This is another peak on my bucket list. I hiked Wheeler Peak - which is south of Mt Moriah, also in the Snake Range - waaay back before it became part of Great Basin National Park.
Drove out to Ely, NV after work on Friday to get a good night's rest before talking on Mt Moriah, which proved to be a good idea, because this mountain is a real muthuh. I took the "easy" route, driving north through Spring Valley from Highway 50 east of Ely. After about 15 miles on dirt road, you take right and go eastbound on Forest Service road 469, which ascends rapidly on what amounts to foothill's on Mt. Moriah's western edge. Once you get on top of the foothills, the vistas emerge in all directions. Another 7 miles or so of driving on pretty rocky jeep trails gets you to the Big Canyon trailhead, which is a big headstart to the peak, compared to the eastern canyons, Hampton & Hendry.
Looking south along the western edge of the Snake Range, from Spring Valley:
Climbing up the western foothills of Mt. Moriah, looking west across Spring Valley to the Schell Creek Mountains, with Yelland (Dry) Lake in view:
Once on top of the foothills, looking south to Wheeler Peak in Great Basin National Park:
Big Canyon trailhead. (It looks like the sign could use a little touchup work):
Mount Moriah, from the north. Note the late summer / early fall snow around the peak.
Much like Wheeler Peak, Mt. Moriah had significant erosion from glaciers in the last ice age, and Big Canyon is carved out of the north side of the mountain, with a lot of talus in a upper part of the canyon:
North of the Mt Moriah peak is maybe the most distinctive part of this mountain, "The Table", which is a remarkably flat area of maybe 300 or 400 hundred acres. You could easily have a gigantic game of flag football or soccer, or lacrosse up here, except that it's at about 11,000 feet, which means you get out of breath very, very quickly. Looking north over The Table, with the Deep Creek Mountains in Utah in the distance:
On the eastern flank of Mt Moriah, a Bristlecone Pine, which is one of the oldest species of plant life on the planet. A researcher cut down a Bristlecone Pine on Wheeler Peak in the 60s, only to discover it was over 4400 years old.
The view from the top of Mt Moriah was spectacular! I could make out peaks in every direction that were between 80 and 130 miles away (though faint on the longer distances). Peaks visible were Pilot Peak to the north, Deseret Peak to the NE, Mount Nebo to the E/NE, Notch Peak in the House Range to the east, Indian Peak to the SE, Wheeler Peak to the South (of course) the Egan Range and Schell Creek Range to the SW & West, Spruce Mountain to the NW.
Another view of Wheeler Peak to the south:
Drove out to Ely, NV after work on Friday to get a good night's rest before talking on Mt Moriah, which proved to be a good idea, because this mountain is a real muthuh. I took the "easy" route, driving north through Spring Valley from Highway 50 east of Ely. After about 15 miles on dirt road, you take right and go eastbound on Forest Service road 469, which ascends rapidly on what amounts to foothill's on Mt. Moriah's western edge. Once you get on top of the foothills, the vistas emerge in all directions. Another 7 miles or so of driving on pretty rocky jeep trails gets you to the Big Canyon trailhead, which is a big headstart to the peak, compared to the eastern canyons, Hampton & Hendry.
Looking south along the western edge of the Snake Range, from Spring Valley:
Once on top of the foothills, looking south to Wheeler Peak in Great Basin National Park:
Big Canyon trailhead. (It looks like the sign could use a little touchup work):
Mount Moriah, from the north. Note the late summer / early fall snow around the peak.
Much like Wheeler Peak, Mt. Moriah had significant erosion from glaciers in the last ice age, and Big Canyon is carved out of the north side of the mountain, with a lot of talus in a upper part of the canyon:
On the eastern flank of Mt Moriah, a Bristlecone Pine, which is one of the oldest species of plant life on the planet. A researcher cut down a Bristlecone Pine on Wheeler Peak in the 60s, only to discover it was over 4400 years old.
Got the summit!!
The view from the top of Mt Moriah was spectacular! I could make out peaks in every direction that were between 80 and 130 miles away (though faint on the longer distances). Peaks visible were Pilot Peak to the north, Deseret Peak to the NE, Mount Nebo to the E/NE, Notch Peak in the House Range to the east, Indian Peak to the SE, Wheeler Peak to the South (of course) the Egan Range and Schell Creek Range to the SW & West, Spruce Mountain to the NW.
Another view of Wheeler Peak to the south:
On the way back down, looking north. The northern part of the Snake Range is more arid, looking north toward the Deep Creek Mountains:
Heading back down the western slope, looking at Spring Valley to the west. (Spring Valley is one of the valleys the Las Vegas water authorities are trying to acquire for a pipeline to Sin City. Think Spring Valley already looks pretty dry? Me, too.)
Last few moments of daylight:
