Wilderness Catalog: The Jarbidge Wilderness

BY BAILEY BREMNER

We set out early from the Jarbidge River Trail into the 113,000-acre Jarbidge Wilderness, the air still damp from recent rains. Originally, we’d hoped to take the East Fork route, but blowdown and poor trail tread forced a change of plans. In this lesser-traveled corner of northeast Nevada, such flexibility feels like part of the experience. 

The trail begins quietly, winding through pine and aspen groves. Aside from a group of hunters early on, we see little sign of other hikers. The path is subtle, at times lost in open grassy stretches, but passable. Blowdown is few, and the forest feels still.

As we climb towards the pass above Marys River, the ground is dry. But descending into the valley, water begins to emerge—a spring here, another just beyond. They gather and grow, forming a stream, then a river edged with aspen and sage. Mormon crickets scatter ahead of our steps, leaping through the brush.

By afternoon, the skies shift. Thunderheads rise and darken, and soon lightning cracks across a rocky ridge above. The dogs don’t flinch, but I do. We keep walking through the rain, following the canyon downstream as the craggy hillsides soften and stretch towards the Great Basin’s wide-open plains.

In this high, remote landscape, the solitude feels complete—just weather, water, and the wide open sky.