2008 Field Trips

August 2008:
  • Barker Pass above Homewood (west shore Lake Tahoe, California), August 2. May include search for Tahoe yellowcress. Leaders Gary Monroe 775-359-4863 and Steve Caicco 775-861-6341.

July 2008:

  • Summit Lake north of Donner summit (northern California), July 26. Meet at 8:00 am at the McDonald's at the southwest corner of North McCarran & Mae Anne in NW Reno. Pack a lunch and water. Trip involves a hike of approximately 3 miles. For those who plan to meet at Donner Summit, call leader Paul Mungan for meeting location (747-4567). To extend your weekend at Donner summit join Larry Taylor for Saturday night and Sunday. Bring sleeping bag. Bunk at Sierra Club's Clair Tappaan Lodge at Norden on old US 40. Dinner, breakfast, and U-build-it sack lunch included at $46 for SC members, $51 for non-members. Need more information? Call Larry Taylor at 775-883-6016.
  • Antelope Valley (near Sierra Valley, northern California), July 12. Group 1 will meet at 8:00 am at the McDonald's at the Lemon Valley exit on highway 395 north of Reno. Group 2 will meet at 8:00 am at Country Cooking in Loyalton for coffee and/or breakfast. Country Cooking is on the east side of Highway 49, next to the new Sierra County Sheriffs office. The two groups will converge at Country Cooking at 9:00, and proceed from there. Travel will be on dirt roads, high clearance vehicles suggested, bring lunch and beverages, and sunscreen. Ride sharing will be available. For more info call John Dyer, 775-770-0035 (day) or 775-677-2714 (evenings), or Bill or Nancy Harnach at 916-994-3464.

June 2008:

  • Lower Prey Meadows (Lake Tahoe east shore), June 14. Meet at 8:00 am for breakfast at Denny's in Carson City at the NE corner of Hot Springs Road and N. Carson St. From Reno take exit 43. Depart from Denny's at 9:00 am. Reno carpoolers meet at 7:15 am at the Pink Scolari's at 8165 S. Virginia St. if meeting for breakfast, otherwise meet at 8:15 am. Final rendezvous at 9:45 at gate to Skunk Harbor road on Highway 28, 1 mile N of Carson/Douglas County line. Bring lunch and water. Hike to meadow is approximately 1.5 miles (Julie Carville "Hike" #29). Leader Larry Taylor 775-883-6016.

May 2008:

  •  Lower slopes of Peavine Mountain (Washoe Co.), May 17. Meet at 8:00 am at the McDonald's at the Lemmon Valley exit on highway 395 north of Reno. Leader Paul Mungan 747-4567.
  • Silver Peak area (Esmeralda Co.), May 9-11+. Should be some of the best spring flowers in Nevada this year. Dry camping in the Silver Peak Range. Gas, groceries, RV parks, and motels available in Tonopah and Goldfield. To coordinate carpooling, be at May 1 NNPS meeting in Reno, or call trip leaders. First meeting place Friday May 9th: intersection of Nevada highways 264 and 773, north end of Fishlake Valley, no later than 1:00 pm. Fill gas in Hawthorne if coming from Reno area, Big Pine or Bishop if coming from Owens Valley, or Tonopah if coming from southeast. Camping Friday night Coyote Summit on road between Fishlake Valley and town of Silverpeak. Second meeting place Saturday May 10th: Coyote Summit no later than 10:00 am. Camping Saturday night Railroad Summit between Silverpeak and Lida. Third meeting place Sunday May 11th: Railroad Summit no later than 9:30 am. Stephen Ingram of CNPS will join the group to lead us to some rare species habitat. For those interested in joining later or staying longer, Jim Morefield will meet any malingerers at Railroad Summit Sunday night or Monday late-morning, and stay through the 13th or 14th. Leaders Gary Monroe (359-4863), Larry Taylor (883-6016), and Jim Morefield (782-4360).
  • Pine Nut Range (Douglas Co.), May 3.
  • CANCELED! Gold Butte (Clark Co.), May 2-4 (Friday-Sunday). Join field trip leader Devon Ekenstam (ekenstam [at] mvdsl [dot] com or 702-378-0624) for either day hikes or an overnight stay in the Whitney Pockets area of the Gold Butte area south of the City of Mesquite along the Gold Butte Backcountry Byway. For those who prefer facilities, the amenities of the City of Mesquite are not far away.

April 2008:

  • Petersen Range (Washoe Co.), April 26. Meet at 8:00 am at the cul-de-sac north of highway 395 at the Red Rock exit. This is just south of the Shell Station. Leaders John Dyer 775-677-2714 and Bonnie Larsen 775-972-0583.
  • Mormon Mountains (Clark Co., possibly the Hackberry Springs area), April 19. Meet field trip leader Devon Ekenstam (ekenstam [at] mvdsl [dot] com or 702-378-0624) at the Carp Elgin exit on Interstate 15 North of the Las Vegas Valley at 7:30 AM. Will botanize in sandy lowland areas up to middle elevations of the Mormon Mountains. Expect to see a wide variety of Mojave Desert flora, including Yucca, Agave and our native desert shrubs. We will stop for lunch at the Logandale Park for a picnic after the hike. Upper Las Vegas Wash area of North Las Vegas (Clark Co.), April 5. Another local group, the Protectors of Tule Springs (POTS), will be offering a hike to view Las Vegas Bearpoppy habitat. To join them, meet at 9:45AM at the Sun City Aliante Clubhouse parking lot (NE corner of Aliante Parkway and Elkhorn, north of the 215.) Contact Sue Wainscott (suewainscott [at] mac [dot] com) for more information.

March 2008:

  • North Shore Road and Valley of Fire State Park area (Clark Co.), March 22nd (exact destination to be determined). Meet field trip leader Matt Hamilton (702-468-2251) at the USGS office in Henderson (directions below) at 7:00 AM to begin our excursion. The trip will consist of either several short hikes or an extended hike depending upon participant’s interest and available floral displays.

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