Nevada's Great Basin interior is a wonderfully vast and unpopulated land, with towns spaced about two hours apart and right out of 1930. There seems to be two Nevadas: the modern and glitzy Las Vegas and Reno areas, and the rural, remote rest of the state, where everything seems to be authentic because a lot of everything is still original! The Great Basin Desert itself is unlike the hotter deserts in Arizona and California: it is higher in elevation (the valleys are often 4,000-5,000 feet in elevation, crossed by numerous ranges (Nevada has over 240 distinct ranges, more than any other state), and covered in a low sage and cheatgrass scrub that extends in all directions as far as the eye can see.

My first climb ever in Nevada was up the state highpoint in 1995. After my folks moved to Henderson in 1998, I started to consider more visits to the other peaks. In 1999 I climbed Charleston Peak, and in 2000 I visited four more county highpoints as part of a multi-day hiking trip, the latter half spent with my dad who drove to Tonopah in Nye County to meet me. We did another tour in 2001, where I was able to gain two more peaks. In 2002, over two trips, I nabbed six more county highpoints. My count by summer 2002 was 14 done, 3 to go. It seemed I was a cinch to complete the state within a year.

For some reason, I went on a three-year dry spell. I just never got around to getting back up there to finish the remaining three. The fact they were all spread around didn't help, since I couldn't necessarily combine them into one long weekend, say. In any case, I finally got the ball rolling again with a climb up Grafton Peak to claim Lincoln County. Later that summer I hiked the Lyon County apex, setting the stage for my final highpoint, Ruby Dome in Elko County. I saved this for 2006, and lined up with Ben Knorr of Salt Lake City, we tackled this gigantic peak in August of 2006, summitting and hiking out in one long 13-hour day. And then there was none! It felt great to finish the entire state and hiking a selection of peaks from all throughout Nevada.

This by no means means my Nevada climbing days are over. There are hundreds of other peaks to visit, and I do plan to start tackling the various prominence leaders in the state on a casual basis.