Saline Valley

Snow Flake Mine Road R.I.P.

                                   Indian trails on the valley floor.                                                                              

As of 2011 only the northern entrance to Saline Valley was maintained.From the paved Death Valley Road out of Big Pine, the Saline Valley Rd goes south for 35 miles to the turnoff for the hot springs. A campsite is about 8 miles in from the Death Valley Rd at an old mining camp. Some more are at 11 nearly 13 miles near the divide at 7200 ft. At 19 miles is a gap with camps on both sides. At mile 25 campsites start to show up on a regular basis.

ANDREWS MOUNTAIN el 9400 and WAUCOBA MOUNTAIN el 11000 are the first things to do on the Death Valley Rd. Drive up to the sign for Papoose Flat about 11 miles up from highway 168. Turn right then go right again at the first fork. Keep going to road #423 at N37 05323, W118 05659 el 7900. Go left on a brushy jeep road to the ridge top at 8900 then it's 5 or 600 gain to the BM on Andrews.For Waucoba,keep right at road 423 and go up to a T on the crest at el 9000. Go left for several miles to road #404 at scenic Papoose Flat.Keep right on 404 to a closed road at N36 59393, W118 04649 el 9100. Hike the road for a couple miles to the crest then go left. The road drops 4 or 500 feet then takes a sharp left to get around a hill of mtn mahogany. Then it goes up on the final ridge and stops at el 10200+. The reg is on up the ridge at N37 01310, W118 00470. 6 hours,3000 gain. It took me an hour to ride a 125 in on the dirt road. The road is 99% easy 4wd with an occasional nasty spot. I came out the same way but the road does go on to 395.Roads are shown in the Delorme atlas. Papoose Flat has a good shady camp at N37 01119, W118 07588 el 8600. A large arch is in the middle of the flat. A short road goes to it off 404. Indians lived here until the 1930s,but it's a long hike to get a drink of water now. A good place to kill a hot weekend.




• MARBLE CANYON is at the bottom of the switchbacks. A short 4wd road goes upstream to a mine. Downstream is a mining town. A 4wd track goes downstream from the town for a mile then goes right up a fork into JACKASS FLAT. Mountain bikes would work here.






• SQUAW PEAK is the northernmost 10000 footer in the Inyos. Turn off the Saline road onto a 4wd road at N37 04346, W117 58713. Go left at the first fork then right at the second. The road tops out at a flat with good campsites. Get on a left fork at N37 04705, W118 00497 el 7600. I couldn't tell if this road was open so I walked it to the end then went up the ridge. The ridge goes parabolic for the first 400 feet then eases up. It's a pleasant hike up the wooded ridge. For the final steep slope before the peak, I angled to the right to get on easier broad slopes. The reg is at N37 03167, W118 01041 el 10350. 3 1/2 hours, 2800 gain. It's 2 hours to Squaw Peak and it would be another 2 hours at most to keep going to Waucoba but you have to cross a 700 foot deep saddle. Then go down to the Saline Rd for 6 hours total. This would be a lot better than going straight up to Waucoba from the base, but a shuttle would be needed.
• A short trail at N37 00172, W117 56572 on the Saline Rd goes to WAUCOBA SPRING. It only had a trickle.
• The 4wd LEAD CANYON ROAD is at mile 23 on the Saline Rd. It goes up to a fork. The right fork goes to a locked gate. The left fork goes south then up a canyon to mines including the Blue Monster Mine. This road ends at a tram cable that spans the canyon at 53832, 59020 el 5600. A very steep spot is right before the end of the road.
• The WEST SALINE RANGE can be reached from the Lead Canyon road jct mentioned above at mile 23.Two long black ridges can be seen to the east. The plan is to go up the second one. Hike down the pavement into Waucoba Wash. Aim for a gully at N36 53023, W117 52262 at the foot of the ridge. It's easier than it looks. Get on top then another short steep slope awaits. Angle up to the right to get on top then walk along the easy right side of the ridge as far as practical. There's only one saddle at 55017, 50510 to deal with. About a half mile before the saddle, get on a broad flat on the right side of the ridge then go to the wash that drains the saddle then up. I went about 5 miles up the ridge to Red Peak at 56714, 49778 el 5100. Then I went down to a flat on the left and on across to 56947, 50475. From here you can see a saddle at 56594, 51108 on the shorter western ridge. Go to the saddle then down the other side into the main wash. Hike down that till you're about a mile and a third from the start then cut across the grain. It's best to get past a mega wash coming in on the right before cutting across. 7 hours, nearly 3000 gain but rarely steep. A walk on the wild side with a lot of good pavement that only a desert rat could love. A shorter hike would be to go up the first ridge.
• The SPAGHETTI BOWL is right next to the Saline road at N36 54313, W117 54381. Several Indian trails converge here. One goes over the hill and another goes right of the hill.
• PAIUTE CANYON is next to the Saline road at N36 50927, W117 54521. For a loop, go up the canyon. A narrows is reached in an hour. Shortly after that you come to a small stream and thicket. It took me half an hour to weave thru the thicket then it got easy again with intermittent stream. The stream vanishes then you come to a main fork. Go up the right fork a short way to a draw on the right. The draw has a trail on the left side at 52462, 58559 but it's easier to walk the bed. The draw soon fizzles then the trail goes up to the right and climbs up to a broad bench. If you lose it just aim for another well marked trail at 52825, 58336. Go up to the rim on this trail and down to a flat. Go north across the flat and down a canyon with a road in it. The road goes past the Blue Monster Mine and other mines then the canyon opens up. The road goes left but go right following the wash downstream to a bottleneck then you hit the Saline road at 52145, 54255. If you don't have another car here it's a mile and a half walk back to the start. 5 hours, 2300 gain, not steep. Long pants are needed for the thicket. The Inyos are so vertical that it's hard to find a good hike that doesn't go parabolic. But this is one.
• The MYSTERY MINE road meets the Saline road at N36 49354, W117 54494. In 2011 jeeps could still get to the base of the mine. An eroded trail goes up to a catwalk where I went left around the corner into the canyon. The catwalk was stable in 2011. An ore car and winch are still there. About 15 feet before the ore car, the correct trail goes up on the right. We cut steps in the trail with a geologist rock pick. Don't go up the trail without a pick or hammer. It's maybe 400 feet of gain.
• The PAT KEYES CANYON road is at N36 47359, W117 53094. The canyon has a little problematic fall right at the mouth. Badwater Springs is just to the north. It has a little stream.
• The HOT SPRINGS turnoff is at mile 34 just south of the Pat Keyes road.
• MCELVOY CANYON is the next big canyon south of Pat Keyes. The smoothest 4wd road is at N36 46180, W117 52586 which is about a half mile south of the hot spring road. Another road in to the south is rubbly. It's a 20 minute hike up the canyon trail to the Weeping Wall. Another 20 minutes beyond that is a 30 foot fall blocking the way.There are slot canyons between Pat Keyes and Mcelvoy. Only SPIDER CANYON at 46196, 53723 is of interest. I went up a narrows on bedrock for 10 minutes and stopped at a 15 foot fall. I could climb up but would want a hand line to come back down this fall.
• The SNOW FLAKE MINE road is at N36 45266, W117 52178. It was annihilated by a flood in 2011. Just walking it was an ordeal. I saw lizards turning around. I got a 125 up to the 1600 foot level. Count on hiking from the valley floor. I hiked up to a trail at 43584, 52630 el 3150. This must be the trail to the Beveridge mining camp.
• The turn for the BEVERIDGE CABIN is at N36 43879, W117 50588. A 4wd road goes up to the mouth where falls block hikers. The cabin is well kept and open to the public.
• The HOT SPRINGS have some minor hikes around. Springs are in a badlands flat to the west. The one at N36 47184,W117 46038 is the main one. A lesser one is at 47282,45893. Burros have trashed the area. A trail goes up on the ridge west of the hot springs. Get on it at 48841, 46565 and go up to the rim of a smooth wash. The trail drops in but I stayed on the rim and went up on a spotty trail to a saddle at 51539, 46803. Then I went up on the easy peak on the left then dropped into the wash at 51007, 47206 and walked back down to the trail then out. 4 hours, 2000 gain, not steep.You can stay in the wash and walk out to the flats then go left to get back.
• DRY MOUNTAIN is the high point of the Last Chance Range. A hikers route goes up the west slope but it's steep and loose. A scenic loop is to go up Dry Canyon instead using a route that passes the falls. Drive north up from the hot springs and park at N36 53178, W117 41128 el 2800. Head for the mouth 52447, 39758 and use the bench on the left. After 15 minutes going up canyon, turn right at the first major fork and go up to 51804, 38094. Climb up on the right for about 300 feet to the ridge top and go up to where it tops out and cross a little saddle to a game trail at 51544, 37266. Follow that to a little narrows at 51487, 37126 and cross over and keep angling up across 2 more draws to where you drop into a wash at 51506, 36797. Go up the wash for 6/10 air mile to a low saddle on the left. Cross over and drop to a fork at 52380, 36256. Go up the fork into a narrows with 2 falls. Go left around the falls and walk back in at the top of the second one. More little falls await then some bigger ones that have to be passed on the left. Then the wash swings left and opens up so you can see the peak and pick your route. I went up a wash toward the SW saddle until I was forced up the main ridge. Go down toward the peak and you'll cross the main arm of Dry Canyon. To the left is a slot where the wash goes into a spectacular chasm that few have ever seen. The summit is at 54540, 35869. To get down the west, go down the SW ridge to the saddle at 54163, 36319 el 7450. Then go to the right down the canyon. When a big saddle on the left rim comes into view, go up it to get on the left rim. The hiker/sheep route goes down the rim. At 54794, 38189 the route veers left from the rim and stays on ridges. The following coordinates won't be needed if the cairns are still up. Go to 54786, 38386 then 54840, 38596 then a chute at 54883, 38732. Below the chute keep right then you'll enter minor gullies then drop into a huge gravel draw going to the right to the valley floor. About 7000 gain, 10 hours total. 5000 of the gain is easy. It took 6 hours to get to the summit and 2 1/2 hours to get to the valley floor then it's 3 miles back to the start. A second car or bike spotted 2 miles up from the start would save time. If the cairns on the descent are gone and my coords are wrong you can bet you'll be spending the night on the mountain. Hardcore backpackers could get into the valley below the peak but I wouldn't unless there was snow. Or set up base camp in the lower canyon near the major fork so you can check out the narrows in the main arm then do the peak on the second day.
• For SALINE PEAK, park about a dozen miles up from the hot springs on easy 4wd. Start up a ridge at N36 57208, W117 40660. Near the top go right around a bump at 57161, 42653 then on to the summit 57055, 43431. Return down the ridge that drops into the white canyon and get in a fork at 57694, 41507. It's smooth gravel from there. 3400 gain, 6 hrs.