ARC DOME WILDERNESS

It was the Autumn Equinox and the air had a cool bite to it. We slung our backpacks on our shoulders and headed up the trail from Columbine campground in the Toiyabe's to the eventual summit of Arc Dome. On the way to the top, we would hike along the soaring ridges, walk though the golden aspen forests and drink from the cool refreshing springs of the Toiyabe Range. Fall had come to the mountains.

The Arc Dome Wilderness is in the Toiyabe Range located in central Nevada. The Wilderness area totals 115,000 acres and was designated by Congress in 1989. Arc Dome itself is 11,773 ft. and it receives around 50 hikers a year. The 100-mile views are some of the best in the Silverstate. The summit register contains a veritable list of who's who in the local Nevada conservation movement.