Just SW of Wendover is a north-south range about 25 miles long, one of many, many such ranges in Nevada.
The Goshute range is probably most famous (recently) for being the location where volunteers from Hawkwatch International assemble in the late summer / early fall to count raptors flying south for the winter. Because of the Great Salt Lake Desert, ranges like the Goshutes provide a great location to spot birds of prey migrating, because the raptors will funnel into routes that provide opportunities to find food, they "surf" from range to range, on their trip south into Mexico and Central America.
During the summer monsoon season in Utah - which really means, just more humid air from the Pacific ocean that results in clouds and some thunderstorms, not the drenching rainstorms like they have in Asia - I took my trusty Toyota out to the Goshutes and then climbed the 1500 vertical feet to the top. As always, a trip very worth the gas money, time, and wear & tear on my hiking boots.
Speaking of raptors, here's a Golden Eagle perched on a rock before I started up into the Goshute range:
Maybe not a full drenching, but plenty of Great Basin monsoon precipitation, which might mean some drizzle, but could also mean "dry lightning", which can start a range fire and move on, not helping to put out the fire with significant amounts of rain. (Looking north in the Goshutes on the way up):
Once up on top, I saw the Hawkwatch camp location and the sun broke out, with some nice vistas as a result. Here's a pine tree near the top that's seen better days, perhaps a victim of lightning:
Looking south from the Goshute Peak summit, some pine forests, a small section of Antelope Valley, and the south end of the Goshutes in the distance:
Looking SE from the summit, with Dutch Mountain at the very north end of the Deepcreek Mountains in the distance:
Looking NE, with a nice little mountain meadow in the foreground, and Pilot Peak, NV on the left, Wendover and the western edge of the GSL desert in the middle, and the Silver Island mountains in the distance in center and toward the right:
Looking north, Pilot Peak looks like a volcano:
"Taco", my trusty Toyota Tacoma, is a little speck, even with 300mm of lens:
Another shot of Pilot Peak on the way out:
The Goshute range is probably most famous (recently) for being the location where volunteers from Hawkwatch International assemble in the late summer / early fall to count raptors flying south for the winter. Because of the Great Salt Lake Desert, ranges like the Goshutes provide a great location to spot birds of prey migrating, because the raptors will funnel into routes that provide opportunities to find food, they "surf" from range to range, on their trip south into Mexico and Central America.
During the summer monsoon season in Utah - which really means, just more humid air from the Pacific ocean that results in clouds and some thunderstorms, not the drenching rainstorms like they have in Asia - I took my trusty Toyota out to the Goshutes and then climbed the 1500 vertical feet to the top. As always, a trip very worth the gas money, time, and wear & tear on my hiking boots.
Speaking of raptors, here's a Golden Eagle perched on a rock before I started up into the Goshute range:
Maybe not a full drenching, but plenty of Great Basin monsoon precipitation, which might mean some drizzle, but could also mean "dry lightning", which can start a range fire and move on, not helping to put out the fire with significant amounts of rain. (Looking north in the Goshutes on the way up):
Once up on top, I saw the Hawkwatch camp location and the sun broke out, with some nice vistas as a result. Here's a pine tree near the top that's seen better days, perhaps a victim of lightning:
Looking south from the Goshute Peak summit, some pine forests, a small section of Antelope Valley, and the south end of the Goshutes in the distance:
Looking SE from the summit, with Dutch Mountain at the very north end of the Deepcreek Mountains in the distance:
Looking NE, with a nice little mountain meadow in the foreground, and Pilot Peak, NV on the left, Wendover and the western edge of the GSL desert in the middle, and the Silver Island mountains in the distance in center and toward the right:
Looking north, Pilot Peak looks like a volcano:
"Taco", my trusty Toyota Tacoma, is a little speck, even with 300mm of lens:
Another shot of Pilot Peak on the way out:
