Out on the edge: A View into the Mount Moriah Wilderness

Below is a story written by Chip Carroon, a local contributor to both the Nevada Appeal and NWP.  Chip and his partner Pat recently headed out to Mt. Moriah Wilderness in White Pine County.  The Moriah Wildernes was designated in 1989 and expanded in 2006 through the White Pine County Legislation.  Below is Chip’s story and a few of his photos.  If you have a story you want to share, let us know!

Here we go again. Everyone said that access was really bad, and that it was out there at the edge of the known universe. Yet sure enough, Pat said that’s where we ought to go. Of course, that’s exactly why we were interested and why we ventured forth.

OK, so I’m exaggerating a little, but the bottom line is that, indeed, there are few who visit the Mount Moriah Wilderness. On the eastern border of Nevada, a stone’s throw from Utah, lies a land that’s generally off the radar screen. There are few RVs or rental cars here. You’re usually down to serious outdoors business if you head out in that direction.
The 90,000-acre wilderness was established in 1989. It’s bounded on the east by the Snake Valley and on the west by Spring Valley. Great Basin National Park is to the south. Visitation is light, and most users are seasonal hunters in search of mule deer or grouse.
If you’re interested in a climb of the mountain, hiking guides all suggest an approach from the east via creeks named Hampton, Hendry’s or Smith. The problem with the eastern entry is that the approach hike is quite long, and the elevation gain significant. You may be fine in a passenger vehicle coming from there, but high-clearance 4WD is a must for the west.

I’ll let you in on a little inside information here: yes, the road is a little rough, but go in from the west — though it seems that few others except hunters and local ranchers do so.
The western route entails going north from Highway 50 about 11.5 miles on a dirt road in Spring Valley to Forest Service Road 469 then proceeding about 11 miles steeply uphill east on a 4WD route to a parking area at the wilderness boundary.

The road ends on an open plateau bordered by aspen groves at almost 10,000 feet elevation. The views are stunning. Cattle are grazed in the area now, but long ago, herds of sheep occupied the land in summer.

Hundreds of large aspen bordering the high grasslands are covered with arboglyphs carved by shepherds in the early 1900s, most from 1900 to about 1937. Some demonstrate old-time script, and others are accompanied by images (including pornographic). Taking time for this historical interlude during your drive will prove absolutely fascinating.

From your camp at the edge of the wilderness, autumn views will be of yellow and orange aspen leaves, and sounds will include the eerie “Jurassic Park”-like bugling of elk in Big Canyon, adjacent to the southeast.
The ascent of Mount Moriah from this side is easy with an elevation gain of only 2,250 feet over four miles of good trail.
The route first descends slightly into the forested animal wonderland of Big Canyon with its abundant elk, deer and blue grouse. It then climbs steeply to The Table, a barren, subalpine plateau at 11,000 feet bordered by bristlecone and limber pine. There, you may see bighorn sheep. Finally, you ascend an indistinct trail up the east ridge of the peak across Paleozoic limestone to the 12,067-foot-high summit.
OK, now can you keep a secret? You probably shouldn’t talk about this. We don’t want anyone falling off the edge of the known universe, right?

* Chip Carroon, of Stagecoach, is an avid hiker with a doctorate in geology.