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| Needles Eye and Bobbin in the background |
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| White Rock Canyon |
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| First rappel in Bridge Canyon |
- A west side road accesses the area. Use the exit for highway 78 west of Blythe. Go south, no turns, and cross a river bridge where the road becomes River Rd. It goes 8 more miles to the end of pavement where RVs can camp with TV and VZ signals. A graded road continues south another 7 miles then it's 4wd on thru to Yuma. Another way in is a graded road at mp 77.5 on highway 78 just south of Palo Verde. Many peaks on this page are in the Yuma Proving Ground. The policy in effect seems to be "don't ask, don't tell", but the Army isn't liable if anything goes wrong. OHVs penetrate miles into it and hunters are legally allowed in. The peaks are in good condition but burros have trashed everything else to varying degrees. A wilderness it ain't. Posted 2019.
- MOHAVE PEAK el 2768 is the high point of the Trigo Mtns and well inside the YPG. The west canyon on the south side of peak 2195 is easy then the SW side works for the summit block. The best approach I found is a well used jeep road running thru Crazy Woman Wash from the NW. I saw two jeeps and two ATVs on it. They said they ride thru there all the time. A 4wd road goes to it from the Cibola dump, but a much better road starts at mp 6.1 on River Rd. Go 5 miles on it to a T then go left on a wide road for .4 mile then go right for a fifth mile to N33 20607, W114 34819 which is where the sign is for the YPG, which everybody ignores. The road goes on another mile and a half then enters the wash at 20643, 33662 el 750 where rocky patches slow things down. It's easy 4wd that far but would be 8 miles to the peak. There's nothing to stop a jeep going all the way thru and then they apparently turn north to the public road cuttting across the YPG, but I didn't go that way. Parking at the YPG boundary would mean a 9 or 10 mile hike one way. Backpackers would find water at the Louie Coor guzzler reading 19188, 31777. It had fish in it. The biggest pool I saw was at 17645, 31780 and 3 feet deep. More smaller ones were just past it. A parallel canyon had a big pothole at 18591, 32108. That canyon could work as a return route, but has rocky stretches. The west canyon had bathtub size pools starting at 16588, 30109 and burros can't get to those. Another approach is the Black Diamond Mine road. It's closed at the wilderness boundary at el 750 but signs are long gone and everybody keeps driving. Jeep tracks go all the way to Lopez Wash. I saw potholes on that route, the best one at 14878, 31729 because it's hard for burros to get at. A grand loop could be done up Crazy Woman and out Lopez. I would drink any of the water after filtering, but it had rained two weeks earlier. Christmas or Thanksgiving would be good times to go when there's nothing going on. The reg was placed in 1993 by a Sierra Club group. It had six entries since. Posted 2019.
- CRAZY WOMAN PEAK el 2007 is what I call the crag peak on the north side of Crazy Woman Wash. Use an easy 4wd road at mp 6.1 on River Rd. It follows an Indian trail that is still visible despite the burro onslaught. Go 5 miles on it to a T then go left on a wide road for .4 mile then go right for a fifth mile to the sign for the YPG, which everybody ignores. The road goes on another mile and a half then enters the wash next to the Indian trail. Walk from there to a flat at N33 20764, W114 33445 el 750 then on to the bank of a wash at 20881, 33208 el 800. Walk that into a canyon then go up to class 3 rock at 20936, 32141 el 1200. Climb up that to get into a bedrock gully and go up to the NE saddle at 20786, 32000 el 1800. An obvious class 3 route goes up to the summit cairn but has one exposed move. Take a 20 foot line for the squeamish. Sheep go up, how hard can it be? 4 hours with 1000 noticeable gain. For an alternate descent, the south canyon has huge potholes up to swimming pool size. Aim for the canyon at 20382, 31831 el 900 then walk downstream past the potholes back to the start. I found the potholes on a separate hike. The wide road goes to Cibola but has bad crossings. The Indians were likely walking to Mohave Tanks. I've seen grinding holes there. Posted 2019.
- BOBBIN PEAK el 2562 is north of Needles Eye Peak. Take River Rd to mp 7.1 and turn on easy 4wd reading N33 18758, W114 39707 el 250. Go 4 and a half miles, keeping right at a tricky fork along the way, and go left up a wash at 18999, 35240 el 700. Mtn bikes could make it that far. Go half a mile up the wash where a slide blocks vehicles. The route up is obvious, the following waypoints are for hikers who might want to do it in a blizzard. Walk on up the wash and go left on a trail at 18777, 34578 el 800 and stay on the low ground to a sheep route at 18803, 33908 el 1050 that runs on a shelf along the base of a cliff. A bee hive was about 2 or 300 feet further along at the base, so it might be better to stay low to get past it. Just follow the shelf along the cliffs to the north saddle el 2150 then go up the ridge until it gets ugly then angle to the right up to 18639, 33427 el 2400 and on to the reg at 18606, 33383. That took us 3 and a half hours with 1500 noticeable gain. The bees didn't strike until the descent, but I was wearing yellow by then. I got two stings, but I've had worse mosquito bites. These are wuss bees. The road goes on to the Hart Mine then on to the Black Diamond Mine road, but there are many sharp dips. Posted 2019.
- HART MINE ROAD - this good road starts at the end of pavement on River Rd. It goes 3 miles to a large quarry, not the Hart Mine shown on the topo. Then a 4wd road cuts over to the Black Diamond Mine road. Posted 2019.
- NEEDLES EYE PEAK el 2539 is what I call the Chocolate Benchmark. It's the most dramatic peak in the area. Go south on River Rd for about a mile south of the end of pavement to a main fork. Go left on graded road for 2.3 miles then go left 1.3 miles to a main wash. Go 2.2 miles to the end of the legal road and walk up a left fork near there reading N33 16322, W114 35365 el 750. After a fifth mile there are potholes and a trail on the left bank bypasses them. Go on to a left fork at 16347, 34891 el 850 and on toward the peak and climb out on the right at a fall 16436, 34402 el 950. Keep going along the main creekbed using the right bank to bypass an occasional fall or boulder jam but stay near the creekbed. The canyon goes parabolic and tops out at a flat el 1750 a half mile south of the peak. Go left toward the peak keeping right of a crag. Go behind the crag to a saddle el 2100 then another saddle at 16554, 33792 el 2200. Drop a little and walk to the SE saddle of the peak to an easy class 3 chute at 16705, 33763 el 2300 then go up to the peak 16763, 33793. The final block has some more class 3. M&L placed a reg in 1981. No one had signed in since my visit in 2008. 5 hrs,1800 gain. 2wds and mtn bikers would have a 7 hour hike. Backpackers could use the potholes at 16342, 35151 el 750. They run for a tenth mile and up to 3 feet deep. They looked OK but floods will send burro poop into them. Burro impact was light but that can change. Posted 2019. PEAK 1744 can be hiked from the same parking area. Use a trail at 16359, 35522 el 750 that starts up a canyon. Stay in the main canyon past huge potholes as it circles to a saddle at 16169, 35686 el 1050. Then go directly up on steep bedrock and a faint sheep trail to a gully at 16158, 35818 el 1400. Go up that to the crest at 16186, 35869 el 1500 then it's just a stroll for a fifth mile NW to the reg. Placed in 1999, it had no entries since. 2 hours with 800 noticeable gain. All the bedrock makes this a pleasant hike. One of the big pothholes at 16261, 35492 el 850 is inaccessible to burros, though they rarely visit the canyon anyway. Posted 2019. PEAK 2020 is to the south. Walk the jeep road which is running along the east bank. At the next side canyon, get on the high right bank at 15965, 35212 el 800. The bank ends in a tenth mile then a constructed trail goes on a fifth mile to a big waterhole that burros can't get at. Walk past it on the left then up canyon to a right fork at 15717, 34662 el 900. Go up that to the valley at the foot of the peak. Only one easy route is in view and it's up the SW ridge. I went thru a saddle at 14844, 33947 el 1300 then up to an obvious saddle el 1500 on the SW ridge. There are no big dips on the ridge all the way to the reg at 15028, 33707 with no entries since 1999. Surveyor junk is past it. 4 hours, 800 noticeable gain. Posted 2019.
- BLACK DIAMOND PEAK el 1920, next to the Black Diamond Mine, is what I call the high point of the wilderness. A class 3 gully goes up the west side. Go south on River Rd for 2 and a half miles beyond pavement to where the road bends right. Stay straight on easy 4wd for .6 mile to a mega wash reading N33 15519, W114 39552. Go 2 miles up the easy wash, staying right at forks, to a fall at the end of the road el 350. We climbed the fall just to prove that we're men, but there's a trail at 15314, 37814 on the south bank that's faster. Keep going east on the low ground past a peak with a double eye then next is a crag. Follow a trail along the left side of it in a wash and go on using trails to a minor saddle at 14847, 37169 el 650. Go thru on a trail then up a fork at 14804, 37004 el 650 that goes over a saddle el 750 into another canyon to the south. I call that Bridge Canyon. Burro impact is almost nonexistent by this time, and you'll start to think you're in a real wilderness. 5 minutes downstream is a major fall with a bridge. But go upstream and stay right at main forks to the end at a saddle on the west ridge reading 14408, 36193 el 1200. Go up the ridge using bedrock to the right of center all the way to cliffs blocking the way at the summit block. Go left along the base on faint trails to a palo verde tree at the final gully reading 14613, 35902 el 1700. A minor fall blocks the gully, but 50 feet beyond the tree are at least two class 3 chutes to get above the fall then it's simple to go up to the cairn at 14643, 35873. That took us 5 hours with nearly 1000 feet of strenuous gain, but no backsliding. It would only add an hour to rappel back down Bridge Canyon. The canyon has some potholes upstream from the technical section, the biggest was bathtub size at 14663, 36714 el 750 and no sign of burros ever, but occasional burros have been upstream of it. Vic Hanson posted a GPS track on peakbagger.com, but it doesn't show the best trail I found later. Posted 2019.
- BRIDGE CANYON RAPPELS - three fun rappels are in a short section of the canyon. They're not quite vertical and have easy launches and good anchors. Start at the same parking spot as the Black Diamond Peak hike and use the same trail at N33 15314, W114 37814 on the south bank. Keep going east on the low ground past a peak with a double eye then next is a crag. Follow a trail along the left side of it in a wash and go on using trails to a minor saddle at 14847, 37169 el 650. Go thru on a trail then up a fork at 14804, 37004 el 650 that goes over a saddle el 750 into Bridge Canyon. Walk down the creekbed for 5 minutes to the first drop. It's 90 feet with an anchor 25 feet back. A bridge is at the bottom. An escape route heads up the south rim there. The next 2 drops are shorter then some class 3 is next to get down to the bottom. Soon there is a trail on the left bank. Use that to get to another trail on the left bank of a side draw at 14604, 37279 el 500. Follow that up over a low saddle el 650 and it joins the approach route then retrace back to the start. That took me less than 3 hours with 4 or 500 feet of noticeable gain, not steep. I used a 200 foot rope and a pull cord and about 20 feet of webbing. I ran out of webbing at the last drop and used pull cord. A 150 foot rope and pull cord with 25 feet of webbing should do it. Using a 200 foot rope doubled over would mean using a scary horn at the lip of the big fall, or extending the anchor I used but that would be an eyesore. It would be hard to get trapped in this canyon. Posted 2019.
- WHITE ROCK CANYON is what I call an interesting canyon on the west slope. A loop can be done starting in the same mega wash where the Black Diamond Peak hike starts. Drive that route until the last mile then walk up a fork at N33 15559, W114 38484 el 300. Go up canyon to a trail at 15631, 37173 el 600 that goes up a left fork. In a tenth mile it goes over a saddle el 650 then goes down on the left side of the drainage and hits bottom. Walk on down canyon and get on the right bank at 16175, 38038 el 400. In another tenth mile there is a shallow narrows that runs for a quarter mile. Walk thru it for a thrill then there is a shorter one at 16128, 38460 el 350. Now just walk south over a bench to a trail at 15766, 38387 el 350 that goes back into the starting wash. That took 2 hours and nothing steep. A corpse could do this hike. Don't be suprised to see me on it when I'm dead. Posted 2019.
- LOPEZ WASH cuts a deep gorge thru the wilderness. Various loops can be done. Drive south on River Rd for nearly 7 miles from the end of pavement to where the graded road ends. Keep going on a crude road for 1.3 miles to a fork at a kiosk. Go left for 1.4 miles and park on the west bank of the wash reading N33 13035, W114 38404 el 400. Mtn bikes can make it. Drop down on a trail and walk down the wash and exit on a trail at 13374, 38319 then go north a third mile to another wash. Get on the left bank at 13760, 37971 and go east toward a mine road going up a minor ridge. Follow that road as it winds thru rugged terrain and ends at a boring mine. Walk a 100 feet more to a rubbly gully and go down that to the canyon floor. We then went up the other side of the canyon on a trail and on thru the main saddle at 13739, 35689 el 850 and down the wash to a minor fall. A class 3 ledge goes down the right side of the fall then it's a short walk to Lopez Wash. But for the mines, don't go down. Instead, go left to a tunnel at 13128, 35524. It has ladders and skylights. Follow a road down from there to Lopez Wash. The next tunnel is on the right bank at 13036, 35517 with some wooden chutes in it. On the opposite bank is a wench and trail going up the drainage to a huge tunnel. A shaft in that one has a wooden cover. Follow the wash back to the start. One more peculiar mine ruin is on the right wall way downstream. That took us 5 hours, 20 minutes with hardly any strenous gain. Someone cut the refuge fence making it possible to drive into Lopez Wash. The wash is soft gravel and burros keep it that way. The road goes on down the west rim of the wash to a washout at 13790, 39459, but there's another road where someone cut the refuge fence making it possible to drive into Lopez Wash. Posted 2019.
- COXCOMB MINES are south of Lopez Wash. Drive south on River Rd for nearly 7 miles from the end of pavement to where the graded road ends. Keep going on a crude road for 1.3 miles to a fork at a kiosk. Go left for a mile to a T then go right for a fifth mile and park at a bad spot el 400. Walk south down the road to a major wash and go up that to a road on the left bank at N33 11896, W114 36740 el 600. The road goes to the mine area with a camp at 12227, 36650 el 650. A winch is at 12404, 36705 el 750. A high mine is above that at the top of a talus slope, but I skipped it. Around the corner is a tunnel at 12307, 36548 el 750 with rails and a gelatin box. Not just any old gelatin, extra strength gelatin. Next to it is a workshop in solid rock with a steel door. The last mine of interest has a road at 12270, 36353 el 700 that goes thru a canyon and circles up to a shaft in a saddle reading 12251, 36197, el 900. It has a homemade ore bucket. For Coxcomb Benchmark el 1030, retrace back down the major wash and exit at 12070, 37639 el 500 and go up to a saddle el 750. It's obvious how to go on up to the reg at 12352, 37791. A fast way back down is to circle around to the north side of the summit block to a trail that goes to a saddle at 12369, 38168 el 750 then move right onto a ridge that goes down to the start. 4 or 5 hours and the only strenous gain is the 500 up to the BM, but that can be skipped. This area has the worst burro impact and is strictly for hikers who don't mind looking at endless piles of shit. Posted 2019.
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Huge pothole at peak 1744
Lopez Wash
