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| Diamond Peak - Eureka County HP, NV | |
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| | Diamond Peak - Eureka County HP, NV | | | |
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Diamond Peak - Eureka County HP, NV
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| Hiking | 9.61 Miles |
3,530 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.61 Miles | 6 Hrs 58 Mns | | 1.55 mph |
| 3,530 ft AEG | 46 Mns Break | | | |
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| no linked trail guides |
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| no partners | | This hike was to the summit of Diamond Peak (elevation of 10,614 feet and prominence of 3,623 feet), the highpoint of Eureka County.
Eureka County is Nevada's 2nd least populated county -- it had 1,855 residents in the 2020 census. The Eureka County claim to fame seems to be that US 50, aka the "Loneliest Road in America", is the main road through the county. If you were to sit on the side of this road, I imagine that you'd see a car come by every 45 minutes or so, so its moniker is well deserved.
I drove from the town of Eureka on the Lonely Road, and made my way on a couple of dirt roads and parked near Poison Spring -- I successfully resisted the urge to drink the water from this spring!
From the spring I walked on a road for a ways. By this point the road had deteriorated to basically being an ATV road. Wildflowers were prolific on this stretch, which made the road walk enjoyable. Vegetation is mostly sage brush, so the views of distant mountain ranges were wide open.
I got to a saddle and traversed a hillside to another saddle. Then I followed a ridgeline to a slope below a false summit. I stayed near the ridgeline on the way to the peak, and then stayed below the ridgeline on the way back. It's hard to say which was best.
Once below the false summit, I should have taken a steep slope up to the summit, and then hiked along a ridgeline to the peak. However, I noticed a use trail that seemed to go below the false summit, so I decided to take it. This turned out to be a bad decision -- I traversed on a hillside below the false summit, but then had to make a ridiculously steep climb up to the ridgeline that led to the peak. This was time consuming and energy sapping. I eventually made it to the ridgeline, and from there it was an easy, relatively flat 1/4 mile or so hike to the peak.
There were great views from the summit, but I could see some storm clouds off to the west, so I did not stay up there as long as I otherwise would.
It was a straightforward hike back.
Synopsis
This hike was tougher than I envisioned, but it had great views along the way so it was quite enjoyable. This is a typical Nevada peak hike: scenic views are plentiful and other people are seldom seen. |
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Wildflowers Observation Substantial
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| Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there |
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