Desert Peak: A Summit Node East of Fernley
Today we planted a node at Desert Peak, a High Sierra Communications site east of Fernley in the Hot Springs Mountains. From the summit you can see for miles in every direction. The Carson Sink and the old lakebed country spread out below in pale, cracked playa that looks like dry salt beds no matter which way you turn. That kind of horizon is exactly why a backbone node here matters. One radio on a peak like this can light up a whole basin that otherwise has almost nothing between it and the sky.
The road in
Getting there is part of the job. The washboard on the access road was some of the most pronounced I have ever felt. It was a long, rattling ride that had every bolt in the truck wondering what it had done to deserve the afternoon. Eventually we hit the base of the mountain, dropped into four-wheel drive, and had a much better climb to the top. Nevada back roads teach patience. The summit view makes the jarring approach worth it.
Walking the compound
At the top I walked the perimeter of Dave's site the same way we do on other High Sierra compounds. I was looking for the best place to hang a radio without waiting for a tower climb. This visit was about going from zero to one: get something on the air, learn what the location can do, and improve from there.
I realized I was not exactly clear on how much of the peak falls under Dave's jurisdiction. The collaboration between the BLM and private tower operators on a summit like this still has me a little confused in places. I picked a spot I thought respected both relationships. After walking the full perimeter, I found a location I like better than the fence mount I used today. If we are not going on the tower immediately, the new spot may be the right call. Someone can always grab the node later and move it up onto the tower when a climber or technician is on site. That is the same fence-today, tower-tomorrow philosophy we use at Patrick Tower, Peavine Peak, and Virginia Peak. I hope I operated within the spirit of the partnerships we are building with each organization. If I need to move the node on a return visit, I will.
The valley lights up
The range check is what makes a hard drive feel like progress. From Desert Peak we can now reach a repeater in Fernley and one in Fallon. The whole Desert Peak valley is on the mesh.
The moment that mattered most to me was standing on that summit and reaching all the way back to Virginia Peak above Reno. I sent a message and watched it echo back from home. That is how you know the mesh is connected. Northern Nevada is a big empty state on a map. Hearing your own packet come back from a peak you can see from the Truckee Meadows turns that abstraction into something real.
Sam's first summit
My twelve-year-old nephew Sam came with me again today. He had never summited a mountain before. Desert Peak is not the highest peak in the state, but it is a real climb with real exposure, and the drive in is not gentle.
I am proud of him. He had to push through some limiting beliefs on the way up and pick up new skills on the side of the mountain. Field work is not just about radios and zip ties. It is also about showing up, staying with a hard thing, and learning that you can do more than you thought on the way to the trailhead. Well done, Sam. Here is to more adventures together.
Sam tagged the summit benchmark while we were up there. Here is that moment on video.
Thanks
We want to thank Dave Metts and High Sierra Communications for their ongoing support and cooperation as we find our footing on Nevada summits. Dave continues to open compound after compound across the northern half of the state, and Desert Peak is another example of what that access makes possible. We are also grateful to the BLM Carson Field Office for their partnership on the public-land sites that sit alongside these private tower facilities. Co-location on a peak like Desert Peak only works when both sides are willing to work with a charity still learning the terrain.
The mesh grows one site at a time. This one ties Fernley and Fallon back to the backbone above Reno. Sam made the summit. That counts for a lot.