Lunar Crater Peaks

Lunar Crater

Streaked BM. That's the best 7000 class peak I ever hiked in the Great Basin.

Pancake BM

The Black Rock Lava Flow as viewed from the volcano. There's an easy hike thru that mess.

West rim of Palisade Mesa

An odd lizard species that I've never seen.

Seasonal stream on Streaked BM

Easy Chair Crater

The main road to Lunar Crater goes south 6.5 miles from US 6 at mp NY 79. RVs can go 2.7 miles to a fork with a large pullout. That fork ends at Easy Chair Crater in a bit over a mile. At 4.5 miles is a mile of mild sand where a motorcyclist wiped out and had to wait hours for an ambulance from Ely. I pulled a trailer thru that sand in 2wd and parked on the rim for several days. The main road goes on east from the crater to a main fork. One goes south toward Rachel and the left fork goes past Lunar Lake and back to US 6 at mp NY 82.6 for a total of about 17 miles. 2wds should carry a tow rope in case they need pulling out of the sand. Another way in is at mp NY 74. That road goes along Palisade Mesa but has bumpy little rocks and some deep sand crossings. There is no gas or store between Tonopah and Lund. I was getting a VZ signal in places along US 6. No peak on this page had a register in 2018. Posted 2018.

• ARMY BENCHMARK el 8004 is a limestone peak north of Black Rock Summit. Take US 6 to the summit at mp NY 88. Go a half mile towards towers then turn left on a decent high clearance road. Go 2.2 miles to a fork and go right for 5 miles to a pass el 6650. Hike up to a saddle at N38 35466, W115 51162 el 7200. Then go up the ridge staying low on the right side at first. At el 7700 cut over to 35861, 50805 to skirt a bump and the rest is obvious to the BM at 35607, 50376. 2 hours, 1500 gain, not very steep. This one has pinyons. Posted 2018.
• BLACK ROCK LAVA FLOW - turn off US 6 at mp NY 82 and go a mile on a good road to the lava. The road follows the edge for 2 miles but once you've seen the first 100 feet you've seen it all. Cows have an easy route thru the lava. About 2 miles in from the highway, take a crude road forking right. Go half a mile then start hiking at the lava edge at N38 29353, W116 00160 on an obvious route that goes east half a mile to an open interior valley where peak 6377 could be climbed. The best way to see this area is to climb the volcano el 6765  that spewed out the lava and then walk west down the open valley in the middle of the lava flow and come out on the cow route. Leave a bike or car at or near the lava edge described above. Then turn off US 6 at mp NY 83.6 and go .8 mile to a cinder pit at the end of the road el 6200. Walk along the east side of a hill and the main volcano comes into view. Go up the steep south ridge to the top then walk the rim north then west as it drops back down and it's easy to go over or around peak 6377 and on down to the cow route thru the lava. At N38 29258, W115 59898 the cow route starts bending right and on to the edge. I didn't have a shuttle so I cut south from peak 6377 across the lava to N38 29052, W115 59422 then W38 28931, W115 59435 where I circled back on easy ground. The volcano can be bypassed for an even easier hike. Instead of climbing it, just keep going north along the east base to a cow trail on the north side at N38 29400, W115 58654 and you'll merge with the other route in a tenth mile. It's a 2 or 3 hour hike with 700 gain but there's hardly any gain if the peaks are skipped. Cows walk the whole route except for the main volcano top. Posted 2018.
• CITADEL MOUNTAIN el 7503 is the high point of the area. A road goes up the massive north ridge  to el 6619. Drive to the south rim of Lunar Crater and go south on 4wd for 2 and a half miles to a fence corner el 6619. Cross the fence and walk the high ground to N38 20060, W116 06037 el 7050 then on to a ridge for the last mile to survey junk on the summit at 18526, 06485. I circled back by way of a viewpoint at 19299, 06744 el 7300. It took me 3 and a half hours with 900 easy gain. The soil is rocky and treeless. Posted 2018.
• CROSS BENCHMARK el 8039 is north of US 6. Turn off at mp NY 82 and go 8 and a half miles on a good road with some sand and park at el 5979. Then hike to the rim of a canyon at N38 35478, W115 59693 el 6600 and go up to the main saddle el 7000 at the head of the canyon. Keep going a little more to an easy ridge that goes up to a pristine plateau el 7400. Stroll over to the west saddle el 7600 then go left to some easier slopes and zigzag up to the summit at 35527, 58253. I could only find a witness BM. 4 hours, 2000 gain. That's a better hike than it looks. It's not your average boring volcanic peak. Posted 2018.
• HALLIGAN MESA has a  graded road but it's gated at 1.5 miles. So what good is it? The road has a clean camp spot with a good VZ signal in half a mile. Turn off US 6 at mp NY 73.7. Posted 2018.
• MONOCLINE CANYON is on the south side of Palisade Mesa. Turn off US 6 at mp NY 65.7 and go a mile and a quarter on a good road then turn on easy 4wd for 3 miles to the mouth. Walk to N38 21670, W116 09076 el 5600 to get around a fall. Look up to the south rim and the descent route is in view. Go up canyon a short way and use a game trail on the right bank. Go up canyon at least as far as a right fork at  22649, 07552 el 5850. Use that to get on the south rim aka Buckwheat Rim and walk back to 21471, 08920 el 6000 and go straight down to 21498, 09013 el 5700 then down to the start. I did a longer version of this and it took me 3 hours. Easy hike. Posted 2018.
• MOUNTAIN BIKE LOOP - an easy 20 mile loop can be done by way of Lunar Crater and Lunar Lake. Start on US 6 at mp NY 82.6 and ride to a fork at N38 26415, W115 58985. Go right on a crude road to another fork in a mile. Both go to the lake but left is better. Ride 3 miles across the lake to N38 22865, W116 00575 to get back on the main  road. It's 4 miles to the crater and the ride up the rim is the only hill and it's easy. Then head north back to the highway at mp NY 79 and then back to the start. A mile of mild sand is north of the crater and the rest is hard packed. I would ride that loop on a bike and I'm spoiled by motorcycles. Posted 2018.
• PALISADE MESA HIGH POINT el 7008 - a good one way hike can be done by going up a NE ridge and down the ridge west of Iceberg Spring. Leave a car or bike near the spring at mp NY 70.8 on US 6. Then drive to mp 74 and go a mile on a good road to a crude road forking west. Two ridges there make good starting points. I followed the crude road for a tenth mile then went up the ridge and thru the cliff band at a crack reading N38 27000, W116 08219 el 6350. Then it's a stroll along the rim to a canyon at 25569, 08976 el 6600. That canyon leads into another with water at 25207, 09137 el 6650. Cattle drink there but it wasn't polluted that day. Go up the canyon on a cow trail for 3/4 air mile then there is the option to go up onto the left rim and stroll on to survey junk on the summit at 23308, 10701. Then walk to a break in the rim at 23456, 10588 el 6900 and go down to the next rim el 6850 and walk that for 2 miles to a point above the spring at 25425, 10464 el 6650. Go down the ridge there then veer right near the bottom towards the spring. The descent route along the spectacular west rim is the best part. That whole hike took me nearly 5 hours with 1000 of super easy gain. Posted May, 2018.
• PALISADE MESA HIGH POINT LOOP el 7008 - a shorter loop can be done starting near Sandy Summit Spring. From Lunar Crater, drive north .6 mile and turn left. Go 3.8 miles on the main road to N38 25449, W116 07318. Turn left and go a mile to the end of the road at a canyon containing the spring. Follow a water line up the canyon for a  third mile to the spring. Some light brush is in this area. Go on past the spring a short way to a fork. Go right and the fork soon leads to the top. Then it's an easy stroll to survey junk on the summit at 23308, 10701. It's best to walk the high rim for at least the last mile. Then retrace .9 air mile back on the rim and walk down thru a gap and on to a little flat top then on to 24737, 07968 el 6500 where a route with some light brush goes down to the start. That took me 3 hours, 45 minutes with 1000 easy gain. The main road goes on north 3 miles to the highway at Sandy Summit. Posted 2018.
• PANCAKE BENCHMARK el 6356 is on a remote point south of Lunar Lake. A rim walk from the lake is a good route. From Lunar Crater, drive east on a good road for 5.5 miles and park on the south shore of the lake. Walk south up a canyon to a saddle at N38 22725, W115 58411 el 6350. Go up the easy ridge to the main ridge then stay on the high ground to a ramp at 22403, 57568 el 6750 that goes up a cliff band. I went up there but you could stay low for another quarter mile and top out on peak 6873 which is the high point on the rim. Either way keep following the rim south. It doesn't pay to wander too far from the east edge. Aim for 21190, 56387 el 6400 to skirt a boulder field. Then go around the right side of a hill and on to the BM at 20440, 55642. It would be simple to return the same way, but a loop is always more appealing. For that, head for 20793, 56453 el 6400 then on to a saddle at 20932, 57167 el 6570. Swing left on the approach to the saddle to avoid boulders. Go west from the saddle down to a canyon and follow that down and it will bend north then cut over to another canyon at 21325, 57995 el 6100. Follow that north and stay on the east side away from boulders. Go up to a saddle at 22075, 57954 el 6420 then keep going to 22650, 58289 el 6450 where you merge with the ascent route. It took me 2 hours, 45 minutes to get to the BM and 3 hours to come back the alternate way. The only steep gain is 300 feet in the ascent canyon. The rest is easy grades. The area is in pristine condition. It's the best pure juniper forest I ever hiked in. I never saw a pinyon. Just going to peak 6873 would be a worthwhile shorter hike. Posted 2018.
• STREAKED BENCHMARK el 7272 is 6 miles SE of Citadel Mtn. A good loop can be done up the north side. From Lunar Crater, follow the main road east then south for nearly 12 miles to a crude road el 5316 forking NW. Follow that for 1.1 miles then cut left for 300 feet  into a wash reading N38 16391, W116 00660 el 5500. That's the only wash leading to the base that's wide enough for a 4wd. Go a third mile up the smooth wash then it splinters into several minor channels. If there's no track, walk it to scout the best route to drive thru. It's only sand and small bushes, no rocks. In a tenth mile it's one wide channel again and it's easy to go a mile and park near the base. The obvious route up is at 15597, 02099 el 6000 where you go up along a creekbed then climb left onto the ridgetop. It's a cakewalk on a gorgeous juniper studded ridge to the BM at 14559, 02078. The summit slightly SW is a bit higher and has survey junk too. For a scenic loop back, walk SW on the rim from the BM for half a mile to a saddle el 7000 then turn north and walk down the west rim of a canyon. Aim for a canyon at 14964, 02872 el 6450. It had running water from recent storms. Stroll on down that then exit left at 15418, 02804 el 6400 and keep going thru a gap to the rim of another canyon at 15633, 02984  el 6400. Walk that rim then drop off the left side at 15751, 02939 el 6400 to get down to a saddle then drop down the right side of that into a large clearing. Go downstream in that and shortly there is a fall. An obvious gap on the left bypasses it and leads down to the flats back to the start. That took me 4 hours with 1500 gain. A horse had been in the descent canyon, but other than that the mountain is pristine. I hope the horse stays gone. A hollow boulder el 5800 along the creekbed near the end of the hike has some faint markings, but it must be from cowboys. Posted 2018.

  

  Rain on Palisade Mesa sent a white torrent down a dry creekbed toward a fall above Iceberg Spring.

  
  

  

  This fall is just above the spring.

  
  

  

  I raced it 1000 feet down to the flats and won!