Leaving Reno at about noon we drove to Hawthorne and then to the Candelaria District in Mineral County. I wanted to check a locality for nickel minerals where I had visited a mine briefly many years ago and had found small crystals of annabergite on the dumps. We arrived late in the afternoon and found a small open pit where the mine had been. The pit exposed a variety of altered rocks, including lenses of amphibolite which in the records are noted to be associated with the nickel mineralization. We checked the pit walls to find only greenish crusts and small masses along with some massive sulphide pods of pyrite and a few small calcite crystals.

We enjoyed a great Nevada sunset and headed for Montgomery Pass, the nearest place with some firewood, to find a camping spot. We camped in the sage near an abandoned road bed about a half mile from the highway. At an elevation of near 6,000 feet with some snow on the ground it was cold, in the lower ‘teens, but a lively fire and a mug of coffee helped. Sam did say something about waking up feeling like there was a block of ice on his chest but I just figured that he had had too many hot dogs for supper.

In the morning we did some scouting around the area and then headed east and then south through the Fish Lake Valley to Crystal Hill. The route parallels the east flank of the White Mountains and it is a pretty drive. We arrived at Crystal Hill about 12:00 and enjoyed a good afternoon of digging.