Blue Dick Peak, Silver Peak Range

28-Mar-92

By: Andy Zdon

Blue Dick Peak (9,284') is located in the Palmetto Mountains section of the Silver Peak Range in Nevada. The Silver Peak Range has many interesting peaks such as Piper Peak (the highpoint at 9,450 feet and also a nice hike), Red Mountain, Palmetto Mountain and Magruder Mountain (some consider Magruder a separate range!). These summits provide excellent views of the White-Inyo Range, Last Chance Mountain, and many distant Nevada peaks.

On a chilly Saturday morning, my dad (Ed Zdon Sr.) and I left Bishop and headed over Westgard Pass, through Fish Lake Valley, and up highway 266 to a dirt road which heads up a canyon southwest of Blue Dick Peak. We passed a mine which has seen some recent activity and drove on about 1/2 mile (elevation about 7,400') We started hiking cross country over easy pinyon-covered terrain, at times encountering and following mining exploration roads. By the time we were half way up and above the we were in knee-deep snow. We trudged through the snow finally reaching the summit a couple of hours after starting. We dug around in the snow on the summit but could not find a register. All the surrounding ranges were snow covered and the scenery was magnificent. Our hike down went quite nicely, and we reached the car just as a rain/sleet shower started.

This is definitely a nice peak, and a weekend of hiking up the summits of the Silver Peak Range would certainly be a worthwhile trip!