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Nevada Wilderness

Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 11:02 pm
by TahoeJeff
Here is a report on a wilderness area that few people visit as compared to the Sierra Nevada and far few people visit to fish. This is the Arc Dome wilderness, in the middle of Nevada, accessed from the Cow Canyon TH.
My truck at the TH:
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And the view as you hike DOWN in to the Reese River drainage, with the namesake of the wilderness at 11,775 in the back ground:
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It only takes about an hour from the TH to reach an excellent camp site on a tributary to the Reese River; Big Sawmill Creek (the chair, logs, plywood and fire pit were already there):
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There are plenty of wildflowers:
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Even cactus:
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And a flower that was not “opened up” during bright sunlight, only evening and early morning:
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The reason I came here was to fish. The so-called river is really only a stream; not very wide or deep:
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But is does have fish! Here are 2 browns I caught and released the first day I was there:
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I knew from previous visits that since there was little or no pressure and the fishing was difficult there would be nice fish. The next day I managed a nice little bow and another brown:
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Even Big Sawmill Cr. being only a foot or two wide held feisty little browns:
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Upstream on the Reese from the confluence of Big Sawmill the beavers had taken over:
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The dams and the wind that had started blowing hard cut my fishing short. I used only one fly the whole time as presentation and stealth were far more important than matching the hatch. Wild rose was everywhere, hampering my mobility and scratching the hell out of my legs. This is a great change of pace that I hit every 5 years or so as a change up from my Sierra treks!

Re: Nevada Wilderness

Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 12:16 pm
by packmule
NIce job Jeff! Looks like a good time. Did the oil can slow you down at all :D Maybe that is the secert to keeping up with you :cool: Did you try any of that catcus fruit? :rock:

Re: Nevada Wilderness

Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 5:21 pm
by maverick
Thanks Jeff for the TR and pictures. Are bear an issue at all? Flower look pretty. Does
this place get really hot during July and August? Mosquitoes as bad as in the Sierra?
Do you have to get a permit or is it a self register area or just camp where you want (BLM)
with the usual rules?

Re: Nevada Wilderness

Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 5:45 pm
by Wandering Daisy
Nice report. I would like to explore Nevada a lot more. Have you fished any of the creeks on the east side of the White Mountains? Are thre fish in Perry Aiken Creek, up higher where the Creek is officially in California? How about ?Canyon Creek? - the creek that comes off Montgomery Pk. I have hiked the east side of the White Mountains a few times and wondered if there were fish in the creeks.

Re: Nevada Wilderness

Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 8:46 pm
by rlown
we should all be so lucky to find that set-up (chair) where we go. Nice fish!

Re: Nevada Wilderness

Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 11:01 pm
by mokelumnekid
Great post. Nevada is simply amazing. I can't get enough of it and miss it terribly. I got to visit some incredible places while working as a geologist and as a student at the School of Mines and I knew I was only touching the tip of it. It is more common to find well developed campsites in remote places as the somewhat sparse availability of good water tends to focus the camping, and the distances tend to favor ORV's and horse travel. But man, there is so much to see and experience on foot in all seasons. And not just the obvious places like the Ruby Mountains or Snake Range. I love it out there and wish I could get back more often than once a decade these days.

Re: Nevada Wilderness

Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 10:09 pm
by TahoeJeff
Yeah man, NV has really great backcountry! I want to hit the lakes in Great Basin NP, the Jarbidge river in it's wilderness, the Ruby Mts, etc. I believe none of the NV wilderness areas require permits, just dispersed camping and whatever the USFS/BLM fire restrictions may be in place. It can get hot. On the way out, just past Fallon on Hwy 50, it hit 103 in the desert, and mid day in Arc Dome was probably in the mid-high 80s. That's June, I've never been any later in the season but I'm sure it's hotter. In the 4 times in the last 10-12 years I've been to Arc Dome I've seen no bear sign; I don't think there is enough for them to eat, and no mosquitoes; too hot and dry. The flys did buzz me in camp mid day but were absent out fishing.
WD, sorry I don't have any specific data on the creeks on the east side of the White Mountains, but one thing this trip reminded me is trout can be found in even the smallest of mountain streams! You just have to scale down accordingly with tackle and get really stealthy...

Re: Nevada Wilderness

Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 10:00 am
by Troutdog 59
Very nice TR TJ. > Thanks. I had never even heard of the Arc Dome wilderness, but have visited the more known areas like the Rubys and the Jarbidge Wilderness. I really liked the rugged remoteness of the Jarbidge area. The thing that stands out about the hikes Ive done in NV, is the lack of people. Yes in the Rubys there are only a few trails that concentrate the hikers, but even in mid August hiking out of Lamoille Cyn (one of the heaviest use TH's in the area) we saw only a handfull of hikers along the trail and had Liberty Lake to ourselve for 2 days. Its been quite some time, but back in the day you self registered for a permit at the trail heads. There was just a trail box with a permit booklet that you filled out and took a copy. I later heard however that permits were no longer required, but I am not really sure of that so one should check ahead before one goes.
Again, thanks for a terrific TR!!!!

Re: Nevada Wilderness

Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 11:50 am
by frediver
Nice pictures, looks like that country would support a good crop of bitten worms too, see any?
Sometimes they make noise if you get to close.

Re: Nevada Wilderness

Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 12:01 pm
by TahoeJeff
TD59, How was the fishing in Jarbidge? I seem to recall there may be Bull trout in that river.
FD, Bitten worms? I'm not familiar.