Silver Island Mountains

Lamus Peak and Jenkins Peak

This range is a peninsula extending out into the Salt Lake Desert. A 54 mile graded loop goes around it, but I wouldn't take a 2wd or RV very far without checking. Take I-80 to exit 4 near Wendover. There is gas at that exit. Go north a mile and a quarter then take a left fork for 3/4 mile to where the graded loop starts. RVs use large camp spots in the first couple of miles. More large camp spots are about 12 miles out at the foot of Lamus Peak along a 2 mile stretch of playa.  Brush is not an issue for hikers here but cheat grass is abundant on the flats and it sticks in your socks as it dries out in summer. The only water is a few guzzlers therefore horses and cattle are completely absent. Wendover has a Smiths at the west end and a Family Dollar at the east end. Posted 2016

• VOLCANO PEAK el 6011 has an easy route up the north ridge. Don't take the graded loop, but keep going north a couple miles to Leppy Pass. From Leppy Pass, take the graded road next to the large building. Go .7 mile then veer right on an easy 4wd road. Follow that road and stay right at forks until you reach a fork a mile in from the graded road. Go left at that fork and park at the end in half a mile el 5200. The peak twins can be seen to the right of a keyhole. Hike up a drainage to a point on the north ridge at N40 47869, W113 58764 el 5600. Now level off and follow sheep trails around the left side of a crag to get to a saddle el 5650 behind the crag. The rest is obvious. It's hard to tell which of the twins is highest, but it's easy to walk from one to the other. The east one had the most sheep do do, so it must be the one. The sheep should know. They live there.  The hike takes under 2 hours with 900 gain. Mtn bikes would work here. Posted 2016.
• RISHEL PEAK el 6212 is a big, tilted slab of limestone covered with scree. Drive the graded loop to N40 47503, W113 56916 and turn on an easy 4wd road. Go 2 miles to a bad spot and park el 5000 on the west side of the peak. Walk north up the valley along the base to the main saddle el 5300. I went straight up the ridge from there but there were several hundred feet where it went parabolic with scree. Forget that. Instead, from the main saddle, get on the next ridge to the left and go up to 49161, 57456 el 5600. Now walk level to the north for 350 feet to get on the next ridge and go up that to the main ridge then easily on up to some surveyor junk on top at 49022, 57265. 2 hours, 1200 gain. SHORELINE CRAG is one to do on the drive  back to the graded road. Walk from the west side up to N40 47729, W113 57326 el 5200 then start up left of center on easy class 3.  Posted 2016.
• TETZLAFF PEAK el 6267 has an easy ridge up the west side. Turn off the graded loop at N40 48404, W113 55356 and go 1.7 miles on 4wd. Mtn bikes could make the first mile. The unsteepest route is to go up a ridge at 50036, 55071 el 5300. Stay on it all the way to the main ridge el 5850 then turn south to the reg at 50041, 54559. 2 hours, 1300 gain. Posted 2016.
• TETZLAFF BONNEVILLE SHORELINE - A short hike can be done on the cut that Lake Bonneville made on the east slope of Tetzlaff Peak. Drive the graded loop to a 4wd road at N40 50906, W113 53387. Start there or drive up the road a piece. I went half a mile up this road and parked at a mine el 4400 that tunnels all the way thru the wash wall. Hike on up the road and it fizzles out in a canyon right below the cut. Keep going up canyon to a mine trail at 50926, 54514 el 4800. That trail goes shortly to a mine on the shoreline cut. Now walk back out on the cut. It disappears at first for 300 feet, then resumes for half a mile to a canyon rim where it disappears again. I backed up from there a little and went down a ridge toward the junction of the 4wd road. At the 4500 level I hit another shoreline and used that to get back to the start. It took me 68 minutes with 400 gain, easy. I didn't take a pack, but did use a stick for the steep descent. Lake Bonneville peaked at el 5100, then broke thru at Red Rock Pass, Idaho. It lost 300 feet in short order. That 4800 level is known as the Provo level and is featured on this hike. Posted 2016.
• JENKINS PEAK el 7268 and LAMUS PEAK el 6280 can be climbed together using class 2 sheep routes up the west side. Drive the southern leg of the graded loop for about 10 miles to another graded road forking left. That road shortcuts over to the northern leg. Follow it north for 2.2 miles to a 4wd road on the right reading N40 53367, W113 53662. Turn and go about 2 and a half miles to a T and park el 5000. Mtn bikes would work. Note the white layer half way up the mountain. Hike a half mile to a ridge at 54009, 50509 el 5300. It's easy as pie to go up that until the 6100 level at the top of the white layer where crags get in the way. Go around the left side of the crags and merge into the creekbed, then it's obvious how to go on up to the main ridge el 6600. Now stay near the center of the ridge until some crags about .4 mile before the peak. Gullies go up thru the crags. Use the center gully. When it tops out, stay low on the easy ground and cirlce to a notch at 54132, 49773 where you can see the rest of the route. The summit is at 54391, 49628. I saw one sheep there. Retrace your steps back to the white layer and step over to a viewpoint at 53809, 50138 el 6000. You can see how the white layer makes a natural pathway. A sheep trail runs along it and goes right into a saddle el 6150 where you can see the rest of the route to Lamus. For the descent from Lamus, go back to the north saddle el 5950 and walk at about that level to a view at 53412, 50355 el 5900. Some crags are just below. Drop down and walk the left side of the crags to a saddle at 53415, 50482 el 5700 where an easy descent ridge is in view. And it has a mine trail on it. Just hiking Jenkins is about a 4 hour hike with about 2500 gain and not all that steep. The side trip to Lamus has 600 gain. So the whole enchilada round trip is 6 hours. That's pretty reasonable when you're at the bottom looking up at those treacherous cliffs. This is the best hike on this page. Ruins shown on the map at the west base of Jenkins is mainly the shell of a 1920s car. Posted 2016.
• CAVE ROAD - a crude road at N40 51993, W113 51632 goes a half mile to a minor cave where someone did a hell of a lot of digging. Posted 2016.
• LAMUS PEAK MINES, west side, have trails to make a short loop. Turn off the graded loop at N40 52045, W113 50996 and drive a 4wd road for a mile and a half to the end at a collapsed shack el 5100. A sharp dip at the start of this road is the only tricky spot. Mtn bikes would have a steep ride. Look north from the shack and you see the trail climbing out of the canyon. Walk it into the next canyon and go upstream to some tunnels on the left bank. The trail winds steeply up thru the tunnel area then tops out at 53303, 50353 el 5600. Now it crosses over to the right fork to a bottomless pit.  You can look up the fork and see how easy it would be to go up to the main saddle then climb to the right up to Lamus Peak. A faint trail goes from the bottomless pit back down the rim to some more mines right above the shack. The whole hike including going up to Lamus might take 3 hours. Posted 2016.
• LAMUS SOUTH RIDGE MINES - an ultra steep mine road goes up the south ridge of Lamus Peak. It's best to hike from the next road west. Turn off the graded loop at N40 52244, W113 50127 and go a third mile on 4wd to a parking area el 4600. Walk east thru a gap into the next canyon and get on a faint mine trail at 52531, 50198. Go up canyon to a minor saddle where the trail cuts left to mines. Get off the trail and go thru the saddle and over to the break at 52624, 50033 el 4800 where the mine road comes up. Go up the road to mega tailings at the 5200 level where the miners buried their own trail. Go up around the left side of the tailings then the trail fizzles. Now keep going across the tailings for 200 feet to the trail again at 52733, 49882. Go up to the 5500 level and take a left fork which soon ends at a tunnel. Now just go up the center of the ridge and soon join the other fork. The trail soon ends near the 5800 level where I stopped. It looked like I could make it to the top of Lamus. 2 hours, 1200 gain for the whole hike. Take a stout stick. The road you parked on ends at the 4700 level then it's a short walk to a tunnel. Posted 2016.
• SHEEP CRAG el 6162 is what I call that thing east of Jenkins Peak. A sheep route goes all the way. Park along the graded road at N40 52665, W113 48643 and walk to the west saddle at 54018, 48737 el 5650. Don't try to drive closer. Fighting rocks and gullies won't save any time and will make a big mess no one wants to look at. From the saddle, go east up the ridge on class 2 then it's obvious to move far left for the final cliff band. An easy class 3 staircase goes up thru it. The summit is at 53972, 48497. The summit didn't have the usual cairn and I left it that way. That took me 2 and a half hours,2000 gain. Some old mine stuff is along the way, including a stove in pieces. Posted 2016.
• JENKINS CANYON has a road. Turn off the graded loop at N40 53980, W113 47235. It's easy 4wd for a mile and a half to the end at a guzzler el 5100. Jenkins Peak can be climbed from here. Posted 2016.
• CAMPBELL PEAK el 7272 has an easy SE ridge. Turn off the graded loop at N40 53980, W113 47235 and go a mile and a quarter on easy 4wd. Look for a faint road forking right. It goes along the base at 54991, 47844. Park at el 5100 after a half mile on that fork and go up the SE ridge at 55315, 47760. The route becomes obvious as you go up. The summit is at 56182, 48514. That took me less than 3 hours with 2200 gain. A very pleasant hike and not steep. It looked easy to walk the crest to Jenkins for a loop. Posted 2016.
• CAVE CANYON - a bumpy 4wd road goes up that canyon for nearly 2 miles to the 5100 level. No deep ruts. It leaves the graded loop at N40 54556, W113 46118. Campbell Peak and Graham could be climbed from this canyon. Posted 2016.
• GRAHAM PEAK, SILVER BENCHMARK el 7563 is the high peak in the range and the only BM I saw there. A class 1 route goes up the east canyon. Turn off the graded loop at N40 55140, W113 44949 and drive up Silver Island Canyon for 2 and a half miles to a faint road on the left reading 56934, 45867. Take that to the end in half a mile el 5600. Walk west a quarter mile into the east canyon and go up to a main fork then start up the ridge between the forks. The reading there is 57326, 46784 el 6000. Stay on that ridge up to the cliffs reading 57422, 46992 el 6650. Now you can look up to the left and see a wide, grassy shelf going up along the base of the cliffs. Follow that up to el 7400  wherethe ridge starts to top out, then stay left of center to a saddle at 57256, 47292 el 7400 then its a fifth mile to the reg. For a more adventurous loop, a SE ridge can be used. Park near the obvious canyon that accesses the SE ridges. Go up canyon and then take a right fork. Get on a slope on the left side at W40 56798, W113 46518 el 5700. Use ledges to zigzag up the slope to gain the top of the ridge then go up to a monster crag at el 6600. A path thru the cliffs can be seen up to the left. It starts left of the crag at 56957, 47127 el 6650. Go on up and top out at 56928, 47258 el 7000. Now more crags are in the way. Drop down the left side a little to a huge juniper then follow easy ledges for a tenth mile past the crags before you can come back up at 57020, 47285 el 7150. Now it's an open slope up to the reg at 57099, 47375. Complete the loop by walking north on the summit ridge to the wide, grassy shelf at 57274, 47266 el 7400. Follow that down along the base of the cliffs until the obvious descent ridge comes into view. That is at 57422, 46992 el 6650 in case you get off track. It took me 3 hours, 37 minutes to do the loop with a gain of 2300. Posted 2016. NORTH SIDE HIKE ( from an earlier trip) -  the north ridge is a cake walk IF you can get there. There was nothing to stop jeeps getting there, just slow going. Take I-80 to exit 4 and go north a mile and a quarter then take a left fork that goes 3 miles to Leppy Pass. Go right of a building on a major dirt road for over a dozen miles to a 4wd road reading N40 57760, W113 53175. This 4wd road and the last 6 miles of the main road were hit hard by August 2015 floods.There were a million minor ruts across the main road and some deep ones. The Donner party would have turned back on this mess, but I saw a grader headed that way the next day. Drive up the 4wd road to a fork at 57764, 49771 el 5100. The right fork goes to a guzzler which had water then the road soon fades. But take the left fork for a fifth mile to another fork el 5200. Look for a faint road dropping down to a wash on the left. Soon that road is overgrown, but it's easy to hike east up the wash into a canyon and on into the obvious low saddle el 6200 on the north ridge. If you get confused, aim for 57989, 47724 el 6100 where some bolts and hangers were installed. Huh? Just keep walking up the ridge from there. There are some minor bumps on the north ridge but its easy to walk the right side of them and cut off 20 or 30 feet. As the ridge starts to top out, stay on the left side to a saddle at 57256, 47292 el 7400 then it's a fifth mile to the reg.  4 hours, 2300 gain. A nice, unspoiled area. This hike is so easy you might want to carry a sack of rocks just to keep from feeling guilty. Posted August 2015.
• FLOATING ISLAND has a good road that would make a good mtn bike ride. Turn off the graded loop at N40 55775, W113 43138 and go 4 miles to the north base. An eroded track runs west along the base for a third mile and fades. There you can see the route to the high point which reads 54933, 38306 el 5100. I could hear noisy hawk chicks below the summit. A long beach of Lake Bonneville is near the top. The Donner trail runs on the east side. Several wagons were found in the area. 90 minutes, 900 gain. The main road goes around the east side of the island and onto the Bonneville dike then south to I-80, but there's no interchange. There may be a gate thru the fence for westbound traffic. Posted 2016.
• COBB PEAK el 7021 is not too hard from the graded loop. Drive to the SE side of  the peak and walk the flats for a third mile to the main SE valley at N40 57018, W113 41924 el 4500. Don't try to drive the flats. Nobody wants to look at tire tracks. Hike up the main valley about a mile in from the road and take the main left fork el 4850. Go up a short way and get on the left bank at 57481, 42954 el 5050. Walk up keeping the main wash close on your right and soon a wide gully will come into view that goes up to the SE ridge of the peak. It tops out at a saddle reading 57427, 43534 el 6300. Go on up the easy ridge then about half way to the peak some crags are in the way. Go around the right side and stay right of center all the way to the summit at 57589, 43928. It took me 4 hours, 7 minutes with 2700 gain. The first 700 gain isn't noticeable. A class 2 hike.  Some camp spots are nearby along the road at some rock outcrops. Posted 2016.
• CRATER ISLAND HIGH POINT el 5700 is easy but the road has a few eroded spots. Turn off the graded loop at Donner-Reed Pass reading N41 00620, W113 46999 onto a formerly graded road. It looked like it hadn't been graded since the Donners passed by. It runs nearly 10 miles to the shoreline at the tip of the island. Drive about 6 miles then hike less than a fifth mile to a saddle at 05184, 45238 el 5050. The rest is obvious to the summit at 05283, 45680.  70 minutes, 900 gain. I went on down the road to the shoreline, but an eroded section stops all but OHVs. A track runs along the shoreline for a mile then fizzles. Posted 2016.
• MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDE - I wouldn't care for riding the 54 mile loop, but I would consider riding out on the Bonneville raceway then cut over to the graded loop at the foot of Lamus Peak and come back on that. A crude road comes off the playa right at Lamus and it can be seen on the sat image. That ride only works after long dry spells and when there's no race.
• LEPPY PEAK el 6716 is the high point of the Leppy Hills at Wendover. Take exit 410  off I-80 and get on the north frontage road. Go east a tenth mile then turn on a gravel road and go north a bit over 3 miles to a pass el 5650. Keep going another half mile then go left on an easy 4wd road. Go half a mile and park at el 5800 right where the road drops to a guzzler. Hike up the canyon south of the road all the way to the crest then go left to the reg at N40 46934, W114 04311. The south summit has a fallen tower that now serves as a reg. 80 minutes, 1000 gain. This is a good looking peak and too easy to pass up. Posted 2015.

  

  Tetzlaff Peak and the lake shoreline

  
  

  

  The lake almost took the top off of Floating Island

  

  The Lamus south ridge mine road. It doesn't switch up, it comes straight up to this notch