Mount Moriah area hikes

Mt. Moriah

• For MORIAH PEAK el 12050, drive north from 50 on the graded Spring Valley Rd. This road meets 50 at mp 80.8 and runs along the east side of the valley. After 12 miles go right on a bumpy easy 4wd road at a fence at N39 19286, W114 21695. When you top out swing south for 4 and a half miles to a jct at 18087, 13338. Go right for a mile up to the Bear Canyon TH at 18071, 12678 el 9900. The trail drops over 100 ft to the creekbed then climbs to the table at 11000. Walk the table a short distance then angle up to a mine trail at 16790, 11268 that goes along left side of the summit ridge to where you climb up at 16404, 11719 and go left to the peak. The north ridge makes for an easy descent. 5 hrs, 2300 gain. The tables edges have good views if time permits. The mine trail goes on a short way to some diggings. There are 3 more 11000+ peaks on the south rim of Hendrys Creek. They can be done in a long day with preparation. I started from the Bear Canyon TH and took 12 hours to hike over all the peaks and down to the Hendrys TH where I spent the night, then walked the Hendrys trail on the second day back to Bear Canyon TH to retrieve my cycle. But 12 hours is too long, so I think it's better to go up the Bear Canyon trail and camp on the table the first night. On the second day, leave camp in place and go up to Moriah or around the left side on the mine trail. Keep going on the main ridge above timberline. When the ridge rises a couple hundred feet, contour around on the left thru a saddle then go down to the first big saddle at 14907, 12704 el 10800. Now go over Silver Creek Peak el 11490 then down to a flat at 13982, 12412. Go left around a hill to the second big saddle el 10150 then up to Hendrys Peak el 11450. Keep left along the summit ridge until just past the reg then come back to it at 13111, 11687. Now go down to the last big saddle at 12454, 10264 el 9900. Go up to Old Man Mountain el 11060 then come down north to a viewpoint on a bedrock outcrop at 13047, 09314. Here you can see down a steep drainage to Hendrys Creek. Drop off the outcrop to the right to get in the drainage. Some light brush is near the bottom then you hit the trail.This is the only time long pants are needed. Walk the trail down to the TH where you spend the night at a second camp that you set up on the first day. On the third day,hike up the beautiful Hendrys Creek trail over the table and back to the start. I filled my bottle at a spring on the trail at 13939, 09470 and again at the last spring at 15859, 10975 el 9900. It takes 10 hours and 4000+ gain to do the peaks. There is 8000 ft of loss. It takes 7 hours and 5000+ gain to hike the trail back to the Bear Canyon TH. The off trail part of the hike is either above timberline or in a lovely forest that is very easy to walk thru except for a short section right before hitting the creek. Make sure you have a topo map and there is lingering snow so you don't have to carry a ton of water. Coming down the east ridge would save 2 miles if it isn't brushy. The best chunk of real wilderness I've seen in the Great Basin.
• For 11000 ft OLD MAN MTN, take the good road at mp 94.8 on 50. Go north a couple miles to a ranch on silver creek then go another 3 miles to a rd at a tire. Go left on this crude road for 1.8 miles to a pond. Go right for 4+ miles to a mega spring N39 11337, W114 08562 el 7800. Angle up downstream to 11286,0 8414 then go straight up to a break 11404, 08329. Go thru then up to a saddle aiming for a path 11781, 08217 thru the mtn mohogany. Get on the right side of the ridge then go up to 12178, 08515 to get on top of a nice wooded table. Try circling right to get at the peak 12423, 09472 using the north ridge. 5 hrs, 3200 gain. Shorts are iffy but I lucked out. The first 500 ft are very steep.
• For WINDY PEAK, take the graded Osceola Road at mp 87 on 50. Drive several miles to where the road tops out at a cattleguard at N39 06028, W114 22275 el 7600. Go left on 4wd and just keep going up and you'll be on an open slope with switchbacks. Avoid steep shortcuts. At 05312, 21725 el 8700 is a fork. Left goes parabolic and soon fizzles in rocks. Go right to a mine which makes a good camp spot. Hike up the ridge from the mine. At 9100 ft get on game trails on the right side of the ridge. Get on a good one at 04966, 21897 and follow it into a saddle. Then just go up the rocky ridge to the top at 03701, 22108 el 10100. 3 hours, 1300 gain. The SHARKS TOOTH makes a good short hike. Turn off the Osceola Rd at 07046, 21986 onto a 4wd road. Go west and keep left at a fork. Park near the end of the road then contour north to a ridge then go left to the Osceola BM at 08456, 23389 el 8300+. One hour, 500 gain. Good views on the cheap.
• O'NEAL PEAK el 10097 is the northernmost 10,000 footer in the Snake Range. Use the graded Spring Valley Rd. This road meets US 50 at mp 80.8 and runs along the east side of the valley. Go north to the Eightmile road just before a ranch. The reading here is N39 22503, W114 21356. That easy 4wd road goes to the crest and was in good shape, but there was a rocky mile. Follow the first road going north on the crest until it fizzles in about 6 miles at el 9600. A shady camp is about 2 miles along. The peak is a mile away from the end of the road but 2 minor bumps are in the way. Hike to a table at 26225, 17151 el 9800 and walk that level along the right side of bumps to the BM at 26744, 17269. The hike took an hour and a half with 500 gain and was in a nice forest the whole way. A road runs south along the east side of the crest from the Eightmile road to the Fourmile road. It's easy to follow until a tricky fork at 20463, 14505. Both forks go, but since right is shorter I took that one but it turned out to be rocky. So try left and it too will go to the rim at 19304, 16497 el 9000. Now it's a steep descent down Fourmile Canyon to the main graded road. The roads on the crest were mostly packed dirt and frequently rutted, but no problem for 4wds. Posted 2015.
• RYE GRASS PEAK el 9331 is what I call the peak above the north fork of Rye Grass Canyon in the north Mt Moriah Wilderness. It's a long drive in there on decent roads.Go west from Gandy on a graded road to a fork at N39 27296, W114 01137. Go left on easy 4wd to the mouth of Marble Wash. The road forks there. Both go, left is the safer bet. Go up canyon on a smoother road and stay left at main forks until a fork in the Coyote Canyon arm at 25377, 13645 el 7900. Left is a steep shortcut, but you can stay right to the next fork in a mile and go left on an easier road. Keep going to a fork at 23291, 12390 el 8200 and don't get tricked by a fork just before it. Now you're heading straight at the peak. One last fork is near the peak. I went left to get a little higher, but that backfired because I had to cross a brushy gully to get on the south ridge. Go right at that fork and park at a curve in a tenth mile then walk over to the south ridge and up. At el 8600 you can see a wide shelf left of center that makes it easy to pass crags and on to the top at 23195, 09401. No sign of humanity. 2 hours, 1300 gain. The roads here are rarely rough. No horses or cattle. It's not a bad road on up Coyote Canyon to the crest to hike O'neal Peak. Posted 2015.
• SMITH CREEK PEAK el 9372 is what I call the massive peak on the north side of Smith Creek. The north slope has forested routes with hardly any brush. Take the main graded east side road to the turnoff for Smith Creek at N39 18538, W114 00380. Go 2 and a half miles to a main fork. Go right and stay left at main forks to a faint road at 22609, 04091. Turn west to the wilderness boundary el 6400. These roads aren't rocky but have some sharp dips. Hike west on the old road and it soon fizzles but it's easy to walk on top of the low ridge to the right. Stay on that until it turns toward the mountain then cross a dip to get on the easiest ridge at 22669, 06994 el 7200. I made a loop by going up this ridge and over to the saddle west of peak 9049 then came down the canyon east of the ridge, but that involved some contouring into the saddle but it was easy to walk the south side of peak 9049. If you just want to go up the canyon, then only go up the ridge to the 7500 level then contour into the canyon at or above a chokestone reading 22398, 06922 el 7400. Stroll up on smooth gravel to a left fork at 22116, 07108 el 7700 and take that. At el 7900 a minor fall is in the way. I went around the steep east side of it, but I didn't check to see if it was climbable as I was descending. Keep going south in the correct drainage at 21714, 07112 then into the high saddle at 21575, 07197 el 8950. It's a stroll from there to the high point at 21154, 06564. It had nothing on it. The loop took me 6 hours with about 3000 gain. It was easy walking in a thin forest. I could have done this in shorts, but peak 9049 had some light brush that would require a lot of weaving. The ascent ridge had mine claims dated 1986 at the 8000 level. A top notch hike in a real wilderness. If you're looking for a wuss wilderness with well manicured trails and lots of yuppies, then skip this. Posted 2015.
• HORSE CANYON has a road washed out at el 6400. Turn off the main east side graded road at N39 17742, W114 05306. It's a decent road to the mouth then there's a bad section then it gets better to the washout. No creek. Posted 2015.
• HAMPTON CREEK has a road that got washed out big time. Turn off the east side graded road at N39 13606, W114 00096. It's a decent road to the mouth then there is no road at el 6300. There is a creek here. Posted 2015.
• GOVERNMENT PEAK, TIN SPRINGS MOUNTAIN and KERN MOUNTAINS HIGH POINT can all be done in a day. Turn off the main graded road at Gandy onto a good road reading N39 27511, W114 00000 and go NW. For Tin Springs Mtn el 7473, turn off the main road at 32588, 06958 and drive down into a main wash el 6100 and park. Pick a ridge to the top reading 33357, 05128. I used the one as seen left of the summit. 2 hours, 1300 gain. For Govt Peak el 7872, keep going on the main road to a cattleguard reading 33773, 09186. Go south on easy 4wd to a low pass el 6800 which is NW of the peak. Turn toward the peak on a road that soon ends at the Government Peak Wilderness boundary. You could park sooner and walk the north ridge. The summit is at 31352, 09180. No sign of humanity. That's a 2 hour hike with 1000 gain. For Kern Mtns high point el 9600+, return to the cattleguard and  go north on easy 4wd for 2 and a quarter miles to a tricky fork. Both go, I went right and stayed on main roads to a fork at 39046, 09641 el 7600. I went right to a road forking left up a drainage reading 38609, 08027 el 7800. It's hard to say how far a jeep can go up this road. It's not washed out, just narrow. I rode all the way up to the 8800 level then took a left fork that went right to the base of the peak at el 8900. It's a short but steep hike to the reg at 39833, 07567. The roads here are mostly packed sand and dirt until the 8000 level in the Kern Mtns where some rocks occur. Posted 2015.