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| The Block |
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| Moapa Peak |
- CAVE CANYON is what I call the canyon in the NW part of the range. An ATV trail goes 10 miles up it to a guzzler el 5250 and two huge agave pits, all visible on the sat image. I came in from the south up the Meadow Valley Wash Rd but the RR has some of it posted but not gated. Take highway 168 to the RR tracks at mp CL 21. Turn there on the Meadow Valley Rd and go 8 miles to the end of pavement at a gravel quarry. Keep going a mile and a half then cross to the west side of the RR tracks. Some vehicles can go another mile before crossing under a 7 foot trestle. There is just one road to follow as the topo shows and it's 4wd with one knee deep ford. It crosses under the tracks (a mud hole is there but dry that day) to the east side then comes back to the tracks but will fade on the west side. That's where I used the RR road along the tracks to the canyon at N37 02804 W114 34520. The ATV trail starts there and passes under a 6 foot trestle. At about 5 or 6 miles is Yucca Cave on the left. It goes back nearly 200 feet with stalagmites. The trail goes on thru gorges to the end at the guzzler at a main fork. The pits are at the left fork. Peak 6921 towers to the SE. I made a good loop using the NE ridge. I walked up the left fork to el 5700 then up to a saddle on the ridge at N36 59724, W114 26195 el 6050. A spotty sheep trail goes up to the summit at 59360, 26525. I kept going south to the next saddle then down a class 2 drainage at 59245, 26523 el 6650 to get back down to the main canyon. I took a shortcut thru a saddle at 59351, 26850 el 6000 then turned left on a trail and followed the ridge down to a trail at 59551, 27156 el 5600 that put me in the bottom then strolled back. That took 3 hours with 1200 noticeable gain, good pj forest with some light brush. I doubt that it's legal for anyone but wildlife personnel to ride the trail, but no one will make a stink if you stop at the guzzler like they do. It fades in brush anyway. This is the best canyon in the range. Posted 2021.
- WHITMORE MINE, HACKBERRY SPRING - a 21 mile jeep road goes to this area as shown on the topo. The last 5 miles is in a winding wash where anything bigger than a jeep would be hard to maneuver. There weren't any major obstacles the whole length, just some rubbly patches. Take I-15 to exit 93 and get on the north side frontage road. Go east a short way to a fire station then just past that take a right fork down into a mega wash. The road stays in the wash for 5 or 6 miles then exits on the right bank at N36 44133, W114 32941 el 1950. Follow it another 8 miles on intermittent rubble to a fork at 50799, 30572 el 3200. The right fork goes toward Moapa Peak. The left fork goes on another 6 and a half miles to the wilderness boundary el 5100 next to Hackberry Spring and 2 agave pits. The spring looked dry, but I didn't explore it. Wiregrass Spring is a short hike up the closed road but it's a fiction. Peculiar cabin ruins were the only thing there reading 55184, 27340 el 5500. The mine is up a steep hill but it didn't look worth going up to it. This road is mainly for 4 wheelers who like to camp in the middle of nowhere. Posted 2017.
- MOAPA PEAK, MORMON BENCHMARK - an easy 4wd road goes for 9 miles to the south canyon as shown on the topo. Take I-15 to exit 100 and there is RV parking on the north side. Go east from there on pavement for 300 feet and turn up a wash. There is only one road to follow to the base of the mountain where several short roads fork left to dams. Stay right at those forks to a kiosk then go another quarter mile to a dam where the hike starts el 3200. The last 2 miles of the road is on bumpy little rocks. Hike up the wash behind the dam to the correct fork at N36 50656, W114 27174 el 3550. Follow that up to a narrows at el 3900 where a trail goes up on the left bank and parallels the creekbed as it curves left to a saddle at 50961, 27439 el 4450. Then the trail goes up the ridge to el 4850 where it goes left around cliffs to a tricky little cliff about 8 feet high. A hook and 10 foot rope would be handy for solo hikers when descending that. The trail comes back to the right side of the ridge then switches up to a main saddle el 5200 on the east side of peak 5246. Now it's easy up to cliffs at el 5800 where the trail veers right along the base to 51501, 26980 el 6100 where it goes directly up to the final obstacle, the knife edge. It's a tenth mile long and took me 15 minutes to cross it. It's mostly class 1 or 2 and nearly level but some spots are so narrow that I straddled it with one leg on each side. The reg is at 51517, 27095 el 6471. For the descent I decided to take a stab at Mormon BM on the SW ridge. I went back to the main saddle el 5200 and stayed on the ridge using a sheep route right of center to an obvious gully on peak 5246 reading 51140, 27642. I went up that and curved right to get on top of the ridge. Soon I was on another knife edge but this one was wide as a car. It looked like it would cliff out, but I went down anyway and it was easy class 3 and not risky. It was obvious how to walk on over to the BM at 50923, 28066 el 5232. It was dated 1925 with a lot of surveyor junk around it. Next, I went down a sheep route thru the cliffs at 50882, 28114 el 5100 then it was obvious how to walk the ridge on down. That loop took me nearly 7 hours with about 3500 gain. Moapa is not as steep as it looks. Posted 2017.
- CANDY BENCHMARK el 3438 sits right along the road that goes to the Moapa Peak hike. Follow that road nearly 3 miles in from the freeway to a faint road going left up a wash at N36 46132, W114 2774. It goes along the right bank at first to get around some rough stuff. Park after half a mile and walk to the obvious main canyon and then use the right bank until it fizzles. I went up the right slope from there but that was a mistake. The canyon is a whole lot smoother. Stay in the canyon for a short way to a cave on the right bank. Climb up a stairway on the left bank for 100 feet to an easy shelf reading 45964, 29242 then it's smooth sailing along the canyon to a saddle at the head then an easy ridge up to the reg at 45976, 29562. It needs a glass jar. 2 and a half hours, 1200 gain, not steep.Sheep don't live here. Posted 2017.
- THE BLOCK el 5804 is what I call a rugged peak along the Horse Spring road. A class 3 sheep route goes up the west side. Take I-15 to exit 100 and follow the Carp road parallel to the freeway for 4 miles to the end of pavement where it swings north. Now it's a graded road. After 7 and a half miles there is a sign for the Hackberry Spring TH. Keep going past that and over a pass to a sign for Horse Spring reading N36 58395, W114 19736 el 3200, about 16 miles in from pavement. Turn there on easy and mostly smooth 4wd and go 4 miles and park at el 4050. Mtn bikes would work on this road. Walk a mile across a valley to a ridge at 57286, 23421 el 4400. Go up and you'll see a cave up to the left. Circle up to it then keep going on a shelf for 200 feet to another shelf switching back toward the cave. At that spot I was reading 57236, 23091 with 16 ft accuracy. Walk that shelf back toward the cave, though above it. Where the shelf ends is the only exposure and I didn't consider it dangerous. Some might find a 30 foot hand line to be helpful. The route goes up from there in obvious gullies until a cliff band where it jogs left a little then on up to the summit at 57191, 22926. 3 and a half hours, nearly 2000 gain. Take long pants for light brush. The road goes on another 4 miles to a parking area el 5500 then it's a trail for a third mile to the spring el 5700, which is a hole in the ground with some water and dead rodents. The Hackberry Spring road goes easy 4wd for 3 and a half miles to the TH and mtn bikes would work. Then it's a 2 mile walk on the old road to the spring, which is likely dry. I have used this route to get to the Whitmore Mine basin. There is rock art on this hike. Posted 2017.
- DAVIDSON PEAK el 5300+ is the high point of the East Mormon Mountains.The east ridge is reasonable. I-15 has a secret interchange just east of mp 110. Pull off at the sign for truck parking and drive thru a gap in the fence. The underpass is less than a mile west. Get on the north side frontage road and go west. It soon turns north as a 2wd dirt road. It smooths out after a couple miles. Stay on the main road for a dozen miles from pavement to a faint 4wd track at N36 54247, W114 17743. This is where the main road starts climbing to the last tower. The 4wd track circles for .7 mile to the mouth of a canyon el 3250 or walk straight to it at 54154, 18215. Hike up the ridge on the left side of the canyon all the way to the summit at 53790, 19465. 3 hours, 2200 gain. Mtn bikes would work here. A road west of the peak goes higher, but the terrain on that side goes parabolic. VIRGIN HILL, south of the freeway, is a segment of the Old Spanish Trail where it climbs onto Mormon Mesa and allegedly the nastiest part of the entire trail. From the underpass, drive south to a white building then keep going another half mile to a T at the old highway. Go right for 1.1 mile and watch out for crumbling pavement at crossings. Turn left on easy 4wd and go 3 and a half miles to Halfway Wash then go down that for 3 miles to the trail on the right at N36 41102, W114 20013. It climbs nearly 400 feet to the top where a marker awaits placed by businessmen in the 1960s. The washed out trail was widened to accomodate vehicles but segments of a pack trail can still be seen beside it. I encountered a tortoise about halfway up. These roads are on the topo but not the trail. Posted 2017.
Tortoise coming down Virgin Hill. I pointed out that he could save a lot of time using the interstate, but you can't tell a tortoise anything.
One of the surviving markers placed by businessmen in the 1960s.
