Bare
(Butt) Mountain, 6317', near Beatty NV
pics by Harlan W.S.
Mar 29, 2011
I don't know why I found this hike so pleasant; perhaps it was the cool day,
the lack of brush, the views... but in any case, I had a good time. I had no
idea where I was going, as I had originally intended to start in another
canyon, but was turned back by a "No Tresspassing” sign, so
I came back to the road described by Zdon. And it was (in March 2011) a very
good gravel road.
The ridge that I took up is class 3 on very frictional rock. Once up on the
ridge at 5000', you can just walk along, occasionally hugging the wall at L
to find the best footing.
The wash that I took down is mostly class 2, with some dryfalls near the
bottom; most can be passed or downclimbed class 3. The last is about 15', and
is slippery and vertical; best to avoid it (and the shorter dryfall that
precedes it) by cutting W at the top, traversing over light-brown scree and
dirt, into the next gully.
When I got back home, I read Zdon's description of this
route, and was totally mystified; I don't know where the heck he went.
Obviously this is a cool-weather hike. There is no water, and the area has
some nasty poisonous snakes that come out in warmer weather. The RT is ~3.6
miles with 2500' elevaton gain; I took 1.6 hrs for the ascent, and
didn’t feel rushed.
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