I was going to wait on this but needed to get out to the desert today. My dad passed away yesterday and in true dysfunctional family style, my sister is having him buried before I could get back to South Carolina. So... I needed some time away to just think.
I found this trail in one of the trail guides. It starts on a mountain pass out near Sandy Valley, and the trail is only about 3 or so miles total but some parts are very tough. (and a lot of fun) The guide rated the rocky parts as a 5-7. Lots of driving on a shelf road and a couple of very tight turns.
At the end, you can park and hike for miles to explore all of the mines in that area. Altitude was about 6,000ft so it was actually pretty cool when I got up there this morning. From the top you can see the lakebeds at Stateline on one direction and the lakebeds in Jean in the other.
I stayed out about 5 hours today and really had a good time out there. I did shoot some video on the way back out as well:
View from the top:
This was Mountain Top Mine, but it has been sealed shut now:
Ore car tunnel leading to some other mine adits:
Stay out:
Lookout Mine:
(fun and safe to explore)
What would it be with a gratuitous, poser pic at the top of the mountain:
And the video:
http://youtu.be/CfnIf5lEqZY