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Labor Day weekend, 4 LVMC 50 Classics

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Rich H.
Labor Day weekend, 4 LVMC 50 Classics

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This is a four-day trip to climb 4 peaks on the LVMC Classic 50 list: Lincoln, Granite, Pyramid, and Moriah.
The first 3 to sign up will be assured a spot, as that is how many I can take. Others will go on the wait list until other drivers sign up. If anyone is able and willing to drive, please let me know your vehicle. High clearance AND 4WD will be necessary, preferably with lockers. There are several steep and tight hairpins. They have flat extensions with some room for multi-point turnarounds between a rock wall and a drop. Shorter wheel bases are better; I don't think extended cab pickups are a good idea.
The plan is to leave Friday afternoon, and drive up toward Great Basin National Park. The earlier we can leave the better. How far up the road we drive this evening will depend on the comfort level of the other drivers; it will be more intimidating in the dark. We can camp below the "Jeep Slalom" if preferred. But if we can go above that difficulty, there are better places to camp higher up, and we can camp in the same place two nights. Otherwise, we'll have to pack up Saturday morning. I want to drive up as a group, and only once for the two days of hiking.
Saturday: hike to Lincoln and Granite.
Distance: 11.3 miles
Gain: 3700 feet
Terrain: mostly off-trail class 1-2, a little class 3
Elevation: 10,400 - 11,596
Hiking time: 11 hours
Camp near the trailhead.
Sunday, we'll break camp and drive to the Mt. Washington trailhead. From there, we'll hike along the ridge over to the saddle below Pyramid Pk, passing over Mt. Washington, "Quartzite Peak", and "Johnson Peak". This is a colorful and open ridge with great views. Then it's 600 feet up the ridge to the summit. I will continue on the other side to False Pyramid, a ranked 11,000 peak. This adds 1.7 mile and 1300 gain to the total. Those not interested can stop at Pyramid.
Distance: 5.9 miles [7.7 miles with False Pyramid]
Gain: 2800 feet [4100 feet with False Pyramid]
Terrain: most easy off-trail class 2, some talus, some scree, maybe a class 3 move
Elevation: 11000-11920
Hiking Time: 7 hours
We'll drive back down, and then over to the trailhead for Mount Moriah. Depending on how long it takes, we will either camp along the road up, or camp at the trailhead.
Depending on the weather forecasts, I may switch the days for these. If Sunday is forecasting much stronger winds, I may opt to hike that open ridge on Saturday. Also, because of the long exposures on very high ridges, I will cancel this if thunderstorms are forecast.
Labor Day, we will hike up to Mt. Moriah.
Distance: 4.6 miles
Gain: 2400 feet
Terrain: mostly easy off-trail or use trail
Hiking time: 5 hours
Drive home.
In addition to your hiking gear, you'll need to bring your sleeping setup, food for 3 days, and water for at least the first 2 days. I AM NOT EXPECTING ANY WATER SOURCES NEAR OUR CAMP OR TRAILS ONCE WE DRIVE UP THE MOUNTAIN. On the drive over to Moriah on Sunday, we can make a water run over to the Visitor Center in Baker. That will be a 20-minute drive each way.
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To participate in this outing, you must be a current, paid member of LVMC. You can obtain a membership via this link: https://lvmc.org/joinrenew . The fee is $20 per year for a family/roommates or $15 per year for an individual. Please contact your organizer if you have any questions.

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