Nevada Adventure

It seems the older we get, the more adventurous & spontaneous we've become; that's not a bad thing, we're just creating memories. Last week we decided to make one last trip to Nevada for the year and hike North Schell Peak. It is the highest point in the Schell Creek Mountains at 11,884 ft. The Schell Creek Range extends 142 miles North to South; while driving along HWY 50 at Connors Pass we traversed the mountains. The hike was difficult, we gained 2,600 ft. mostly without a trail, through talus and tundra. We took several breaks and inched our way to the top. Once we reached the ridge-line we weren't sure if we were looking at North Schell Peak or not....thankfully we were.

We were treated to an amazing sunset on the drive to Ely

I think the West has the best sunsets

The top of North Schell Peak was our intent

Starting out before the sun comes over the mountains

Timber Creek flows along part of the trail

The sun is slowly inching its' way into the valley

We are starting to get warmed up now

The trail was nice while it lasted . . . 
Uinta Peak (11,545) lies directly ahead of the path

Then there was no trail . . . 

It was tough hiking, we took several breaks

We're just about to the ridge-line, it has not been easy

So we think this must be North Schell Peak, we sure hope it is

Kent leads the way

It was unbelievably windy the last mile of the hike

Great views make these hard hikes rewarding

We can almost taste victory

We made it to the top . . . 11,884 ft.  Notice the spelling "Shell," today it is Schell.

Kent checking his GPS, we have hiked 3 miles

It was so windy, but we had to get a picture

Looking towards Mt. Moriah a hike we did in June 2014

Following the ridge-line south you can see Taft Peak & South Schell Peak in the distance

It may not look that far to our car, believe me it is

It's fun to read the names & comments of those who have reached the top

We added our names to the log

North Schell in the background

Heading back down the trail

Fall has already peaked, but we did see some color

Almost back to the car . . .

Aerial view of the route we took

There must be a lot of deer around here, we did see a few on the hike

Sacramento Pass Recreation Area

Jeff Davis Peak & Wheeler Peak, which we hiked in Sept. 2012

Strawberry Creek

We drove to the Blue Canyon trail-head along Strawberry Creek

This tree looks like it's on fire, it's the sun shinning in just the right spot . . . cool

View of Mt. Washington from Hidden Canyon

The car was a bit dusty, Kent decided to wash the tires in Snake Creek

A herd of antelope north of Cedar City on the drive home