Overview

This is a moderately strenuous off-trail hike to the top of a limestone mountain with many little limestone cliffs to climb or otherwise get around. Except for little details, the route is straightforward: from the road, the route runs east across washes to the base of the mountain, the follows the eastern and southern ridges to the summit. The route is fairly short, only about 2 miles, so it makes for a nice desert hike during the short days of winter. Be sure to hike down the way you got up.

Link to a map.

For general information on camping, regulations, other issues, and the natural history of the Wildlife Refuge, see the Desert National Wildlife Range -- Area Overview page.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, ...this route has some steep parts and a lot of loose scree. At the top, there is a marginally 3rd-class traverse from the south summit to the north (true) summit. While this is easy, it is a bit airy. There are many limestone cliffs along the route that are difficult to see from above, so go down the same route you went up to avoid getting rimrocked. I tried other routes on my way down and got rimrocked on 3 of 4 the routes I tried, twice finding myself in rather precarious positions. The safe thing to do is to hike down the way you got up. During warmer months (i.e., reptile season), be careful climbing the limestone cliffs and watch where you put your hands.

While hiking, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Also, even though this hike is fairly short, it is remote, so be sure to bring the 10 Essentials.

This is a wildlife refuge, so pay extra attention to respecting the land. Don't bother the bighorn sheep; they have a hard enough time making a living in these desert lands.

This hike is located on the Desert National Wildlife Range, about 2 hours north of town.

From town, drive out to the Desert National Wildlife Range. From Corn Creek Field Station (Table 1, Site 106), continue east to a T-intersection a few yards beyond the parking area (Site 731). Turn right onto Mormon Well Road (mile 0.0) and drive south. This is a good graded road that can be driven at about 25 mph most of the way to the trailhead. After about 0.3 miles, the road bends to the left and starts heading east and up towards the mountains. Continue on the main road past Gass Peak Road (mile 4.35), through Yucca Gap (mile 5.5) and out into the Yucca Forest (mile 6.5). The road gradually bends to the north and starts running up along the southeastern edge of the Sheep Range. At about mile 9.1, the road cuts right, crosses a large wash, then cuts back left and resumes heading northward. Just past this point (mile 9.3), the road cuts right again and heads off to the east. There is a large parking area on the outside (left side) of this curve (Site 883). Park here; this is the trailhead.

When passing Corn Creek Field Station, be sure to stop and sign the visitor register. Use a false name if you worry about the government tracking your movements, but they need all the visitor-use statistics they can get to argue for more funding.

The Hike

The trailhead is on the top of a dirt cliff overlooking Long Canyon Wash. From the trailhead (Table 2, Waypoint 1), drop into the wash and head west-northwest across the wash towards the toe of a ridge (Wpt. 2). A small cave (Wpt. 3) on the south end of a band of cliffs makes for a good landmark. It doesn't look like it, but there are several little wash-lets to cross before you get to the base of the mountain, the last of which is the deepest.

From the toe of the mountain, hike up the ridgeline and scramble over little limestone ledges, staying to the south of the cliffs and the little cave. The cave is shallower than it looks, so don't bother going over to check it out. This ridge runs west until it crests out and is blocked by a little canyon that you can't see from below.

On that little ridgetop, turn north and walk out and around the head of the little canyon, staying on the top of the ridge. The ridge eventually curves to the west, and then back to the south as you work your way around the canyon. Continue hiking uphill, staying on top of the ridge, until you get to the top of a little high-point on the ridge (Wpt. 4). Continue westward for another 10 minutes to another little high-point (Wpt. 5).

From there, westward progress is blocked by the summit cliffs. Turn more to the south and head up a scree-filled gully that leads to a gap in the cliffs between the main summit cliffs to the northwest and a big, banded buttress on the southeast end of the ridge. Ascend the scree slopes to the base of the buttress (Wpt. 6).

From the base of the buttress, you can go straight up the gully, which is steep, brushy, and has a lot of loose rock, or you can go out around the eastern end of the buttress on a fairly open, but steep scree slope. One way or the other, climb to the saddle between the buttress and the rest of the summit cliffs (Wpt. 7). Going up, it took me 12 minutes to climb the gully. If you climb the gully, be careful not to knock rocks on people below you.

Follow the summit ridge westward to the peak. You will first get to the south summit (Wpt. 9), which has great views (especially towards Las Vegas to the south), and then traverse the short, but airy, 3rd-class ridge to the true summit (Wpt. 10).

Like so many other peaks in this limestone country, the summit is a narrow rocky ridge that provides good views in all directions. To the south are Fossil Ridge, Gass Peak, and the western side of the Las Vegas Valley. To the west are the Spring Mountains. To the north is the spine of the Sheep Range and a great view down into the Long Canyon narrows. To the east are the Yucca Forest and the mountain ranges beyond.

To get back to the trailhead, retrace your steps. Don't try to go down the north ridge unless you have previously found a way up that side. I didn't find a route down that side that I was willing to downclimb sight unseen and alone. Back at the saddle between the summit cliffs and the buttress, you might choose to go down by circling around the outside edge of the buttress to avoid down climbing the gully. It is pretty easy going down the loose scree.