Home / Tag Sweetwater Mountains [148]

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After leaving Obsidian Campground, I cross Hwy 395 and start the drive up Bircham Flat Road
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I turn up Lobdell lake Road, and views over to the Sierras improve
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An oncoming car... the only one I'll see on Lobdell Lake Road today
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A group of several dirt bikers drives by after I pull over to check out a seep along the road
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I check out the puddle in the road that I just drove through
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I get back in the FJ and drive through another puddle in the road
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... and then another puddle
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I drive over a couple of mildly rocky stretches and wonder if the road is about to worsen
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The views over to the Sierras from this part of Lobdell Lake Road are pretty nice
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A switchback and then a little uphill to the next plateau
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... and another puddle to drive through
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I park the FJ at Lobdell Lake and begin my hike up to Mount Patterson from here
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I start the hike up to Mount Patterson and notice a few Blue flax flowers along the road
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This would be another puddle to drive through, except that I'm walking now
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The road is a little rockier now, but nothing that the FJ would find too difficult
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Red Indian paintbrush flowers alongside the road
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And some fragrant Coyote mint
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This little gulley across the road would be a bit of a frame-twister if I were driving the FJ right now instead of hiking
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The road to Mount Patterson passes through another patch of forest
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A twisted old pine tree lays on the ground
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I hike past a rock turret and shale pile
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My hiking road drops down steeply into that little canyon in front of me
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After dipping down into that canyon, the road starts to climb back up
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The road gets a bit slippery and off-camber here
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The road rises via a switchback and then passes this off-camber area
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It's fun to take a good look back down at the road I've just hiked up
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I'm up in the heart of the Sweetwater Range now
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I'm feeling the effect of the above-10000-feet elevation up here
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I find myself mesmerized by this environment up here
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That must be Mount Patterson up ahead
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I like the "Mars With Flowers" sign up here, though I missed the flower show
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Just a reminder that I'm on Road 226
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As I climb the final hill, I look back at the plateau where I saw the "Mars With Flowers" sign
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A little closer to the top!
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Those clouds are getting rather dark: rain on the way?
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Almost there!
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Peculiar light up here because I'm in a sunny spot surrounded by dark clouds
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Arrived! On top of Mount Patterson at 11654 feet elevation
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All the views up here are great, but I especially like this one northward toward Nevada
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Hmmm... looks like it might be raining down at Lobdell Lake where the FJ is parked
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Yeah, it's definitely raining down there
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Looking pretty wet down there; I think I'll stay up here a little bit longer
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Or maybe I shouldn't stay up here, maybe the rain clouds are headed this way
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I hear thunder and see occasional lightning down there
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Further north, it doesn't look like there's any rain at all yet
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I'm enjoying walking around the Mount Patterson area while deciding where to go
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This high mountain-top wouldn't be the best place to be if the thunder and lightning comes here
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If the rain moves over here, I'd be better off getting wet down there than up here
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That nearby peak just received some snow from this precipitation system blowing through
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The rain down there seems to be fading, so I decide to start the hike back down to the FJ at Lobdell Lake
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So far, so good; I'm encountering some rain sprinkles, but no heavy rain (at least not yet)
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These lupines along the road surely appreciate this rain
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Here's that slippery off-camber stretch again where I'm glad to be hiking instead of driving
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Back down into the canyon for a bit, while I enjoy the pitter-patter of the rain sprinkles
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It's so lush down here compared to the moonscape up on top of these mountains
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I pass a nice garden of wildflowers on the way back down from Mount Patterson
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I keep wondering what it would be like to be driving this road rather than hiking it
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I took a photo here on the way up a couple of hours ago, but everything looks greener now
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I pass through a bit of forest
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The rain seems to have stopped and I've hardly gotten wet at all: phew!
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It's apparently still raining over in the Sierras, and maybe down at Obsidian Campground too
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These lower peaks also picked up a bit of snow during this afternoon's rainstorm
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My road winds back down toward Lobdell Lake where the FJ is parked
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This stream crossing near Lobdell Lake is a bit wider than it was on my way up to Mount Patterson
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Light rain continues
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The FJ got a good car wash from the rainstorm while I was up on Mount Patterson
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And I think Lobdell Lake has a bit more water than when I started my hike a few hours ago
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It's cold up here at 9233 feet elevation, so I decide to drive back down to Obsidian Campground
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The mud at the bottom of this puddle turns out to be quite slippery as I drive though it
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I stop briefly to look at the history marker at Lobdell Lake
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It's only 48 degrees F, no wonder I feel a bit chilled
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I'm learning to drive more slowly though these big puddles
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It looks like the rain over the Sierras has dissipated
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I'm surprised to see snow along this stretch of Lobdell Lake Road
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Here's a little stream to drive through on Lobdell Lake Road
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This puddle should wash off some of the big chunks of mud my tires are picking up
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I'm surprised to see these folks setting up camp at the junction of Bircham Flat Road and Lobdell Lake Road
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After the nice downhill here on Bircham Flat Road, I'll arrive at Obsidian Campground and settle in for the night
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After many miles on Hwy 395 and little back roads, crossing a few streams, we camp at Desert Creek, Nevada
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Here we are, on the top of Mount Patterson, 11654 feet
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It's a fresh and cool morning here at Desert Creek Campground, Nevada
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There's a fair amount of shade here at Desert Creek Campground
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We make some excellent coffee with our Aeropress coffee maker
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It's that sad time to take down the tent and get on with our day
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We drive through the first of several stream crossings on the way out from Desert Creek Campground
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And here's another stream crossing to drive through on the way out of Desert Creek Campground
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And yet another stream to drive through on the way out of Desert Creek Campground...
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The road out of Desert Creek Campground rises slowly out into sagebrush country
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We drive past a few more rocky hills on our way out of Desert Creek Campground
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We drive out of the Desert Creek Canyon and on toward the paved highway
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After lunch, we drive some 15 miles south on Hwy 395 to Burcham Flat Road
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Great views over to the Sierras as we drive up toward Lobdell Lake on the way to our Mount Patterson hike
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We drive past a herd of sheep on the way up to Lobdell Lake!
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And then we drive past a few patches of yellow rabbitbrush flowers
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Lobdell Lake Road passes through an aspen grove on the way up to Mount Patterson
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More great views over to the Sierras as we rise up Lobdell Lake Road toward Mount Patterson
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We drive through another stretch of alpine forest
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Rising, rising...
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We arrive on the little plateau upon which sits Lobdell Lake
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As we drive around Lobdell Lake, we're heading straight towards the peaks of the Sweetwater Mountains