Old Woman Mountains Wilderness

Another wanderer with his own motorhome. His rig has 4wd. I want one of those.

Gemco Mine camp

Nest on Carbonate Peak, only a foot off the ground.

Ingersoll Rand compressor at Scanlon Gulch. The wind was spinning the fan blade. I expected the bearings would be shot , but there was no free play.

Route 66 washes out a lot. Check the county website for road conditions.

OLD WOMAN MOUNTAIN el 5325 is the high point of the range. The Florence Mine had been the TH for the north side, but the road is closed and so it's better to walk the next road to the east as shown on the topo. Go west on Route 66 from Essex for about 9 and a half miles to the sign for Danby Rd. Take that graded road for nearly 2 miles to the RR tracks. Go across and keep straight on sandy road #200 for nearly 6 miles to a gate el 2500. Walk up the closed road for 3/4 mile then cut over to another road at N34 35826, W114 14117 el 2900. Follow that around a point and stay right at a fork to the end of the road at a wash. Go up the wash nearly a fifth mile then get on a faint road on the left bank at 35303, 13620  el 3350. Walk that up to el 3700 where the peak and several routes are in view. The canyons look less steep but are tedious. I went up the ridge to the right of the peak. Walk over to the creekbed of a major canyon at 34937, 13910 el 3700. Go up that 300 feet then climb out on the right and go up the center of the ridge. When dark cliffs block the way, it's obvious how to go left around the cliffs and top out on the main ridge el 4800. Then it's a quarter mile to the reg at 34398, 14125. 5 and a half hours, nearly 3000 gain. I descended directly down the ridge from the peak but that didn't save any time. Solar panels on the summit repeater had been bashed in. Posted 2017.

• SCANLON GULCH MINE TOUR -  a loop can be done by going up to the Gemco Mine then up to Carbonate Peak then down the main ridge to the Hang Mine.  Go west on Route 66 from Essex for about 9 and a half miles to the sign for Danby Rd. Take that graded road for nearly 2 miles to the RR tracks. Go across and you'll see a road running west next to the tracks. Take the next road to the left of that one which is #195. Follow 195 for 9 and a half miles to road #404 reading N34 30241, W115 19991. Go 8 miles on 404 to a broken down fence at private land on the floor of Scanlon Gulch. Some drive around it but that won't help on this hike. Walk up the smooth wash. At 32326, 11536 is where boulders first pose a problem for people driving. No vehicle can go more than a fifth mile beyond there. At 32517, 11362 el 3500 there is a road on the right bank. Take that for a fifth mile to cabins at the Gemco Mine which are on BLM land. There are 2 trails behind the cabins that go to mines. The left trail goes to a mine I visited in 2006 that had a compressor and other stuff, but I couldn't find anything in 2018. A ridge goes from the cabins directly up to Carbonate Peak. As I started up, I stumbled on a mine trail at 32697, 11361. Always on the lookout for a wuss route, I took that trail and it angled up to the left, across a wash, then up the next ridge to the west. The trail fizzled at el 4000 but it was still easy going up to the main ridge. At el 4800 you want to start cutting over to the peak. The reg is at 33500, 11434 el 5200+. Then come back down and walk the easy main ridge SW for nearly 2 miles. Start descending on a little ridge at 32435, 12943 el 4600. Keep going down another tenth mile to a viewpoint. The Hang Mine can be seen to the left. The Ingersoll Rand compressor can be seen distant right. Back up a little and go SW down an easy canyon then cut thru a low saddle at 32279, 13203 el 4100. Then go down the drainage a tenth mile then over to the rim el 3850 on the right. The compressor is directly below at el 3600. Walk down to it then take the washed out road back to the start. That road is on the topo. The loop took 6 hours with nearly 2000 gain that is noticeable. All roads easy 4wd. Water was flowing at the cabins in Nov 2006, but not in March 2017.
• GEMCO TWINS is what I call the two high peaks east of the Gemco Mine. They're both in the elite 5000+ club shown as 1573 meters. A loop can be done using a mine trail that goes into the upper basin on the north side. This hike starts in Scanlon Gulch like the hike above, but drive farther up the canyon to a road on the right bank at N34 32183, W115 11651 el 3350. That's the return route. Walk up the main canyon to the road at 32517, 11362 el 3500 on the right bank. Take that for a fifth mile to cabins at the Gemco Mine. A trail behind the cabins has a fork. Take the left one to a mine el 3900 with a bottomless shaft. The topo shows the trail this far. Get on another trail at 32669, 10925 el 3900 that goes to what I call the High Ruins at 32696, 10855 el 4000. A trail goes up from there to a mine, but I stumbled on another trail at 32775, 10824 el 4050. It goes around the corner then splits at a drainage. The right fork goes up the drainage to a mine el 4250. But the left fork at is the one you want. It's at 32823, 10712 el 4150 and it goes to 32887, 10633 el 4300 where it enters the upper basin. Then it's a stroll up the wash where the smooth north slope of the peak is in view. A respectable pinyon forest grows here which is what the miners were after. I went up a smooth ridge on the left of the drainage then cut under a crag to the NE saddle then to the summit at 32651, 10292. No sign of humanity. The south Twin looked easy, but I was out of water and so headed SW into the canyon then drifted right to a mine trail at 32522, 10609 el 4300. I lost it after a tenth mile but it likely goes to the cabins. It was easy to just drop down to the wash and walk the scenic canyon back to the start. That loop took me 5 hours with about 2000 gain. I never saw a drop of water. It had been a dry winter. Backpackers could go into the upper basin if it ever rains again. The 2011 BLM map shows the entire road up Scanlon Gulch as public. Posted March, 2018. In April 2020, I dropped off the summit to the SW as before but went straight down to high ground between the forks then stayed on that to the fork and dropped left to the creekbed which had a stream. Scanlon Gulch had intermittent water above the cabins and the high basin el 4400 had a trickle.
• SHEEP CAMP SPRING is in the middle of the best wild part of the range. A loop can be done by going up Browns Wash then down the canyon with the spring. The road in is #465 and departs the Skeleton Pass Rd at the RR tracks reading N34 21906, W115 17177. I rode in from Cadiz along the tracks but that's 16 miles of nasty washboard and sandy wash crossings, so the Skeleton Pass Rd would be the preferred route. Follow the road 5 and a half miles to Browns Wash and park. Then walk up the valley or, if you have a second 4wd, drive nearly 3 miles up the valley to the end of the legal road at 26497, 11510 el 2650. Then walk the wash to the canyon at 26971, 10946 el 2950. Go up that to a left fork at 27574, 10730 el 3550. Follow that to the saddle el 4050 at the head and go thru and into the high basin that drains to the spring. Go down the smooth creekbed to a fall and pass it wide right. At the base of the fall is a seep with a tiny dam containing several gallons of water reading 28013, 12195 el 3700. Then go down to Sheep Camp Spring at 27758, 12701 el 3400. It had a seep and a puddle. A guzzler next to it had water. At the next fall drop down the right side. For the last fall, angle up to the left gaining 100 feet and go thru a minor saddle at 27458, 13502 el 3000. Below that is an ancient trail on the right bank at 27297, 13849 el 2500 that skirts a short section of boulders. I found no more trails. The canyon opens up at el 2350 where the right bank can be walked for a fifth mile to avoid rocks in the creekbed and then the creekbed soon smooths out. It's obvious how to go around the point into Browns Wash. That loop took me 6 and a half hours but I had no shuttle. There is about 1200 feet of noticeable gain and it isn't steep. There was more water on my first trip in Nov 2006. The ascent canyon had a stream and Sheep Camp Spring canyon had a stream starting at el 3850 and ending at el 2600. If backpacking, I would go with a light pack after a wet winter and set up camp in the high basin above the spring. It's 3 square miles. Then take a day pack and find a way down into the next canyon north and come back up Sheep Camp Spring canyon. The road in that north canyon is closed. Posted December, 2017.  SHORT VERSION - a side canyon just upstream from the spring at 27806, 12454 el 3500 can be walked to the end then thru a saddle el 3650. A mine trail then goes down the left side of the canyon and fades at the creekbed el 2950. It's easy to walk the right bank from there and on out to the Browns Wash road. That took me 4 hours in 2018.
• SHEEP CAMP SPRING TRAIL - a spotty mine trail is the fastest way to the spring. Walk from the road in Browns Wash to a side canyon at N34 26537, W115 12367 el 2450. Go up and get on the left bank at 27095, 12123 el 2750 and walk that to 27300, 12134 el 2950 where the trail starts up the right bank and goes to the saddle at 27616, 12367 el 3650. It's a short walk down the other side to the spring. This would be the preferred way to go backpacking in there. Sheep advocates used this route to haul a 50 pound drinker up to the guzzler. Pics are on their site. Posted 2018.
• The SUNFLOWER SPRINGS ROAD runs south from Essex along the east side of the range for 19 miles to Painted Rock at the Old Woman Mountains Preserve. Any 4wd truck or dualsport cycle can make it. The preserve is a small area for day use only.  Posted 2017
• SHIP BENCHMARK el 3238 is the high point of the Ship Mountains. A west side canyon goes up. Take Rte 66 to Chambless then go south on a paved road toward Cadiz. At the first RR crossing the pavement ends. Keep going south on a wide dirt road for 2 miles to the next crossing, but don't cross. Stay south along the tracks on road #443 and soon it veers left. Go another couple miles thru some deep sand then park. Hike up the fan which is a rocky mess. One route is to head for the right bank of a main wash at N34 30056, W115 25467. Stay along the wash and it leads right into the mouth of the west canyon. Then it's easy to use the left bank but only as far as 29482, 24849 where it's better to get back in the creekbed. Just follow the main canyon all the way up to the saddle el 2950 just north of the BM. Turn right to the reg at 29407, 24110. 5 hours, 2200 gain. The canyon is bouldery but they're small enough to step up. The canyon on the east side goes right up into the same saddle, but that's a long drive around. Posted 2015. SOUTH SUMMIT el 3208 - the NW canyon is an easy route up this massive peak. A wash crosses the west side road at 29970, 27140 and runs east to save some walking. Walk to high ground at 29797, 25833 el 1100 and it leads to the mouth then stay far left in a drainage at 29603, 25464 el 1300 to get to smoother ground on the wide left bank. When that plays out, go up the main creekbed and get on the left bank again at 29331, 25162 el 1550 and go a fifth air mile then switch to the right bank. Cross back to the left bank again at 29150, 24775 el 1900 where an easy ridge forms. Go up it to a seismograph site on the summit at 28716, 24168. I could see routes along the crest to Ship BM, but instead I walked half mile to the southern edge of the summit plateau for a view. I retraced back to the start. That took me 5 and a half hours but over an hour was spent wandering around on the summit plateau. The only strenuous part is the 1300 feet up the ridge and a lot of that isn't steep. Sheep once lived here but only faint trails persist. Posted 2018.
  

  

  High Ruins at Scanlon Gulch

  

  

  Typical setting near Sheep Camp Spring