Trip Report: 2 times up Damonte Peak

Northern Nevada, Oregon, and California are all on fire and we've had weeks of smoke keeping everyone stuck indoors. We finally had a few days of clear(er) air and I had a few days off so figured I'd check out some close-to-Reno hikes I can do in between dropping off and picking up my wife and kids from work/school. I picked Damonte Canyon (though I didn't know it had a name until today while researching it) and Damonte Peak (which makes up the South wall of the canyon). Below is the trip report of not one, but two different trips and one summit of Damonte Peak.

You can see Damonte Peak and the canyon (which is really just a long, sloping draw between two peaks) from I-80. It has a crag (roughly 80'-100') on the North wall and a sloped steep hillside covered in rocky outcroppings and huge crumbly rock structure maybe 80' high that you can see from the Double R/Damonte Ranch area. between the rocks/cliffs is all scree covered in various desert shrubs (most of them, thorny). There are two ways to get to the opening of the canyon. There's a dirt road that can be accessed approximately 1 mile North that wraps around the neighborhood but stays in BLM land. I took my Sorento but I probably shouldn't have. Higher clearance is suggested. The other way is to park in the neighborhood just above Damonte Ranch High School and walk up (just follow the piles of dog poop that the people who live in the neighborhood couldn't be bothered to pick up). This adds a 5-10 minute walk, but is ultimately faster since the dirt road takes longer to drive down to get there. Both work though.

The first time I went, I took the dirt road. I parked near the mouth of the canyon, where there's a dirt area large enough for maybe five cars to park. From there, I followed the various horse trails into the canyon. The canyon is pretty cool and worth a trip, even if you don't want to try and climb either side. Just inside the Canyon, I saw a line and decided to take it without any thought to scout the area. I had brought a brand new large backpacking pack to test out how it felt, and had filled it with about 20 pounds of stuff (with some pillows to add bulk). The line I took turned out to be all scree (unsteady rocks that slide out from under you with every step). There were some awesome views, a few adrenaline filled "oh sh*t!" moments, and many, many scrapes.

After an hour of frustration, I made it to an area that I thought was near the top. I looked over and saw horse droppings and figured I'd just follow their trail back down (knowing that horses can't very well climb). I made it back to the car after about 2 hours, felling pretty good. I had learned some things, got more comfortable with my ability on scree, loved how my pack felt, and had almost summitted the mountain... and then I looked back and realized that I had only made it about half-way. Since I was only doing this as a workout and to train for more exciting mountaineering, I had felt pretty content with what I had done.

But I couldn't stop thinking that I needed to go back and do it again.

A week later, when the air was clear and I had some more days off, I thought I'd try again. I parked in the neighborhood this time and brought a smaller backpack with a few liters of water and a beer (for the summit, obviously). I thought I'd go all the way into canyon, which was awesome. I'm definitely coming back to do some climbing (with ropes) and maybe an overnighter this fall (if I can get some buddies into the idea). Also, this canyon is going high on my list of mountaineering training grounds once it's covered in snow this winter.

I found a better line that was not full of scree and loved every minute of the scrambling. I climbed up the slope for about 45 minutes, stopping only a couple times to grab a quick drink of water. I found a cool little camp site someone had made about 3/4 of the way up, complete with wind block. I continued up to the top where there is another campsite on the top. I didn't think to look for a register (though I have read since that there is at least one).

I pulled out my summit beer (Sierra Nevada Tropical IPA) and drank that while catching my breath at the top. Coming down was quick. I decided to run/slide down most of it. I bombed the steep side of the mountain and kept my feet moving, digging my heels when I picked up too much speed. I made it all the way down the mountain to the canyon floor in about 20 minutes, and total from the top to the car took about 40 minutes.

Overall, the trip was great! The canyon is beautiful and in the morning most of the south wall of the canyon was in shade. It would be miserable in hot weather, as there is little opportunity for shade anywhere in the area if the sun is not blocked by the peak. The second trip took just less than 3 hours car to car. From car to summit was 1300 feet elevation.

10/10 would recommend.