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| Upper Perry Aiken Creek as seen from the Leidy trail. |
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| Upper Davis Creek. It would be easy to climb south to the crest, left of the snow. The falls are center. |
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| The Leidy trail entering the grove near the end with a good campsite. |
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| The spring at el 13100 near Dubois in September 2018 |
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| Looking down Perry Aiken Creek from the end of the Leidy trail |
I spent over a week around Dyer. The Indian Creek road is washed out for a quarter mile at the mouth. A lot of jeeps are going around it, implying it's OK after that but I didn't ride it. All this info will be added to the original 2013 post.
CHIATOVICH CREEK RD is at mp ES 20 on Nv 264. Signs point the way on graded roads to the forest boundary at a fence. Jog right along the fence a short way then go left on rocky 4wd which was still easy for jeeps in 2018. In nearly a mile is a shady creekside camp then the road smooths out for a couple miles to a creek crossing. It looked like a mud hole but was solid. Jeeps can go another half mile then the road shrinks to an ATV track. I was stopped at a fallen tree at N37 48230, W118 16938 el 8600. This is one way to climb Dubois. Settlers Way is a graded road that connects north to Middle Creek road. That road is rougher than Chiatovich due to floods.
MOUNT DUBOIS via Davis Creek north rim - this is the unsteepest route up to the peak. Use the Chiatovich Creek road. Go about a mile inside the forest boundary then go left on the road up Davis Creek for a mile to the end at a campsite el 7900. Follow a trail on the bank of the creek to the where the rim starts up at N37 47289, W118 15418 el 8400. Go up the rim to 47110, 16445 el 9600 then move to the right edge to get around mahogany. Go a fifth mile then come back to center where the mahogany set up one final Maginot Line to try and stop me. I went low around the left side then soon came back up to center and on up the ridge to a flat at 46481, 18305 el 11950. Then it's easy to go up to the crest and on to 46681, 20101 el 13400 where the rest is in view to the reg at 47000, 20611 el 13500+. A gushing spring is on the crest about a mile before the peak. For the return I wanted to detour into upper Davis Creek, so I retraced back to the rim and went down in the vicinity of 46475, 18015 el 11500, but that is so steep that I should gone down the head of the canyon or the south side. I hit bottom at falls then walked the north bank to 47079, 17010 el 9950 near the Maginot Line where it's easy to merge back onto the rim then retrace back to the start. The ascent took 5 and a half hours, the return took 4 and a half hours but might take only 3 and a half if I didn't take the detour. But the detour is worth it. The first 3/4 mile has some light brush then more is at el 10000, then it's clear above 10000. If I'm a backpacker with only a car, I can drive all but the last 2 miles. Then I walk the road to the end and on nearly a mile to el 8400 and set up near the creek. There are places to camp on the rim, the last is at 47154, 15899 el 8900 but no water. The hardcore can go up the rim to the Maginot Line. The reading there is 47170, 16655 el 9750. Then it's easy to merge into upper Davis. The last good camp I saw there is a grove at 46528, 17612 el 10400 with a creek. It looked easy to climb out of the canyon to the south rim. The spring near Dubois is at 46362, 20003 el 13100. I saw no sign of humanity in upper Davis, but there are some ancient cow chips. The falls are at el 10550 with a spring on the south bank. Posted September, 2018.
- DAVIS MOUNTAIN el 9400+ is a moderate hike. Use the Chiatovich Creek road. Go about a mile inside the forest boundary then go left on the road up Davis Creek. After .6 mile the road turns rocky el 7700. I parked there and walked the remaining half mile to the end el 7900 where there is a good camp. I kept going on a foot trail for 350 feet where I could cross the creek then went up a shady slope at N37 47733, W118 14928 el 8000. I just kept going up to what seemed to be the high point at 46916, 14238 but couldn't find the Indian benchmark. Then I walked SW down the rim to a game trail at 46721, 15389 el 9000 that got me to the last saddle. I dropped down there to the site of the Von Schmidts marker, but that had gone missing too. It was easy to walk back on the east bank of Davis Creek. I saw obsidian flakes along there. 4 hours with nearly 2000 gain. Some light brush. Posted 2018..
- LEIDY CREEK TRAIL - this trail goes to springs el 10500 near Perry Aiken Flat. The road leaves Nv 264 at mp ES 12.5. The road is bumpy for about 4 miles to the mouth of the canyon, then it's a jeep road up canyon for another 4 miles or so, then it shrinks to an ATV track then ends shortly at N37 41844, W118 13784 el 8300. The trail departs to the left at 42053, 13358 el 8000 and goes up a creekbed for a third of an air mile then switches up the left bank to a tiny spring in a meadow el 8550. It goes on up a creekbed from there then switches left at 41721, 13407 el 8650 and up to a ridge. It goes up the ridge and levels off at el 9600 and fades. It resumes again at 41456, 13146 el 9700 then on to 41286, 13208 el 9850 and takes a minor dip at 40706, 13404 el 10600 for the remaining 700 feet to the springs. A good shady campsite el 10450 is in a stand of trees a quarter mile before the springs. The flow was small. A funnel would help. A trough told me this trail was for cattle, but I saw no sign cattle were ever there. A good viewpoint is less than a fifth mile to the south. A roaring creek can be seen and heard flowing out of a high basin in one of the north forks of Perry Aiken Creek. I spent 4 hours with 2600 gain. Brush was very light. The topo is generally correct but the trail switches more than the topo shows. If I were to backpack here, I would drive at least to the mouth el 6000. That is always passable because there's an intake to service. I would have water up canyon to the Cabin Creek fork at 42268, 12681 el 7650. It has the perennial stream. If the Leidy Creek fork is dry there, which it was that day, that would mean no more water until the springs at the end of the trail. The tiny spring at el 8550 had enough water that day, but can't be counted on. I believe I could get from the mouth to the the campsite el 10450 near the springs in 6 or 7 hours. It's hard to find a better backpacking area in the Great Basin. Posted September, 2018.
- CREST BACKPACK ALTERNATE - a popular route to run the crest is to go over White Mtn Peak then keep going north and drop down at Middle Creek, but that's a killer shuttle. Another option is to use the Leidy trail to get on the crest just north of White Mtn Peak. Then just take a side trip up the peak and come back then walk on to Middle Creek or even Davis Creek for the descent. Posted 2018.
