, following a cow path, to picturesque Outlaw Meadow, then on to Hidden Meadow, which sported a small lake. This would make a great camp! Veering south we headed up the steep drainage toward Bare Pass in open forest of aspen and whitebark pine. Midway up was another small meadow with a spring. Bare Pass was well-named, a windswept valley bare of trees, but lupine and other flowers added a touch of color.
The final ascent up Duffer Peak was steep but not too difficult, and soon we were on top. We first climbed the north peak, which is labeled as Duffer on the topo map. I noticed that the south peak was actually higher, so we headed over there after lunch. The view from the cliffy south peak was much better and there I found a summit register. The peak is only lightly visited, perhaps once a month, mostly by locals from Winnemucca and such places.
The descent was routine. After breaking camp, we decided to try a different route back to the car and followed a cow trail to the south of Alder Creek. This turned out to be a much simpler route in open country. The 7.5 minute topo, which we didn't have, shows the route clearly.
We drove out of the mountains using the east road. What a spectacular but intimidating drive! About 5 miles of this road resembles Dead Horse Point on Hart Pass. It is best to drive out this way, so that if you meet an oncoming car you get to pass on the slope side of the road. As mentioned before, the road is pretty bad and you need high clearance( but not some super 4x4, a Subi or Rav4 is enough).
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=41.66964&lon=-118.7436&size=l&u=4&datum=nad27&layer=DRG
Meadow Camp Outlaw Meadow Duffer Peak Duffer 2 Duffer 3 Jim on Duffer
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Eric Peak Geek
Joined: 21 Oct 2002 Posts: 2062 | TRs | Pics Location: In Travel Status |
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Eric
Peak Geek
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Mon Jul 16, 2007 7:46 pm
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OK, I realize this is a really weird question but your name or your buddy's name isn't John Stolk is it?
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whitebark Member
Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Posts: 1864 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle |
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Magellan Brutally Handsome
Joined: 26 Jul 2006 Posts: 13116 | TRs | Pics Location: Inexorable descent |
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Magellan
Brutally Handsome
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Mon Jul 16, 2007 9:43 pm
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The pictures look a lot better than the description sounds. Thanks for sharing.
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Eric Peak Geek
Joined: 21 Oct 2002 Posts: 2062 | TRs | Pics Location: In Travel Status |
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Eric
Peak Geek
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Mon Jul 16, 2007 9:52 pm
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OK thanks. The weird thing is that I know of this guy named John Stolk who has been to both Steens Mtn and Duffer recently from what I have read. And I was thinking, what are the odds that more than one party would seek out the same two mtns like that way out in the middle of nowhere in the same time frame? And yet, that seems to be what happened. Odd coincidence.
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whitebark Member
Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Posts: 1864 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle |
Well Steens and Duffer are pretty close together, so it is natural to do both. Yet Duffer peak is not well known at all. John must be quite the desert rat.
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touron Member
Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Posts: 10293 | TRs | Pics Location: Plymouth Rock |
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touron
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Mon Jul 16, 2007 11:37 pm
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I like the dry-lush-dry contrasts in the 5th picture.
Touron is a nougat of Arabic origin made with almonds and honey or sugar, without which it would just not be Christmas in Spain.
Touron is a nougat of Arabic origin made with almonds and honey or sugar, without which it would just not be Christmas in Spain.
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yew non-technical
Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 1173 | TRs | Pics Location: Bellingham |
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yew
non-technical
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Tue Jul 17, 2007 10:51 am
Pine Forest Range, NV
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Whitebark:
You have good taste in hiking destinations It's great down there. The vast openness and desolation is great.
I did a short overnighter with 3 dudes to Blue Lakes in the Pine Forest Range in mid June 1996. We didn't make it to Duffer Peak because one guy was overweight and really out of shape (wheezing a few steps out of the car) and the other guy was a tobacco addict who we called "The Human Smokestack". We were in a Honda and had to walk the road last 2-3 miles, some of which we hitched a ride with some locals in a pickup. We contented ourselves with camping and fishing Blue Lakes.
Here's a pic of Blue Lakes for Internet posterity
Blue Lakes in the Pine Forest Range, Nevada, a BLM Wilderness Study Area
I've always wanted to return. Your TR brings back good memories.
"I aint jokin woman, I got to ramble...We gonna go walkin through the park every day." - Led Zeppelin
"I aint jokin woman, I got to ramble...We gonna go walkin through the park every day." - Led Zeppelin
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mike Member
Joined: 09 Jul 2004 Posts: 6389 | TRs | Pics Location: SJIsl |
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mike
Member
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Wed Jul 18, 2007 10:27 am
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Thanks for the report from an area I'm getting interested in. lots of lonely country around there.
FWIW: Lakeview USFS ranger station (the one S. of town) has a good selection of BLM maps. I like BLM maps, they're cheap!
Also note that the Frenchglen store was closed when we were there at the end of May and the gas station looked iffy. So don't plan on topping off there.
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whitebark Member
Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Posts: 1864 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle |
mike, that area at the south edge of Oregon and northern Nevada is indeed great desert country! Another range worth exploring is the Santa Rosa Mountains (high point Granite Peak 9700) in northern Nevada. There's a real designated wilderness there and a number of trails.
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mike Member
Joined: 09 Jul 2004 Posts: 6389 | TRs | Pics Location: SJIsl |
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mike
Member
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Wed Jul 18, 2007 5:13 pm
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Quote: | Whitebark, check out this summitpost page: |
I note the motels in McDermitt are mentioned as a place to stay in the area.
I highly recommend camping or even sleeping in your car rather than the motels in McDermitt
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Dean (aka CascadeHiker)
Joined: 02 Mar 2002 Posts: 1967 | TRs | Pics Location: ex Kennewick, Wa & Lehi Utah |
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Dean
(aka CascadeHiker)
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Thu Jun 04, 2009 2:18 pm
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Duffer Peak was visited by myself and Dennis from Medford on May 22nd. I have posted a lot of pics at summitpost and if you want more information on this interesting Nevada peak, click here.
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mike Member
Joined: 09 Jul 2004 Posts: 6389 | TRs | Pics Location: SJIsl |
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mike
Member
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Thu Jun 04, 2009 9:07 pm
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Still haven't seen any pictures from Pueblo Mtn. though.
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Dean (aka CascadeHiker)
Joined: 02 Mar 2002 Posts: 1967 | TRs | Pics Location: ex Kennewick, Wa & Lehi Utah |
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Dean
(aka CascadeHiker)
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Mon Jul 13, 2015 6:16 pm
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ree Member
Joined: 29 Jun 2004 Posts: 4399 | TRs | Pics
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ree
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Mon Jul 13, 2015 7:56 pm
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Whitebark, thank you for posting a trip report on this very obscure area! Your topozone link to the map didn't work for me, so I had to google it. It really is in the middle of nowhere. How did you find yourself out there in the first place?? And why did you want to summit it "for years?" Is there a back story?
Anyway, remote. You're not joking. I love Nevada and that one picture of the meadow was divine. I love the expansive desert views you can get out there.
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