 |
| Pine Mtn |
 |
| A view of Bunker Hill and Ravens Nest from Pine Mtn |
 |
| Flower show at Pine Mtn |
 |
| A bird nest on top of Pinon high point. I don't see how they get away with ground nests. |
 |
| Mines are starting up on the east side of Bunker Hill. |
 |
| Palisade cemetery |
 |
| The gorge at Palisade |
- WHISTLER MOUNTAIN el 8141 is the high point of the Whistler Range NW of Eureka. Take highway 278 to mp EU 8.2 and turn on a gravel road. Go SW for 1.2 miles then turn south and go 2.1 miles to an easy 4wd road at N39 37882, W116 03053. Mtn bikes and 2wd trucks can make it that far. Go 1.1 miles on bumpy little rocks to the end of the 4wd road in a canyon with shady camps el 6600. Walk up the canyon for a third mile then climb left to a saddle at 37638, 04779 el 7200 then up the ridge to the reg at 37650, 05527. Under 2 hours, nearly 1600 gain. Nice pj forest with no brush, cattle or horses. There are more direct roads in from the highway but they are less used and might have tedious gates. I could see the west side roads from the summit and they looked OK. Posted 2018.
- ROBERTS CREEK MOUNTAIN el 10134 has a jeep road to el 9750. Late summer is best for driving when a pond at el 8950, as the topo shows, is dry. Drive to mp EU 24.4 on highway 278. Two dirt roads go west from there. The one on the left is the Henderson Creek road. You want the one on the right which is the Vinini Creek road. At nearly 3 miles in there are no more cattle and the road smooths out. Keep going over a pass el 8126 to the jeep road at N39 50906, W116 17118 el 8100. It's routine 4wd for the first half mile to a level spot at 51341, 17335 el 8500. I would park or camp there and walk nearly half a mile up to the pond el 8950 that blocks the road and make sure it's low or dry. A fifth mile past that the road smooths out and it's routine 4wd to the last turn at 52461, 18476 el 9700 then it's a third mile on a grassy road to el 9750. The reg is at 52194, 18634. My name is in there from 20 years earlier but I can't remember a thing. Backpackers would have water at the meadows el 9250 and the last water is a spring at 52357, 18290 el 9550. The best camp along the creek is at 52137, 15622 el 7400 but take a lawn mower to cut the grass. The Vinini Creek road is on mtn bike websites because it's a good, easy ride. MOUNT HOPE el 8411 is an easy one nearby. Take the Henderson Creek road for 4 and a half miles then turn left just before Henderson Summit. Go half a mile to N39 48596, W116 11782 el 7200 then turn right and drive up to the north ridge el 7750. Then walk up to the BM at 47719, 11289. Someone mauled it trying to pry it loose. 1 hour with nearly 700 gain. These are smooth 4wd roads and you get to keep your paint.There is a forest for camping around the 7200 level. Posted June, 2018.
- SULHUR SPRING RANGE HIGH POINT el 8373 - a logging road goes to a burn area el 7200 by way of Middle Spring. Turn off highway 278 at mp EU and drive a decent high clearance road to N40 09612, W116 05836 el 6350, just before a shady cottonwood camp. Turn north there and go about half a mile then turn right on easy 4wd. The road soon turns brushy but is smooth. Stay right at a trough el 6650 and then the road fades in the canyon at el 7200. I went up the ridge and came down the canyon. The canyon route is less steep but grassy. The reg is at 09808, 03193. Placed by M&L in 1997, it only had one entry since. 100 minutes, 1200 gain. This is strictly for early in the season before the grass dries out and becomes a fire hazard. Flowers bloom in the burn area. Some trees survived on top. Mtn bikes would work to the trough el 6650 where water is pouring out of a pipe. Posted 2018.
- PINON RANGE HIGH POINT el 8747 - a bladed road goes almost all the way because gold mines are starting up. Turn off highway 278 at mp EU 66.8 and follow the main road and stay right at main forks for a dozen miles to where the road tops out at el 8700 a tenth mile north of the Elliott Benchmark which is at N40 24587, W115 59300. To continue on north to Bullion, drive back to a road at 25523, 57803 el 7700 and go north to a fork at 28597, 57336 el 6300. Stay right to another fork at 31950, 59209 el 6400. Left goes shortly to Bullion, right goes less than a mile to a T where left goes to Bullion and right goes a dozen miles to 278 at mp 73.2. This is nearly 40 miles and all easy 4wd. Go on Sunday when mine traffic is low. The mines might block this, but not around Bullion. Posted 2018.
- BUNKER HILL, PINE MOUNTAIN - an easy 4wd road goes to the saddle el 8200 NW of the Delmas Mine. Turn off highway 278 at mp EU 73.2 and follow the main road to a fork at Bullion reading N40 31415, W115 59794 el 6680. The left fork is rutted and goes thru aspen then over a saddle el 7260 and fades at meadows. The right fork is the one that goes up to the saddle el 8200. It has been bladed in recent times. It's a stroll to Bunker Hill at N40 30131, W116 00753 el 8706 and another stroll for 2/3 mile on the flowery crest to Ravens Nest where Bullion Benchmark is, though omitted from the topo. For Pine Mtn, use one of the roads on the west side of the saddle el 8200. The left one is preferred, but needs a trim. A 4wd had just been on it. The road on the right is more used. There is a parking spot along that road at N40 31415, W116 01549 el 8500 and then it's a short walk to the other road. A bump on the ridge marks the end of roads. The miners laid a route for a road around the bump, but never finished thus the remaining ridge is pristine. Skirt around that bump on the north side then it's obvious to the summit at N40 31769, W116 03632 el 8282. That took me 2 and a half hours with about 800 gain on the way over then nearly 1000 on the return. That's the best peak hike I did in this range. That Ferdelford Canyon has some sunny pullouts. The road up Webb Creek is gone. Posted 2018.
- PALISADE - turn off highway 278 at mp 78.4 and drive a mile and a half to the Humboldt River. The main road goes on up to I-80, but it's too steep for cars. A side road goes over a mile up the river in a gorge. Posted 2018.
