As most folks from Salt Lake drive west on I-80 to Wendover, the Bonneville Salt Flats come up on the right side (north) and there's a very dry range that runs SW-to-NE adjacent to the salt flats that most people don't really pay attention to.
With some early April weather lowering the snow level along the Wasatch Front, I decided to take on the Silver Island Mountains on a Saturday.
It was awesome. They're not that high, about 7500 feet, but there was not nearly the same amount of snow. I drove Taco (my trusty Toyota Tacoma) up a short canyon to a good launch point and started up, over a lot of lava rock, and lots of limestone, and once on the main spine, it was nothing but great vistas, in all directions, and they got better the higher I got. The only thing about this range to be wary of is there is no trail, and there's a lot of uneven surfaces and small talus fields, so the wheels get a good workout.
Looking SE with part of the canyon shaded by thunderstorms. The cliff was bigger than I was anticipating, maybe 300 feet.
Now looking north, with the late evening sun and scattered T-Storms providing lots of good lighting.
A clear shot looking north at the rest of the Silver Island range, with GSL playa providing the "ocean" that makes us refer to the Great Basin ranges as "islands in the desert".
Looking north, with the snow-capped Raft River Mountains in the distance
Looking NW at Pilot Peak, with the playa between the Silver Island range and Pilot range very distinct.
Looking NW over the north ridges and into the valley between Silver Island and Pilot ranges
Looking east to the south end of the Newfoundland Mountains, with winter's water in the drainage basin west of the Newfoundlands.
Looking NE at Desert Peak of the Newfoundland Mountains.
With some early April weather lowering the snow level along the Wasatch Front, I decided to take on the Silver Island Mountains on a Saturday.
It was awesome. They're not that high, about 7500 feet, but there was not nearly the same amount of snow. I drove Taco (my trusty Toyota Tacoma) up a short canyon to a good launch point and started up, over a lot of lava rock, and lots of limestone, and once on the main spine, it was nothing but great vistas, in all directions, and they got better the higher I got. The only thing about this range to be wary of is there is no trail, and there's a lot of uneven surfaces and small talus fields, so the wheels get a good workout.
Looking SE with part of the canyon shaded by thunderstorms. The cliff was bigger than I was anticipating, maybe 300 feet.
Now looking north, with the late evening sun and scattered T-Storms providing lots of good lighting.
A clear shot looking north at the rest of the Silver Island range, with GSL playa providing the "ocean" that makes us refer to the Great Basin ranges as "islands in the desert".
Looking north, with the snow-capped Raft River Mountains in the distance
Looking NW at Pilot Peak, with the playa between the Silver Island range and Pilot range very distinct.
Looking NW over the north ridges and into the valley between Silver Island and Pilot ranges
Looking east to the south end of the Newfoundland Mountains, with winter's water in the drainage basin west of the Newfoundlands.
Looking NE at Desert Peak of the Newfoundland Mountains.
