Clipper Mountains Wilderness

Hummingbird Spring

Spot the sheep

Hummingbird Peak

Castle Dome

Fake Rock Spring

Bonanza Spring

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  HUMMINGBIRD PEAK el 3600+ is what I call a rugged peak a mile west of Hummingbird Spring. Take the Essex Rd from Essex for a mile and a half NW to some power lines. Turn SW on an easy 4wd road and go a mile and a half then turn NW and go nearly 4 miles to the end of the road el 2200. Walk up the road remnants for half a mile to the spring. It's in the wash at N34 45200, W115 20642 el 2300. A tub has water with a lot of algae but clear water drips fast out of it. Continue south on the road over a low ridge to the next big wash and a mine camp. Walk up the pleasant wash then climb out at 45204, 21266 el 2550 and walk the high ground toward a main saddle to the right of the peak. A couple of sheep were hanging around here. Soon you have to go back into the wash but get out again at 45437, 21421 el 2700 and follow along the drainage up to the main saddle at 45627, 21602 el 3050. Now just go left up the ridge to the summit at 45491, 21952. 4 hours, 1600 gain, not very steep. Roads to the TH are mtn bikeable. Posted Nov, 2016, 2019.
• CLIP BENCHMARK el 4500+ and CASTLE DOME el 3280 can be hiked from the Tom Reed mine. Clip BM is the high point and Castle Dome is a mess of crags and spires and also the only named peak in the range. Drive west from Essex on Route 66 for 6 miles to gas road #203. Take that for 3 and a quarter miles to road #149. Take that for a bit over 2 miles to the mine.  About half way to the mine the real road will climb up onto the right bank. It's easy 4wd as far as the mine. Just past the mine, the road makes a hard right and gets tougher. I parked about a mile beyond the mine, near the wilderness boundary and walked a tenth mile to an Indian trail at N34 42413, W115 23675. You can save some 4 wheeling and just use the Indian trail described below  that merges with the one I used. Walk the flats to an obvious gap to the right of Castle Dome. A developed spring, which I call Fake Rock Spring, is in the gap at 42953,  23045. Two troughs had water, one inside a plastic rock. That could make for a base camp. Keep going then an obvious class 2 route goes up Castle Dome, just left of guzzler tanks. Trails go to the guzzler, the Marvin Wood Big Game Guzzler. Then it's simple to go up bedrock to the left. For a wuss route, circle around the east side of the Dome to 43929, 22605 el 2700 where the easy route up the NE ridge is in view. At el 2950 some minor crags are in the way but a sheep trail goes low along the right side. The summit is at 43720, 22736. For Clip BM, drop back down the NE ridge and walk up the main valley. When it shrinks to a deep channel, get on the left bank and walk to a sheep trail at 44326, 23307 el 3150. Walk that down across the channel and be on the trail on the other side at 44392, 23315 el 3200. The trail goes high along the right slope of the canyon and gets fuzzy at one spot. Pick it up again at 44525, 23348 el 3400 and then it soon crosses to the other side and goes up the obvious slopes to the high saddle el 3900. From the saddle, the sheep go left around the first crag then back up to center. Then they stay left of center to 44807, 23596 el 4150 where they go low around the right side of the final crag and then up to the plateau where it's an easy stroll to the reg at 45246, 23013. And they do all that without a GPS! On the return, I cut thru a low gap to a trail at 43968, 23225 el 2900 then walked that down to a main wash. Soon that wash had a trail on the left bank. Finally, I left that wash at 43374, 23048 for the home stretch back. The hike to Clip and back took 6 hours, 10 minutes with less than 2000 feet of noticeable gain. The side trip to Castle Dome takes half an hour with nearly 600 gain. This is one of the best hikes in the Mojave. The gas road goes on and meets the Bonanza Spring road in another mile. Posted Nov, 2016.
• INDIAN TRAIL - a trail connects Bonanza Spring to Fake Rock Spring then on along the south side of Castle Dome. It can be picked up on the far side of a low ridge along road #149 at N34 41812, W115 23562. It might be best to use a mine trail going over the ridge. Then it goes to 41940, 23466 then 42159, 23414 then 42517, 23377 and on to the spring at 42953, 23045. It goes past the spring to 43126, 22959 then 43201, 22911 then close to Castle Dome at 43286, 22729 Posted 2018, 2019.
• TOM REED PEAK el 4100 is what I call the twin peak NW of the Tom Reed mine.  Drive west from Essex on Route 66 for 6 miles to gas road #203. Take that for 3 and a quarter miles to road #149. Take that for a bit over 2 miles to the mine.  About half way to the mine the real road will climb up onto the right bank. It's easy 4wd as far as the mine then there are some tricky spots and finally a washout el 2450 about 3/4 mile past the mine. From there, walk the low ground to a gap at N34 42673, W115 24748 el 2600. Go thru to the next big wash to the north. Go up that to a fork at 43156, 25458 el 2800 and keep right. The wash will enter a narrows with a seep at 43423, 25928 el 2950 where tadpoles were hanging on in a pint of water (that had several gallons in 2020). Go on up the wash to a fork el 3250 which is .43 mile before the peak. Take the right fork then go up into a saddle on the right rim at 43952, 26435 el 3600 then follow the ridge up to the peak at 44054, 26764. 4 and a half hours, 1700 gain. Half the gain is in easy washes. Posted March, 2017.   
• INDIAN PEAK el 3854 is what I call the peak a mile and a half east of Van BM. The Indians likely passed thru the north saddle to connect to the Granite Mtns.  Drive west from Essex on Route 66 for 6 miles to gas road #203. Take that for 3 and a quarter miles to road #149. Take that for a bit over 2 miles to the mine.  About half way to the mine the real road will climb up onto the right bank. It's easy 4wd as far as the mine then there are some tricky spots and finally a washout el 2450 about 3/4 mile past the mine. From there, walk the low ground to a gap at N34 42673, W115 24748 el 2600. Go thru to the next big wash to the north. Go up that to a fork at 43156, 25458 el 2800 and keep right. The wash will enter a narrows with a seep. Keep going until in the wash until directly under a trail at 43497, 26407 el 3250. Go up a steep slope to it and follow it to a saddle with a rock outrcrop. The trail resumes on top of the outcrop and goes into the main saddle el 3380. Then follow a trail up the ridge and to the right into the last saddle. Then it's a matter of going directly up to a cairn on the summit at 43189, 26759. For a loop back, retrace down 50 feet and walk the high main ridge to 43043, 26326 el 3450. A sheep trail goes left from there along a cliff base to a smooth ridge down to the washes you came up. A hole in the sand at 43126, 25590 el 2800 had water and appeared to have been dug out by sheep. That took 4 hours, 13 minutes with about 1000 noticeable gain. The only place I saw an Indian trail for sure is at the mine reading 42122, 24072 but they had to be going over that saddle el 3380. The washes are so easy they didn't need a trail. Posted 2020.
•  CLIP BENCHMARK via WW2 road -  In 2006, I parked in a south side pullout on I-40 at N34 46846, W115 26253. I walked to the old rd at 46402, 26162 and followed it to the summit ridge then left to the reg. This road, shown on the topo, is the easiest route but dull and risks a ticket. Posted 2016.
• VAN BENCHMARK el 4000 is the high peak in the west part of the range. From Essex, drive west on Route 66 for a bit over 9 miles to a sign for Danby Rd. Turn north and go 2 and a half miles on easy 4wd to gas road #203. Turn left for .9 mile to road #142. That's the road you want but the first part is a mess. But there's a way around. As the topo shows, it goes west and dips back south toward the gas road. So stay on the gas road for another 1.3 air miles to a hill bypass. Drive that to the northern tip of the hill, then keep going on the road for another 100 feet to line up with the washes. Then drive across the flat for a tenth mile to a wash at N34 40684, W115 26318. Drive the wash to a tricky fork at a dark knoll. Take the right fork and it rubs against the west edge of the knoll then goes on to road #142 reading 41027, 26339.  The road runs west then into a canyon where it soon goes onto the left bank and over into the next major wash. Follow it up to where it forks left out of the wash at 42231, 27690 el 2600. Park there and walk the road into another wash and stay in the wash to a left fork at 42718, 27854 el 2750. Go up the left fork and soon the peak is in view. Walk the obvious main wash to the base of the peak and stay in it as it swings toward the main east saddle. Get on the left bank at 43127, 28095 el 3000. I stayed on the left all the way to the saddle but found another route with better footing. For that route, just stay on the left bank to another bank at 43278, 27978 el 3150. Walk that then climb up to the right on bedrock at 43360, 28002 el 3300. It's easy to go on to the main east saddle el 3500 then go up the ridge on sheep trails. At 43490, 28187 el 3850 is where some minor crags get in the way. I went over but the sheep route stays low on the right side for 200 feet then climbs back up behind the crags. The remaining sheep route to the BM is obvious. The BM is at 43495, 28361. On the return, I retraced down the bedrock then went SE thru a major saddle and walked down a smooth ridge. 3 hours, 1400 gain. The rock and soil are colorful here. I don't know where sheep are getting water. None of this is in the wilderness. The last 3 miles of road are for serious 4 wheelers only. It would only add a couple of hours to walk from the gas road. Some maps show a road going directly in from the gas road, but it's hard to see on the sat image. Posted 2016, 2019. WASH LOOP - an easy hike can be done along the road to Van BM. Start on high ground at 41536, 27161 and follow it to a main canyon in view ahead. Go up the colorful canyon past a couple of minor class 3 falls to a fork at 42400, 26771. Go left and a fall blocks progress but just climb over the left rim to another wash and follow that to a saddle at 42544, 26897. Then it's all downhill back to the start. 100 minutes with hardly any strain and mostly smooth washes. Posted 2020.
• BONANZA SPRING has been restored by the BLM. From Essex, go a bit over 9 miles west on Route 66 to a sign for Danby Rd. Turn NW on easy 4wd for a bit over 3 miles to the spring. There is also a gas road about 6 miles from Essex that can be used. Tables and a nature trail have been set up. INDIAN TRAILS go north from the spring and can be used for an easy loop hike around peak 869. From the upper parking area, walk 200 feet up an old road then go right on a trail down to a thicket. Walk along the edge to the Indian trail at N34 41151, W115 24305. It goes up to the east rim and splits. One goes north but I took the one going east and it fades in a small wash that feeds into a huge wash. Go up the small wash and stay in the main channel to the north trail at 41482, 24187. Walk it a tenth mile thru a saddle then down to the flats. Leave it and walk to another wash at 41812, 24224. Go up that a quarter mile to a possible petroglyph. Take a left fork there then over a saddle at 41753, 24675 then it's all downhill back to the start. 2 hours with hardly any strain. Posted 2016, 2020.

Silurian Hills, California

Jakes Cabin was restored by Jake Samland

Three large, unvandalized trucks have gone missing in recent years

                             These "hills" are really jagged peaks infested with mine trails and relics. It takes 4wd to get at any of it.  RVs can park on Silurian Lake at mp SBD 19.6 on highway 127. The lake gets a good VZ signal.

• The 4wd south side road accesses most of the major peaks.  Drive to mp SBD 16.8 on highway 127. Turn on road #D111 and go 3 miles to the old RR. D111 keeps going east. At N35 30039, W116 03316 there is a major junction. Continuing straight to the east dead ends and accesses Silurian Benchmark. Going right at the junction takes you south nearly 6 miles to the big power lines at 26134, 00683. That segment isn't rocky but has a million tiny minor dips. A good road follows the power lines for over 7 miles back to the highway. Update 2022.
• MOSQUITO PEAK el 3000 is what hikers call the high peak in the western part of the range. Mine trails shown on the topo can be used to make an interesting loop. Drive to mp SBD 16.8 on highway 127. Turn on a 4wd road and go 3 miles to the old RR grade. Go north on that for 350 feet and turn east on D166. Go a mile and a third on a worse road to a T. Then go left and stay right at the next fork to the edge of a wash, about a quarter mile from the T. Hike up the wash and get on a mine road on the right bank at N35 30435, W116 05584 el 1350. Walk that to the end at a private claim el 1600, but not posted. A trail starts up the slope at the end of the road. Follow that up to where it levels off at el 2350. Along the way at el 1900 is a view of the return trail below. Next is a short side trail reading 30705, 05085 el 2350 goes to a car used for a winch. The main trail goes on and gets faint. Turn left to get to a saddle at 30818, 04976 el 2400 where the peak is in view. It's the pointy one. Go thru the saddle and walk level on a trail for 800 feet then veer left up an obvious drainage to get on the easy west ridge at 31069, 05099 and go up to the reg on top. Placed in 1980, it only had a couple of entries. Come back to the saddle el 2400 and go thru then down the drainage. A trail becomes obvious in about a tenth mile. It goes down the drainage then exits and goes down a slope where the return trail is in view. At the bottom, walk washes around to the return trail and be on it at 30311, 04768 el 1600 where it goes thru a saddle and then on .15 mile where it splits. Stay on the low trail going up the drainage on the right bank. The one up high on the left is hard to walk. The low trail goes to a saddle then go left up to the high trail. Follow that down where it seems to go into the wash, but it stays high on the left bank then it's a short way back to the start. The loop took me 3 hours, 15 minutes with nearly 2000 gain. Add more time to look at relics. Posted 2016.  RIGGS PEAK el 2400 is what I call the one nearly a mile to the west. Start from the same parking area and walk north up the main wash to a bedrock ridge at 30796, 05645 el 1600. Go up until it gets steeper then merge into the canyon on the right. Go up that to 30908, 05783 el 2000 where the rest is in view to the south saddle el 2250. The summit is at 31049, 05874. 100 minutes, 800 noticeable gain with a lot of bedrock. Posted 2020.
• SILURIAN BRIDGE MINES TOUR - these mine trails are a mile NE of the Riggs site as shown on the topo. Drive to mp SBD 16.8 on highway 127. Turn on a 4wd road and go 3 miles to a washout. Go left around that and shortly you come to the old RR grade. Go north on that for 350 feet and turn east on D166. Go a mile to a cabin then go left up a wash to a mine trail at N35 30558, W116 05879 el 1300. I walked the trail past the bridge and on to a tunnel with rails next to a wooden tower. I then walked back along a cliff base to the bridge and found a trail going up along the left side. It goes past a mine on the left and up to a tunnel el 1800. No one had been there in decades. I retraced back down the trail and met the main trail and followed it back to a fork shown on the topo. I went left to a third tunnel then had a short walk back to the start. One or two hours, 500 gain. These miners had a swimming pool above the cabin. Posted 2020.
• SILURWIND PEAK el 2926 is what hikers call the next major peak east of Mosquito Peak. A loop with a lot of mine relics can be done. Drive to N35 29844, W116 04717 on the south side road. Now turn north for a mile to the end of the road el 1600 but park 100 feet short due to nails and shell casings waiting for tires to come by. Hike up the main wash for a quarter mile to a large ore tower. 400 feet past that on the left bank is a trail that gains 700 feet to a mine, but that's a side trip. 800 feet up the wash past the tower is a trail on the right bank. Follow that along the wash then the trail goes back into the wash after a fall then on to the saddle at the head of the wash. Then go up a ridge at 31285, 04503 el 2150. At a steep section, it's easier to angle left then it tops out el 2650 and the peak is in view at the end of a craggy ridge which is easier than it looks. The reg is at 30936, 03944. Placed in 1973, Macleod and Lilley came in 1980 then I showed up in 2008. Next retrace from the summit for 200 feet to a saddle then go left down a class 2 canyon. Cut over to the right at 30525, 03959 el 2050 for easier walking. A tunnel can be seen down to the left. It's only 20 feet deep. I went over to it and used a trail there to get down to the flats. That loop took me less than 3 hours with 1300 gain. The Mosquito Peak loop can also be done from this same parking area because it goes right by it. Posted 2017.
• SILURIAN HILLS HIGH POINT el 3738 has a mine trail up the south side to el 3400. Drive the south side road to a wash at N35 29738, W116 03398. Drive up that on smooth gravel for nearly 2 miles to the mouth el 2250 of Owl Canyon. Stroll up the canyon until it opens up then veer left to a road at 29506, 00260 el 2750. Go up that to the trail at 29703, 00292 el 2900 next to a wooden post. It crosses a gully then is easy to follow to mines at el 3400. It's short walk from there to the reg at 30028, 00503. At the summit, a mine road can be seen running along the south rim of Owl Canyon. I walked back on that then down a canyon at 29476, 01524 el 2550. At a huge cairn, I cut over the left rim then down to the mouth of Owl Canyon. That loop took me 3 hours, 10 minutes with 1000 feet of noticeable gain. Some private land is in Owl Canyon but it seems abandoned and not posted. Posted 2017. In 2020, I walked north off the summit down the center of the main ridge and on to Silurian BM. Then I retraced to 30426, 01115 el 3350 where I could follow an easy ridge down to Owl Canyon. At 29826, 01815 el 2250, I crossed a wash and then across some minor drainages to get back to the start. That took 3 and a half hours with about 1000 noticeable gain, easy terrain.  ALTERNATE DRIVE - the road from the SE is mild sand, no rocks. Turn off highway 127 at mp SBD 9.4 and follow along power lines for 9 miles to N36 26694, W115 59309. Turn left there into a wash and go nearly 5 miles to the mine trail. Posted 2018.
•  SILURIAN BENCHMARK el 3636 - a loop can be done up the easy west ridge then down the north side. Drive the south side road to the major junction at N35 30039, W116 03316. Then go NE up the main wash for 1.3 miles to a road forking up the right bank at the triangle shown on the topo. Walk the right fork to the end at a tunnel in a gully. Go a few feet up the gully then climb right to a trail that ends at white tailings on a ridge just above. Keep going up the ridge to the summit. For the last bit I angled around to the north side for an easy grade. From the summit area there is a trail in view below to the NE at 30795, 01445 el 2900. I went down the NW canyon and cut over to it, but could later see that dropping down a north drainage at 30633, 01203 and then curving down to the left might be better. The trail goes to roads that lead back to the start. 2 hours, 40 minutes with 1400 gain. I had no GPS that day but this is all obvious. The reg, placed by M&L in 1980, needs a jar. Another loop option is to walk from the BM on the high ridge to the range high point. PEAK 1001 meters is to the north of Silurian BM and could be done as a side trip. To do it as a separate hike, drive past the triangle up the main wash for 3/4 mile then walk into the east canyon of the peak. Pick a route up or follow the easy loop I did. I went up the canyon and got on high ground at 31207, 01555 el 2600 then on to the main saddle el 2750. Then I switched back up the easy east slope to 31285, 01750 el 3100 where I could look up and see a good route thru crags to the south summit el 3284. Then I walked the ridge to the north summit and back down to the main saddle. 2 hours, 900 gain. GATORADE PEAK el 3000+ is what I call the next peak to the west. The north ridge is the easy and obvious route. At the summit block, go around the left side to the summit cairn at 30723, 02457. 90 minutes, 700 gain. A glass Gatorade jar was on the north ridge at el 2750. Posted 2018.
• FANTA MINE TRAIL - an easy loop can be done thru 4 canyons. Park on the south side road and walk to a trail at a mine camp with a thousand cans at N35 30143, W116 03556 el 1750. A Fanta bottle and Coke bottle had survived vandals there. They are the no deposit glass type that came just before plastic. The trail runs NW to the far bank of the main wash then stays left of a dark crag then dips into the wash and immediately climbs out at 30348, 03604 then soon there is a risky segment that has slid out. I went 10 feet higher to skirt that and left cairns but it's only a few feet. The trail goes on into a gully and on thru a saddle with a tall cairn then joins the main wash again. The trail then runs on the right bank to a boring mine at 30723, 03639 el 2350. They built a trail for that? From there, cross the main saddle at 30668, 03496 el 2300 then go north down a canyon for 2/3 mile then cross to the right over a low spot into the next canyon and stroll up that to the head and over the saddle el 2300 then down canyon back to the start. 3 hours, easy grades. SHORT VERSION - just come back from the mine in the main wash and go left around a fall. That might take 90 minutes. Posted 2018, 2022.
•  NORTH PEAK el 2700 is what I call a peak on the rim of a scenic, high basin at the north end of the range. Leave highway 127 at mp SBD 19.6 and drive across Silurian Lake to an easy 4wd road at N35 32301, W116 10081. Drive nearly four miles to a cabin. Go past the cabin then stay left at one fork and park at a major wash a quarter mile past the cabin. Walk north along the road for a fifth mile to the next major wash reading 32104, 06237 then go up that to a fork at 31969, 05584. Go up the left fork to the end then up the ridge to survey junk on the summit at 32242, 05114. To loop back, circle left around the basin to the far low rim then follow that rim to the left and get in a canyon at 31755, 05129 el 2300. Go on down to falls then angle up on the left side and go thru a saddle 31557,05324 el 2150 then down easy slopes into the canyon that you are parked at. Next use the obvious, smooth low ridge all way to the end and hit the creekbed then out in that. 3 hrs,1500 gain. Nice canyons and a lot of smooth walking. Sheep tracks here indicated one animal scouting for water. It must have come over from the Avawatz that has the only water I know of. Posted 2016.
• WEST MINE TRAILS LOOP - a good hike on the west side ties together two mine trails. Leave highway 127 at mp SBD 19.6 and drive across Silurian Lake to an easy 4wd road at N35 32301, W116 10081. Go nearly four miles to a cabin and park 300 feet past it next to a mine road cutting up a slope. Follow the road to a mine trail at 31784, 06249 el 1500. Take the trail to some mines at el 1750 where the trail gets fuzzy. From the mines, go up the ridge a short way where the trail can be seen going along the left side of the ridge. It soon fades at a steel marker el 1850. From there, cut across some gullies to get to a saddle at 31581, 06024 el 1850. Go down the drainage on the other side of the saddle to some more mines then walk a road from there to a trail at 31457, 06291 el 1450. Follow that down to a wash then soon a gap on the right leads to the flats then go back to the start. 90 minutes, 600 gain. Posted 2016.  RAILROAD PEAKS is what I call the cluster along the RR grade on the drive in. For the high one, drive back and walk a fifth mile to a trail at 32147,07129. Go west on that to a low saddle then on up the ridge until you see a pothole in the canyon on the left. Get in there and go on up the main creekbed to the reg. Geologists called this Middle Island Peak. 700 gain, 1 hour. More peaks just to the south have trails. From the RR grade, get to a bladed strip at 31364, 07380 el 1000 where there are 3 trails. The left and middle one go to diggings. Take the one far right, next to a tunnel, and climb to a saddle where the trail splits. Stay right on the low trail to the end at a mine. Angle up to the left a few feet into a saddle and then go left around a bump then walk the ridge to the head of the main canyon that has been on your right. The highest peak is to the left. Go along the base of the south side cliffs to a gully at the far end and up that to an easy ridge for the rest. Come back down the main canyon and get on a trail at a fall to get back. 2 hours at most, 500 gain. Less if skipping the peak. These trails are on the topo. Posted 2018, 2022.

  

  Silurian Lake

  
  

  

  Bottle on Gatorade Peak. It still has some in it. Yum! Leave it in place in case thirsty hikers come by. Gatorade went to plastic in 1998 according to the web.

This rig is dated 1946

Chuck Martin and P. T. Moore? Nope, just two friendly CHP officers who dropped by at Silurian Lake to see how I was doing.