Big Horn Mountain (Washoe County, Nevada)

 

I always hate winter because of the limited sunlight after I leave work. Since we are still a week or so away from adjusting our clocks, I decided to head out for a little after-work hike. The nearby Huffaker Hills offers a nearby trail system, which have often used for training purposes in the past. I have hiked this network of trails literally dozens of times. By combining various loops in the park, it's easy to knock anywhere between 2 and 10 miles, with several opportunities for some pretty steep climbs. As I only have a couple of hours of daylight left though, I opt for a specific location within the park, but for which the trails only take me a portion of the way - Big Horn Mountain.

Leaving the trail head, I put on my head phones to catch up on a couple of my favorite podcasts. I wouldn't normally wear headphones while hiking, but as I know these trails like the back of my hand the danger is minimal. The trail heads directly for the southern-most of the Twin Peaks, which taking from another angle offers a really great climb, but this is not my path today. Taking the slightly easier trail to the top, I stop for a moment to admire the rock fort that someone has built many years ago for reasons unknown. If nothing else, it always makes for a good wind break when I'm up here.

In the distance, I can see my destination. From this point, I am forced to leave the trail and scramble down the rocky, golden-grass covered hillside and across the saddle to the northern face of the small Big Horn Mountain. Once I reach the saddle, I have to start the steepest part of today's short trek as I scramble up the worn coyote trails along the steep face. It's not terribly far, but it is extremely steep and when I reach the top, I quickly find what I'm looking for. In years past, someone or a group of someones collected stones from the mountaintop and created a large pile in the shape of a big horn sheep petroglyph. For anyone familiar with the ancient Native America rock art of Nevada, the form is unmistakable. While I have never seen one of the magnificent animals in the northern part of the state, I know they are around and I have seen several in other regions of Nevada. Before the settlers populated the vast high desert of Nevada, these sheep were probably far more populous and the Paiutes, Shoshones, and the tribes that came before them chipped an artistic version of the animal into many of the desert stones all of Nevada. Why this particular pile was created, is anyone's guess, but it is quite a site to see due to it's large size. It's approximately 40' tall by 50' feet long. So large, in fact, that it can clearly be seen on Google Earth.

After piling a few rocks and creating a makeshift platform to get above the creating for a few shots, I carefully make my way back down the hill and head back to the jeep. It was only about 2.2 miles this evening, but with all of the steep uphill rock scrambling, it was still a decent work out. If you are interested in finding the image on Google Earth, search for the coordinates 39°27'26.6"N 119°44'56.2"W. Switch to satellite view and zoom in until you see the unmistakable shape.

39°27'26.6"N 119°44'56.2"W