Graham Peak had been activated twice before, but a report has not been posted. The peak overlooks The City of Rocks National Preserve with stunning views of the incredible rock formations. If you visit the Preserve and don’t summit this peak you’ll really miss out! Though the pictures don't show it, the views were still great even with the wildfire smoke.
This summit is a drive-up, albeit a butt clincher at times. Here is an excerpt from summitpost.org:
“Ellen D has an elevation of 8,633 feet, and with a prominence of 2,053 feet, makes the list of Nevada’s 172 prominent peaks. . . .
“An unimproved maintenance road leads to the top of Ellen D Mountain, where you’ll find an impressive array of radio towers, solar panels and maintenance buildings. . . .
I left, by accident, my phone (camera) and my antenna mast at the Jeep. By the time I realized it I was too far up the mountain to retrieve them. Luckily I was wearing my Garmin watch and was able to record the route and elevation data. Though not too tall, there are some scrub oak at the summit. This most likely compromised my inverted “V” antenna quite a bit since I could only get on a branch about 6 feet off the ground.
There are no established trails to the summit, but you basically head east up the mountain. This is a total bushwhack, steep and lots of scrub oak and sagebrush. The summit is exposed with lots of room to set-up my inverted “V” wire antenna. The ascent is just shy of a half mile and 500 feet of elevation gain. The first 8 miles of the dirt road is Prius friendly but the remaining drive requires high clearance, though not a 4wd.
This was the first activation of Elk Mountain. Apparently, the summit has three names, 1) Elk Mountain, 2) Red Point, and 3) Rogers VABM (Vertical Mountain Benchmark). SOTA designates the summit as Elk Mountain, so we’ll go with that! Activating in Nevada was a new experience. This summit is very remote. The mountainsides and valleys were very green, even in late August. The summit is strewn with loose rock and is extremely exposed.
This was the first activation of the summit. This was a straight-up bushwhack climb of around 500 feet and a ½ mile. Just before the summit there is a 15-foot vertical rock scramble. After searching around I found a route that I felt safe attempting. My fears far outweighed the reality.
This was the first activation of Spring Benchmark. Prior knowledge would have been helpful, but some early google earth research resulted in a successful ascent/activation.
Trout Creek Mountain is an exposed summit amongst many similar looking peaks along a range. The only trees in the activation zone were consumed in a past fire and I would not suggest taking cover or trying to erect an antenna mast in the area. 20m was open and I made five (5) contacts in quick succession. After 20m went quiet I tried 40m with no success.
This was the first activation of Celaya Benchmark. The summit is very non-descript, extremely exposed but close to a drive-up activation. The last 2 miles is a lightly used overgrown road, but certainly comfortable in a small 4-wheel drive (Subaru Outback/Crosstrek). I would NOT recommend a Prius attempt this last section of road.
Monument Peak is an exposed summit. There are some stands of trees well within the activation zone, if needed. I secured my mast to a leg of a small canopy (gotta love those drive-ups). 40m and 20m netted eight contacts in quick succession and then the chasers went quiet. I’ve stopped trying VHF/UHF in this area due to the lack of chasers (sparse population). If you type “Monument Peak” into your driving software, it will direct you to the USGS Monument Peak which is not the SOTA Monument Peak.