Alone in the White Pines

I spent the summer of 2003 living alone in a tent in foothills of the White Pine Range in east-central Nevada. This was the place I chose for my thesis work in pursuit of a masters degree in Geology and I couldn't have picked a more lonely place. No cell phone service and the closest towns would be Lund or Ely, more than 40 dusty miles away. I agree with many whom have written before: that time alone away from civilization is good for the soul and is something everyone should experience.

The geology in the 11,000' White Pines is as complex and puzzling as anywhere in the West. It was extremely challenging to map and interpret the rocks here, but it is an experience I'll never forget.

Above: a high-angle normal fault (slanting down from right to left down the middle of the photo) offsets two Cambrian-aged limestones in the White Pine Range.

Above: a low-angle normal fault separates horizontal beds of limestone (upper part of photo) from contorted limestone beds (lower part of photo).

Above: round melon-shaped blobs indicate the presence of an ancient algal reef.

In addition to the geology, other curious things I came across include wild horses, reptiles (including several rattle snakes), a bus that served as a miner's cabin, 1000-year-old bristlecone pine trees, and a clever rain collection system on White Pine Peak that, in retrospect, may provide irrigation for a marijuana farm?