We were up at 3:00am and on the road to the trailhead by 3:15am. The reason for the early start is that you need to be up at Island Lake by dawn. We got started with the hike by 4:20am and had reached the lake by 5:30 just a bit after sunrise. We staked a claim to a mound with good visibility and started scanning. We had brought a scope which we used when we saw something that seemed like a possible snowcock. John did some sorties around looking for likely feeding areas. We ate the food we had brought. At about 9:00 am we packed it in and headed downhill. After reorganizing our gear, we headed back to Elko where we treated ourselves to a Starbucks and a scone. Then it was the highway west and south toward Tonopah. Unfortunately for us they don't put enough gas stations along Nevada highways and we ran out. But just as fortunately a guy named Bob in a Jeep stopped to help and eventually ran John into Austin NV, got some gas, and returned to get us back on our way. Meanwhile I watched the car and the very few vehicles that passed it. I also watched Sage Sparrows, a Sage Thrasher, a few Western Meadowlarks, and some Horned Larks. In Austin we filled the tank and went on to Tonopah where the recession has hit very hard. Only one casino remains open, and that only on one leg. There is only one open restaurant (in the casino). But there is a McDonald's and some motels. On to California where we made it to Big Pine, got a motel, and went out driving for Poorwill. Alas, Poor Will was not at home. No new birds for the day.
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