 |
| Meeker Peak is on the right, Worthington Peak is far left, then South Worthington to the right of it. |
 |
| Leviathan Cave |
 |
| Umetco Corp packed up and walked away from a large installation. Or were they vaporized by space aliens? |
A graded road leaves highway 375 at mp LN 11.8 just east of Rachel. It runs north along the west end of the Timpahute Range then along the west side of the Worthington Mtns. It goes around the north tip of the Worthington Mtns then out into the east valley to a 4-way at N37 54239, W115 32311 where it comes back to the mountains and runs south along the east side to the turn for Leviathan Cave. The 4 miles along the east side is high clearance but smooth. From the 4-way, a graded road goes east back to pavement but I don't know the details. Gas stations are at Lund, Ash Fork, and Tonopah. Rachel might have fuel if your mode of travel is a flying saucer. But in that case, English is likely not your language so this info won't help you. Posted 2017.
- COYOTE BENCHMARK el 7900+ is the high point of Tempiute Mountain which dominates the western Timpahute Range. An easy 4wd road goes into the east saddle el 7300 as the topo shows. Take highway 375 to mp LN 20.1 and turn on a paved road. Go about 8 miles to the 4wd road at N37 39470, W115 36942 el 6050. Follow that for a bit over 2 miles to 38203, 37795 el 6850 where 2 roads switchback to the left. Take the high road for a mile and a quarter to the saddle el 7300. The reg and BM are above at 37522, 38059. It's a 70 minute hike with 600 gain and the first 400 feet goes parabolic. VODA PEAK el 7587 is what I call the interesting peak east of the paved road. Leave the paved road on a faint dirt road at N37 38499, W115 36393 el 6300. That road will end in nearly half a mile then just keep walking SE up the valley in a nice pj forest. Aim for the obvious limestone ridge on the skyline then go up to the reg at 37763, 35195. It was placed by Dan Voda in 2003. He wrote his name on the label of a Walmart peach can then put the label in the can. For the descent, walk NW over the sister summit then down the spine until a cliff gets in the way. Use a ridge on the right at 38025, 35332 el 7300 to get around it then the rest is easy. 3 hours, 1300 gain. You'll never find a more pleasant pj forest to hike in. I consider this the best hike in the range because of pristine conditions. The main road goes on and hits the highway again in 8 or 9 miles, passing some good mine stuff along the way. Posted 2017.
- MONTE MOUNTAIN el 7957 is the high point of the Timpahute Range. It's an easy hike from Tunnel Spring. Drive the graded road in from highway 375 a bit over 7 miles and turn on a good road that a car could make if not for a 2 mile stretch with some sandy spots. The reading at that turn is N37 43884, W115 42492. Stay on the main road for 13 miles to the spring el 6550 which had a light flow from a pipe. A faint OHV track branches off about 100 feet before the spring. I was able to ride that for 2/3 mile to the end at a dry spring el 6700 where the peak was in view. I walked cow trails to a creekbed at 39063, 30738 el 6800 and went up that to the 7000 level then up the slope on the right to get on the NW ridge. A cliff band got in the way at el 7450. A class 3 crack goes up the center or there is a chicken route around the left side. The reg is at 38583, 30566. 3 or 4 hours, nearly 1500 gain. Some light brush in the flats. Nice pj forest but cattle have stomped trails all the way to the top searching for forage. Posted June, 2017.
- MEEKER PEAK el 8768 - the west side caver's route to Leviathan Cave is no longer viable because the road for that is closed at el 5000. So it's either use the west ridge of Meeker or drive all the way around to the east side. The west ridge is scenic and passes by the cave. Drive the graded road for a dozen miles in from highway 375 to a fork near a corral. Go right for a mile and a third to N37 48521, W115 40079 then go right again on a sandy track to the legal end in a mile el 5000. The west ridge route is obvious. For the unsteepest route, I went up the west ridge almost to peak 7010 then moved left to the rim of a canyon at 49361, 36893 el 6750. I walked the rim to a fork el 6950 where it's easy to cross over to the north side then up the slope to a view of the cave at 49782, 36417 el 8050. Then I went up to the summit block where a class 2 route goes up the west side. The reg is at 49439, 35991. 7 hours, 3800 gain and 1000 of that I consider to be steep. Pleasant terrain and pj forest. Posted 2017.
- SOUTH WORTHINGTON el 8881 is what I call the second highest peak about a mile south of Worthington Peak. The west ridge is easy. Turn off the west side road at N37 51080, W115 41743 and follow a smooth road for 4 and a half miles to the end at Wild Horse Spring el 6350, which is a useless well. A 2wd truck might make it. Walk north along the base and start up the west ridge at 53542, 37707 el 6700. It's a broad ridge and easy to zigzag up. Go over to a viewpoint on a cliff edge at 53974, 37281 el 7750 where a cave is in view. Just go up along the cliff top until crags get in the way then go straight up the slope at 53954, 37045 el 8250. It goes up steep for 200 feet and tops out at el 8450. That's the only steep part. Then it's just a stroll to the summit at 53995, 36691. Worthington Peak is only a mile away and looked easy. It wasn't. I walked east from the summit for 120 feet to get down an easy class 3 drop, only to be blocked by another cliff band at el 8600. To get around that, I dropped west to a ramp at 54165, 36786 el 8400 where all the animals get down. Then I used game trails to get back up to el 8450 where it was easy to walk level to 54521, 36611 el 8500 where I stayed along the base of another cliff to get to the last saddle el 8450. Then it was simple to go up to the top of Worthington Peak at 55057, 36693. I descended from there using the west ridge and found some circular fossils at 54897, 37174 el 8050. I angled down to the right to stay on the main ridge then trended SW to hit bottom. It was easy to walk back along the base. It took me 2 and a half hours to the top of South Worthington with 2700 gain, then was on top of Worthington in 6 hours with 700 more gain, then 8 hours and 15 minutes to come back to the start. Next time, it would take closer to 7 hours because I won't have to look for routes thru the cliffs. If there is a next time. Generally easy terrain and a pleasant forest. This is a good way to see a big chunk of this wilderness. Just doing South Worthington would be a 4 hour hike and a good one. If you just want to do Worthington by this route, go as far as the viewpoint el 7750 then walk a shelf to a point above the cave then go a little more to the ramp el 8400 described above. I didn't do that segment, but it looked obvious as I was descending. Posted 2017.
- WORTHINGTON PEAK has a 4wd road to el 7000 which is what most hikers use. Turn off the east side road at N37 57722, W115 33729 and go 1.8 miles to a road going left at 56711, 35048 in a mine area. Go half a mile on that road to a tricky fork and stay left. Then go .8 mile and go right toward the peak. The road ends in a bit over a mile at 55494, 36171 el 7100 but I would park a tenth mile before that. These roads are easy 4wd but the last half mile is hard on paint. I never hiked this route but I know it circles up to the south side of the summit. I faintly recall hiking up one of the west ridges on my first trip here in 1997. Posted 2017.
- LEVIATHAN CAVE east route - most use an unmapped road that goes to the 6400 level on the east side. Turn off the east side road at N37 50948, W115 33612 el 5750 and drive a mile and a half to the end on easy 4wd. Hike west up the main canyon and get on a minor ridge at 50356, 35841 el 7050. Follow that up to a cliff at el 7400 and go around the right side and stay out of the creekbed for easier walking to get to the main saddle at 50398, 36145 el 7600. I stopped on the route there, but it apparently goes down the west side to get under crags. It looked like a lot of tedious contouring then up a steep loose slope for 400 feet or so to get thru cliffs. That would be the last obstacle. I looked for a route that stays high, but there isn't one. I might prefer coming up the west ridge of Meeker. It's more pleasant terrain. Posted 2017.
