Thousand Creek Gorge
Local hikers in the gorge. They were in a hurry.
Virgin Valley Camp el 4800 is the main campground. Take Nv 140 to mp HU 91 then go 2 and a half miles on graded road to camp. There is a warm pool and shower house, but little shade. RVs camp here. No fee. OHVs are allowed on the refuge. The refuge brochure shows campsites but only some of the roads. Posted 2014.
- SOUTH RIM ROAD accesses the gorge and McGee Mtn. It is easy 4wd. From Virgin Valley Camp, take the road going east for half a mile to the second fork. This is right after passing under power lines. The left fork goes to the start of the gorge hike in half a mile. The right fork goes for about 2 miles to 3 forks reading N41 52160, W118 58145 el 5200. The left fork goes to a rim overlook in less than a mile. The right fork goes to McGee Mtn. The middle fork goes for 2 miles to the mouth of the gorge then on another mile and a half to Nv 140 at mp HU 84.7. Mtn bikers could ride the 7 miles from camp to Nv 140 then go back 8 miles on the highway. Posted 2014.
- THOUSAND CREEK GORGE, nearly 4 miles long, is the main attraction for hikers. A spotty trail with light brush/grass runs along the bottom. In July, a small stream only a couple feet wide was running thru it. I never saw any of the other 999 creeks. Use the south rim road paragraph to get to the start and set up a shuttle with cars or mtn bikes. The trail starts out on the left side. It took me an hour and 20 minutes to get to the gooseneck where the canyon makes a hard left. Right here is a big boulder jam. You can step under a boulder and go right down along the stream to get thru. In the bend of the gooseneck is the last boulder jam. I went right down the center OK, but going high on the right might be faster. Now it's easier walking. The only issue is a continuous swamp/ thicket backed up 3/4 mile from the mouth. Be sure to get on the right bank at N41 53196, W118 57732 just before the canyon makes a hard left. It's a fairly obvious crossing if you don't have GPS. The right bank works all the way to the mouth. It took me 3 hours to go thru. I didn't have a shuttle so I walked the 4 mile south rim road for an hour and a half back to the start. A mtn bike locked to the cattleguard at the 3 forks would have allowed me to coast the last 2 miles. I did this in shorts but that is not recommended. I was rubbing against a lot of spiny plants. My shoes stayed dry. A herd of sheep were grazing a mile up from the mouth. Posted 2014.
- MCGEE MOUNTAIN el 6667 is just outside the refuge and too easy to pass up. Drive from the campground to the 3 forks described in the south rim road paragraph. Take the right one for about 5 miles to another fork. Go left for 3 miles and park on the east ridge el 6100. It's a 20 minute walk up to the BM at N41 47360, W118 55858. The surveyor pole, wires and all, was still standing after 50 years. Mtn bikes would work on these roads. Posted 2014.
- CATNIP MOUNTAIN el 7294 is the high point of Sheldon NWR. That's saying a lot because the refuge is nearly a thousand square miles. Use Nv 34A to get to West Rock Spring camp at N41 53931, W119 21942. Drive thru camp on easy 4wd and keep right at a meadow in about half a mile. Go on up to the summit ridge and the road goes west of the summit and starts to drop over the south side. But then there's a fork that takes you back along the summit ridge north of the summit to a horse trail at 51048, 23079. It's a quarter mile stroll to the Cat BM at 50938, 23355. The road soon fizzles east of the horse trail. A mtn bike would help on this road. The Catnip BM is on the east end of the mountain and is about 20 feet lower. Leave Nv 34A at 53531, 18283 on a 4wd road and keep left at the next fork. The rest is obvious to the BM at 51628, 20912. No reg at either BM. Nv 34A goes on to the west entrance. Right where the road starts to drop off the plateau is a smooth 4wd road on the south side that goes for nearly 2 miles up to the lookout on Bald Mountain el nearly 7200. Posted 2013.
- BIG SPRING BUTTE el 6547 is a prominent peak in the north part of the refuge. Turn north off Nv 140 onto a crude road at mp HU 99.6. Keep left at a fork in about half a mile. Stay on the road going north then at about 4.8 miles from the highway turn right. GPS reading here is N41 58052, W119 11028. Go another 2 miles and you'll be a mile from the peak with 900 feet to gain. It's been a smooth road to here that mtn bikes could do. Or stay on the road as it goes another 2 miles around the north side to half a mile from the peak with 500 feet to gain, but the road isn't as good and certainly 4wd. The BM is at 56828, 08950 with a lot of surveyor junk from 1950. Posted 2014.
- ROCK SPRING BASIN has an easy 4wd road going into it. Take the graded road going south from Virgin Valley Camp then turn left at N41 49081, W119 00270. There are some short rocky sections. A thunder storm turned me around before I got to the campsite which seemed to be in a stand of aspen. Posted 2014.
