Fortification Range Wilderness

Cottonwood Canyon amphitheater

Upper basin stream

Upper basin. Fortification BM is far right

Patterson Peak

The Fortification Range is the nicest area I've seen in the Ely BLM district, but horses are ruining it. But that's normal for Nevada. The graded Atlanta Road runs along the east side.  Drive US 93 to a sign for Atlanta at mp WP 7.5. Turn and go a dozen miles to a 5-way with 2 cattleguards reading N38 39018, W114 25722 el 6000. A camp trailer or small RV can be parked there as a base camp. The good road heading west goes to the Indian Springs area. The high clearance road going thru the south cattleguard runs along the base of the range. The main Atlanta Road goes on south to the ghost town in about 13 miles. There are 3 high clearance fence line roads along the way that connect over to the base road. One is at  N38 36963, W114 24480 along the south side of a cattleguard. The next one is at 35386, 23611. The last one at the south end is at 31321, 20738. Mtn bikes would work on all these roads. Posted 2016.            

• FORTIFICATION RANGE HIGH POINT el 8431 is commonly climbed from Basin Spring. Northbound hikers should drive to a cattleguard on the Atlanta Rd at N38 31321, W114 20738 and go west along the fence on a crude road. After nearly 3 and a half miles there is a T at the base road at the foot of the range. Southbound hikers should turn at a cattleguard on the Atlanta Rd reading 35386, 23611 and follow that a mile and a half to the base road. Then follow the base road to a faint road reading 33034, 24694. Turn there for a mile to a horse trail forking left. The reading there is 32782, 25607 el 6500. Follow the trail at first then veer off and start up a ridge on the right at 32625, 26354 el 6800. Just keep going up and the ridge circles to the reg at 32810, 27272. I came directly back down and hit a stream at 32600, 26878 el 7300. It flows on bedrock for a 100 feet then vanishes. I followed the creekbed on down and hit the horse trail again at 32512, 26185 el 6700. The loop is all in a pj forest and took 3 hours, 5 mins with 2000 gain, some light brush. Mtn bikes would work on these roads as they are packed dirt. Posted 2016.
• FORTIFICATION BENCHMARK el 8268 is the only BM on a major peak in the range. A loop can be made using the Cottonwood Canyon trail on the return. Drive west on a crude road from a cattleguard on the Atlanta Rd at N38 36963, W114 24480. Follow along the south side of the fence for nearly a mile to a gate at a 4-way. Go thru and keep straight for a few feet and take a left fork and go to the end in a third mile, right after Deer Spr. You should be reading 36614, 25871 el 6250. To get there from the 5-way, drive the base road for 2.6 miles to the 4-way and the gate. It's a fifth mile after a signed turn for Cottonwood Canyon TH. From the parking area, hike south on trails to get to the east canyon at 36150, 26184 el 6400. It had a stream that day. Go up canyon using trails on the left bank. After half a mile there is a scenic basin el 6700. Climb up the south side thru a break at 35933, 26824 el 6950 to get on the rim. Another option is to keep going up canyon and try to find the trail horses use to get on the rim. Either way, follow the rim up along the canyon into a burn area then aim for the minor saddle 300 feet east of the summit. The reading at that saddle is 35734, 27434 el 8050. Go on up to the summit where someone built a small rock wall. That must be the fortification. Come back down and walk north along the crest to a trail on the rim of Cottonwood Cyn reading 36311, 27566 el 7800. Go down the trail to a spring in a stand of ponderosa pines at 36538, 27535 el 7100. The spring looked safe but was so tiny a funnel would be needed. No horse poop around it. It's the only water I saw in the whole canyon. The trail continues on down canyon to a road then you just walk around the point back to the start. 4 and a half hours, a little over 2000 gain.  If you just want to hike the trail up Cottonwood Canyon, go north from the 4-way for a fifth mile and turn at the sign. It's a mile up to the TH. The trail is maintained to the spring in the pines at el 7100. There are good views along the way of all the eroded volcanic rock forming the huge amphitheater at the head of the canyon. Posted May 2016.
• PATTERSON PEAK el 8028 is what the BLM calls the peak at the north end of the wilderness, next to Indian Springs. A loop can be done starting at the east base and hiking south into the high basin el 7500 then going north on the skinny crest to the summit. From the 5-way, drive west on the good road a bit over a mile to where it shrinks to a crude road at some boulders. Go another tenth mile then go left at a fork for another third mile to a closed left fork.Make sure you're reading N38 38610, W114 27358 el 6300. Hike that fork and it soon fizzles. Keep going to a low ridge at 38204, 29699 el 6500 where you have a view of ascent options. I intended to go up a left fork at 37839, 27867, but decided to stay in the main fork. Hindsight revealed that the left fork might be better. I went  from the low ridge into the bottoms at 38020, 28020 el 6700 then crossed to the left side of the creekbed at 37918, 28080 el 6800. Boulders forced me high up the left slope but I found my way thru to where the canyon levels off and the stream was flowing at 37675, 28128 el 7400. It was  easy to walk along the stream for a fifth mile to where horse trails start showing up in the open basin. It's easy to walk along the east side of the basin to the head of the creekbed then circle west to a viewpoint at 36957, 28482 el 7900. Then head north on the high ground for nearly 2 miles to the summit at 38493, 28532. This skinny ridge turned out to be as easy as it looks on the map. Boulders are in the way about a third mile before the summit. Stay low around the right side of those. From the summit, stay on the high ground until it finally starts dropping to a viewpoint at 38498, 28198 el 7750. Go down the rocky main ridge right there and soon the rocks disappear and it starts heading straight back to the start . The loop took 5 hours, 13 mins with nearly 2000 gain. Some light brush. Horses had been pulled from this area. Posted May 2016.
• INDIAN SPRINGS is a short hike. From the 5-way, go west .9 mile then turn left on a high clearance road. The road soon ends. There is a horse trail near the end at N38 38553, W114 26953. It goes across the stream then up along the east side for half a mile to an upper basin el 6500. I was able to come back on the west side but no trail. Horses had been removed. Posted 2016.
• LIMESTONE HILLS HIGH POINT el 7860 is a pleasant hike thru a thin pj forest with hardly any brush or horse impact. Drive north from Atlanta and keep right on graded roads for 5 miles then park a quarter mile from the south canyon which is at N38 27502, W114 14713 el 6800. Walk up the canyon and take a right fork at 28039, 14713 el 7100. Follow that up into the main saddle el 7500 south of the summit then turn left to the reg and surveyor junk at 28351, 14473. No one had signed since it was placed 14 years earlier. It's obvious how to make a loop back down. 2 hours, 1300 gain. Posted 2016.