Death Valley, east side

Tunnel near the Graham Mine

Graham Mine camp

Moorehouse Mine

The Wonder Mine. The main wonder is how they built a road up there.

A clue in the photo reveals that this started out in life as a car or truck engine.

IBEX BENCHMARK el 2557 has an easy north ridge. An Indian trail goes thru the north saddle. I parked on the highway at mp 39.2 and got on the trail at 45963, 19487 and on to 45881, 19640 then it fades for a mile and reappears at 45205, 20596 and goes a fifth mile to the saddle. Then it's an easy ridge until the last bit where I angled right on stable slopes to the west ridge then up. 4 hours, 800 noticeable  gain. Posted 2023.

OOREHOUSE MINE has some old trails. Turn off highway 127 at mp SBD 39.6. Go north about 3 miles to a fork, then keep right for over 2 miles to the mine camp at Ibex Spring. Take the road around the west side of the camp and park at fork at N35 46549, W116 24982 el 1250. There is a camp spot a tenth mile before the fork. The road this far is easy 4wd except for one tricky gully crossing where a bridge washed out decades ago, but it was easy that day. The right fork ends at the mine in a third mile, but that's the return route. Hike the eroded left fork up into a main saddle el 1500 which is to the left of white tailings. Now you can see a trail to the left going along the ridge. Take that trail and soon it drops into a bright canyon draining west to the big valley. It soon goes along the left slope as it drops down to some diggings then on to the main valley. Now turn north up the valley for a fifth mile to a large wash that goes back to the main saddle. Go up the wash to a trail on the left bank at 46822, 25288 el 1450 that goes to the saddle. It's worth it to go up the white tailings from the saddle to the main mine then down the road back to the start. 2 or 3 hours, not steep. One good side trip is the WONDER MINE. After dropping into the big valley, aim for a smooth bench at 47525, 26082 then walk that to a trail at 47892, 25856. Go left on that a short way to the eroded road that goes up canyon to the mine at 48363, 24640 el 2400. The road will fade in the creekbed then reappear again on the left bank just before the mine. A trail at 48382, 24637 el 2500 goes up 100 feet to the mine stuff. On the way out, I dropped left off the road at the canyon mouth and walked the creekbed. Two minor falls were easy to pass on the right, then I went on to the trail and followed it back along the base and into the main wash that goes to the white tailings. This side trip will take 3 hours, not steep. Posted 2018.

• MCLAIN BM el 4300 is near Ibex Pass. Take highway 127 to mp INYO .50 then go west on easy 4wd for about 3 miles to a canyon mouth. Stay right at one tricky fork. Hike the mine road into the mouth reading N35 49249, W116 23052 el 2800. Follow  the road to the end at the Comet Mine el 3700. Now you have to get on the ridge next to the mine. I had to drop down some tailings on the north side to get on a slope to the top. Then walk the easy ridge. About a half mile before the peak there is a bump in the way. Walk left around it into a major saddle el 4000 then up to the BM at 50051, 24145. I went back down to the major saddle then dropped down into the canyon that goes back to the start. One minor fall is easily passed on the right. 3 hours, 1500 gain. Posted 2015. In 2020, I returned by a better route. I walked south from the summit on the main ridge for 3/4 mile to peak 1281 meters which I call Mammoth Peak. A 30 foot rock circle is there with an inner rectangle. Don't let it get disturbed as it might be of Indian origin. I descended the east ridge reading 49426, 24062 el 4150. At a saddle el 3600 a crag got in the way so I dropped down to the right and hit a mine road then walked south past the Mammoth Mine and out to the flats and back to the start. That version took 4 hours. Posted 2020. 
• GLADSTONE MINE is in the middle of the Ibex Wilderness. A loop can be done from the Eclipse Mine because it has the only legal road for access. Turn off higway 127 at mp INYO 5.5 and follow easy 4wd along the left side of a quarry. It goes 5 miles then turns bad at a white mine. I parked there and walked to a cairn on a minor ridge at N35 50558, W116 22997 el 3000. I went up the ridge then moved left near the top to get over the rim then down to an easy wash. I went up that and got on the right rim at 50582, 23448 el 3350 then on to a saddle at 50689, 23556 el 3400 where I could see a road below. I walked up the road to a fork el 3650. Left goes to mines, but I stayed right thru a white saddle and followed the road to a white mine at the end. I dropped down a main wash there and came to a narrows with a minor class 3 drop. After that I came to harder drops. The right rim passes it all, but it's more scenic to go up to a saddle on the left at 51440, 24029 el 3250 and drop into the next fork and stroll on thru the narrows. It opens up and I came to rock house ruins on the left bank. A few feet more there is a side canyon. The right rim of that is a route to the Gladstone Mine but too rocky, so it's preferable to go on down to a wash at 51552, 23299 that leads to the road to the mine. It tops out at a divide where I went down the main wash and got back on the road at 51964, 23282 and on to the mine at the end. A 3 room ruin is next to the road then rock house ruins sit on a hand built road that ends in another 200 feet at a tunnel. I retraced back out on the road to a main wash at 51363, 23018 el 2750. I went a third mile up that to a main fork then left for a third mile where there is an option to go left for a shortcut but it's too rough. It's better to stay straight back to the minor ridge with the cairn near the start. 5 hours with hardly any strenuous gain. Posted 2020, 2022.
• IBEX PEAK el 4750 is the high point of the Ibex Hills. Take highway 178 to mp 30.8 and turn on a crude  road. Go a mile and a quarter to a wash el 3000 with closed signs. Walk up that to a road at N35 53752, W116 26525 el 3150 then go up that for 2/3 air mile to a fork el 3450. Go right into a wash then go up the main bed for half an air mile where the road exits up the left bank. There's a better road another 100 feet up the wash. It merges with the other one and tops out in a saddle el 3900. Then go up the ridge and stay left around a bump just before the summit. The reg is at 52726, 25006.  3 hours, 1800 gain. The road ends in half a mile at a camp with a view. Posted 2017.
• IBEX PEAK EAST APPROACH - the most scenic route for this peak is to go west up the canyon to Sheephead Spring then over the peak and down the east ridge. Turn off higway 127 at mp 9.6 and go 5 miles on the graded Furnace Wash Rd and set up camp at a point. Then drive to mp 5.5 on highway 127 and follow easy 4wd for 2 and a half miles to a small hill. Park there then ride a bike for a dozen miles back to camp and do the hike the next day. Walk the flats to a wash at N35 54284, W116 22165 and it leads to the spring. A narrows at the 840 meter line has minor falls that stop 4 wheelers. Somebody drove all the way up there to find out the hard way. At the spring there is a trail that goes up on the right bank at 54040, 24417 then it's an easy ridge to a drainage at 53309, 25010. Go up that to a saddle at the end then on up the ridge to 52869, 24952 el 4650. Level off there along the left side of a bump then the peak is next where the easy descent ridge is obvious. Then drop to the south saddle and go a few feet more to the easy ridge at 52569, 24914. Go down to a saddle el 3750 at a bright hill then left down an easy ridge and hit a main wash between cliffs at 52667, 24176. A half mile down the wash is a short narrows. Go thru and a few feet more is steep route up the right bank. Go over and drift left down a ridge and it will split. Stay left into the canyon and walk it out. 7 and a half hours, 3000 gain but nearly half is up the easy wash. The app said 13 miles. The spring had a tiny flow and tamarisk had been cut down. Backpackers could use it but take a pocket saw to clear out tamarisk that is growing back. Sheep use this so give them room. I saw one. This is the best hike in the Ibex Wilderness. I put a track on peakbagger under Bob G. Posted Nov 2022
• SHEEPHEAD MOUNTAIN el 4275 - a loop can be done by way of Salsberry Spring. Take highway 178 to a pullout next to a downhill sign at mp 31.4. It's a half mile south of Salsberry Pass. Walk south on the road for 200 feet then get on the south bank of a deep gully and walk uphill for over a tenth mile and merge with an old road. Walk that into a canyon and go up that and soon it's obvious how to go up the ridge to the reg at N35 55200, W116 24615. Then walk the crest on a sheep trail for nearly half a mile and walk left around some crags into a deep saddle el 3800. A peak is in the way here, so walk around the left side of it going slightly downhill and on into a broad drainage then up along the left side of that to a ridgetop el 3900. Walk that to 55640, 25024 el 3900 then go down a ridge there to 55771, 25030 el 3650 where the route down to the spring is in view. It was dry, but had a stream years earlier. Then walk down the canyon a quarter mile and cut left thru a mine camp at 55986, 25308 el 3150 to get back to the pass where you left a mountain bike. A second car could be left at mp 33. The loop took me 3 hours with about 1500 gain and I had no shuttle at all. Posted November, 2017.
• SHEEPHEAD MOUNTAIN CIRCUMNAVIGATION - this is an easy one that just needs a topo on a phone. I parked along the highway near point 868 meters and walked up Bradbury Wash to Sheephead Pass then moved right to get down the other side on a ridge into a canyon. It has some class 2 drops then when I was passing north of peak 951 I went left over the rim and on to a nameless spring. It's best to circle right then go up the drainage to it. It's only a dry clump of mesquite. I walked the base on to the highway near peak 949 then rode a pedal bike 4 miles back to the start. 3 and a half hours for the hike and the bike ride was the only strenuous part. An ebike would make it easy but that's cheating. Good color, easy terrain, nearly pristine. Posted 2022.
• SALSBERRY PEAK el 4250+ makes for a good loop by way of Montgomery Spring. Take highway 178 to mp 34 and leave a car or bike there then drive over Salsberry Pass and park at mp 30 el 2800. Walk to a minor wash at N35 55357, W116 27486 el 2850 and follow along that on the low ground to a wide wash at 55776, 27551 el 3050. Follow that up to the east saddle at 56738, 27183 el 3950. About 500 feet before the saddle it's easier to climb up out of the creekbed and walk along the right slope into the saddle. A sheep trail goes up the ridge to the summit area where crags are easy to weave thru. The reg is at the south end. Retrace to the saddle and follow a sheep trail to get down into the canyon and walk to a sheep trail on the right bank at 56877, 26942 el 3500. It leads around the corner to a small cave containing the spring. It's a clear puddle with several drips into it and likely perennial. Go on down the canyon and exit on the right at 56972, 26638 el 3300. Keep going at that level for 400 feet to the next little ridge and go down that then it's obvious back to the highway. I went down the little ridge for 2/3 mile then cut thru a gap at 56774, 25548 el 2900 to get to my bike at mp 33. That loop took me 4 hours and there was only about 500 feet of gain that wasn't very easy. It's easiest to start at mp 30 for anyone wanting to go up and back the same way. Posted November, 2017.In 2019 I did the loop without a shuttle. I parked at mp 31.4 and dropped into a wash and walked down to 54751, 27056 where I cut over to the minor wash el 2850 and merged with the other route. That only took 4 and a half hours.
• EPAULET PEAK el 4765 - a loop can be made from Rhodes Spring to the NE ridge. Take the Badwater Rd to mp 54.2 and turn on easy 4wd. Stay left at a fork in a few feet then go on a mile to the end of the road at the spring el 1900, which is a hole with rough looking water. Hike NE up the valley to N35 56375, W116 20375 el 2300 then on to a canyon at 57405, 29895 el 2700. Go up canyon to a main fork at 58144, 30077 el 3000. Go left and stay right at main forks just past there in order to stay in the main wash. It bends left at 58557, 30258 el 3300 and goes up to a saddle on the NE ridge next to peak 1218 meters, reading 58757, 30714 el 3900. Go up the ridge right of center to skirt some outcrops then comes the final slope which is not nearly as rocky as it looks. A third mile before the summit, move left to skirt rocks. The reg is at 58365, 31466 in a plastic jar that won't last. It's obvious how to walk west on the main ridge for half an air mile and descend a bright ridge. I could see how I could drop to the right off the bright ridge into an easy canyon, but I had to be a hero and dropped into the canyon on the left side at a gully reading 58012, 31909 el 3350. Then I had two minor falls to skirt on their left side in that canyon. No big deal but the other canyon looked easier. Either way, once down at the flats get on a mine trail at 56265, 32672 el 2000. It goes over a saddle then down a wash and resumes at the flats and goes back to the start. 6 hours with nearly 3000 gain, but only 200 could be called steep. Top notch scenery. Sheep had just been in the descent canyon. The north side roads are closed, but that side is extremely boring anyway. I pity the hikers that walk in that way. A hiker using a phone with topo map on it wouldn't need hardly any coordinates. The route is obvious on the map. Posted 2018.
• GRAHAM MINE TRAIL - miners laid out an easy trail from Rhodes Spring to the mine.  Take the Badwater Rd to mp 54.2 and turn on easy 4wd. Stay left at a fork in a few feet then go .6 mile and park. This road is mtn bikeable. Walk the flats to N35 55918, W116 32179 el 1800 where the trail is dipping into a major wash. Go NW up the wash for .3 mile where the trail exits up the right bank and goes thru a low saddle el 2000 then on to a valley where I lost it. I found it again at 56539, 32874 el 2000 where it crosses a low ridge into the next canyon where sheep had been hanging around. Go up canyon to a trail on the left bank at 57966, 33437 el 2850 that skirts minor falls then follow the main wash to a fork at 58485, 33185 el 3300. The right fork goes for 3 minutes to a clean tunnel in solid rock on the left bank. The left fork goes 300 feet to a mine camp el 3400. A trail goes up from there to the Graham Mine at 58660, 33346 el 3700, a bottomless shaft. It's only a short way up to a good view and the energetic could keep going to Epaulet Peak. 5 hours and only the last 300 feet of gain gets steep. It would be the same mileage to hike directly up from the highway, but very monotonous. Anyone starting at the spring could pick up the trail at 55875, 31649 el 1850 then 55924, 31853 el 1900 then on to the major wash. No one had walked this in decades, but someone started to fence off the shaft but stopped.  A heavy metal object is on the flats at 55795, 32001. Posted 2018.
• For the DESERT HOUND TRAIL, drive to mp 50.1 on the Badwater road in southern Death Valley. Turn on a primitive road and go nearly a mile and a half to the end. Head for a bench at N35 56012, W116 34725  keeping to the left of a rock field. Go on up canyon to 57273, 34913 which is the trail to Virgin Spring. But go up the wash to the right of the trail to 57289, 35034 where you go up the slope on the right and pick up the Desert Hound Trail which is not far above. Follow this as it goes along the right slope of the wash and up into a saddle. Keep going up the ridge and you'll hit the trail soon again. At about 3100 feet ignore a spur trail going left and don't be tricked by it on the way down. The trail eventually drops into a wash. Get on it again on the other side at 57784, 36062. Soon it drops into another wash then exits on the left about 200 feet upstream. It soon fades so head for 57802, 36300 where it goes up steeply then veers left to the right of a big cairn. Now it goes along on the level to a minor saddle at 57914, 36522 and then on to a wash nearly 200 feet deep. The trail goes down the nose to the left then fades. Go on down and across the deep wash to a saddle on the far side at 58062, 36925. This is where you join the upper trail. Go left to the DESERT HOUND MINE at 57975, 37557 el 3900. Old artifacts here include a Coleman type stove. More stuff is further along. On the way back, detour over to the spring at 57217, 35122 and walk out on the right side trail back to the main Virgin wash. About 7 hours for the whole trip and about 3000 gain. A hiking book says you get all scratched up but I had no trouble. DESERT HOUND PEAK makes a good side trip. Use the main gully before the mine to get at it.
• BROWN PEAK el 4947 - a loop can be done going up the standard west route then down the SW ridge. Take highway 127 to mp INYO 34.3 at N36 12592, W116 23366 and turn on an easy 4wd road. Go 7 miles on that and park. I parked at a camp spot reading N36 07338, W116 25851 el 3000. Walk to a canyon at 07407, 24502 el 2950. Go a tenth mile up that then angle up the left bank to get over into the next wash. Go on up canyon and take a left fork at 07037, 23837 el 3450. Follow that to the end at a saddle el 3750 then go up the ridge to 06887, 23366 el 4700 where you start up the summit dome. The reg is at 06917, 23138. Retrace back down to el 4400 and walk the SW ridge to a  saddle at 06489, 23592 el 4400. Go thru then down canyon and aim for a saddle at 05974, 24039 el 4200. Stay in the creekbed until reading .22 mile from that saddle then angle up to it and go thru and move left 300 feet to get on a smooth ridge down to the wash. Stay in the wash, no shortcuts, until another wash at 06928, 24781 3200 where you veer left back to the start. 4 and a half hours, 2000 gain, the last 400 is steep. This is a top notch hike. On my previous ascent, I went up and down the standard route and it took half an hour longer than the loop. Or maybe I'm just getting faster. Not likely. PEAK 4029 is the southernmost 4000 footer in the Greenwater Range. The north ridge is easy. Stay on the dirt road for 6.5 miles on over Deadman Pass and you'll hit the Furnace Creek Wash Rd. Go left for 6 miles then park and stroll the flats for 3 miles to a fork in a wash at N36 01586, W116 23746 el 3050. The rest is obvious. I went over the summit then down a ridge at 00920, 23336 el 3900 to get back down to the flats. 4 hours with 1000 noticeable gain. Some good pavement with big rocks dispersed on it is on the flats. Posted 2018.
• LEMONADE SPRING TRAIL - this trail is on the 1:100,000 topo. Drive up the Dantes View Rd for 4.4 miles from highway 190 to a small wash at 36 18358, 116 41114. Look for ducks on the ridge to the right of the wash. Follow this man made trail to the spring at N36 17683, W116 42562. Don't be fooled by the first pipe you see. The spring is in the next canyon to the right over the saddle. It had a trickle but it wasn't lemonade. Return down the canyon on smooth gravel with a couple of class 2 obstacles and one class 3 ten foot fall. You'll hit pavement  a couple hundred yards down from the start. 1000 gain, 3 hours.
•  MOUNT PERRY el 5700 is best done as a one way hike. Leave a car on the paved Dantes View Rd at N36 17108, W116 40560. Then drive on up to Dantes View and walk the rocky ridge trail to the summit at 16423, 43464. The trail skirts the biggest bumps. Come back a mile and go down at 15484, 43193 and walk smooth gravel back to the start. 5 hrs, about 1000 gain.
• PEAK 4020 is one of the high ones on the east rim of Greenwater Canyon. A good route goes up the ridge from the Lila C Mine. At mp 40.6 on highway 127 there is a road with mild sand that goes over 5 miles to a roadblock at the mine el 2650. I walked on up the main road to a mine trail at N36 14134, W116 29685 el 2800. It goes to the ridgetop then levels off to the left to a 100 foot long tunnel el 3000. I stayed near that level sometimes losing a little to 13616, 29843 el 3100. I went straight up from there toward peak 3383 and soon hit pure rocks then bent left on easy ground to the ridgetop then at el 3450 it smoothed out. I went on to peak 3635 and dropped along the right side of that then on up the ridge dealing with a few bumps. I had a Verizon signal on to the summit at 12848, 32444. I took a direct path back in sandy washes.  4 hours, 8 minutes, 1700 gain. Posted 2023.
• PEAK 5300 is east of Pyramid Peak. A class 2 route goes up the scenic west canyon. I parked on highway 190 at mp 130.2 and walked desert pavement to N36 20975, W116 34807 and followed the high ground into the  canyon then up to a fork at 22668, 33406 el 4300. I went right and stayed right at the next main fork then a third mile before the peak I got on the right rim. I stayed left of center and merged back to near the creekbed then on up to the summit at 22239, 33102. No reg that I could find. 5 or 6 hours, 2300 gain, not very steep. Posted 2023.
• NORTH GREENWATER RANGE TRAVERSE - a pristine one way hike can be done over peak 4450. The starting ridge is along the Dantes View road at N36 16500, W116 39876. I left my pack there and kept going to the Furnace Creek Wash Road and went 2.5 miles on that to a camp spot on the left with signs. I could have drove a car there that day. I then coasted back 3 miles on my Zizzo to my pack and started up. I stayed on center to peak 3780 then skirted high along the right side of that one then the ridge goes parabolic for 200 feet. But there are paths to zigzag up then on top I stayed low left around bumps then on to the west side of peak 4390 at 16221, 37418 then on to the high peak of the hike at 15490,37073. I then dropped SE to a smooth ridge at 15405, 36835 and stayed on that trajectory into a wash that led me around to peak 3930. I walked to the east rim near it at 16205, 35472 for a view then retraced back to a saddle on the rim at 14958, 36358 where I dropped down. But I soon saw that the north end of the saddle had a smoother descent. I hit a smooth wash at bottom and stayed in it most of the way to the road. Nearly 6 hours, 2000 gain, 11 miles. 3 miles and 80 minutes of that was the detour to peak 3930. Rocks are dispersed and rarely an issue. Reversing this would save 300 feet but it's an easy 300 so no big deal. Posted 2023
• PYRAMID PEAK has a much more appealing route than the standard one. I'll post that when I get around to hiking it again.
• SCHWAUB PEAK el 6400 is east of Furnace Creek. Take the easy 4wd Echo Canyon road for about 10 miles to the end el 4100. Hike on up a mile to a big wash at N36 29978, W116 39990. Go up it as it curves right to a ridgetop at 29014, 40030 el 4900. The plan is to go up the ridge then come back in the canyon to the right of it but that descent route is optional. At about 5700 there is a minor crag in the way. Go left around it a short way then come back up and stay mostly right of crags to the reg at 28425, 39175. Come back down from the reg in a scree gully then at 28502, 39142 move right for a couple hundred feet to get on an easy little ridge that goes to the canyon bottom. Go on down canyon and out. 4 1/2 hours, 2400 gain. For WINTERS PEAK el 5000, park on the Echo Canyon road at a closure sign about 2 miles up from the narrows. Go up a smooth wash at 29893, 43985 all the way to the divide then go left to the summit at 31063, 45303. Easy grade to the divide then steepens at the last 400 ft. 3 hours, 1900 gain. Good views of the valley.
• THIMBLE PEAK el 6381 is accessed via the Titus Canyon road. Leave Beatty on highway 374 heading for Death Valley then turn just AFTER the sign for Titus Canyon. Go about 13 miles on a decent dirt road to Red Pass el 5300. This is the second pass. There is a hiker trail heading south up the ridge. It's easy to follow but there's a 300 foot deep saddle in the way. Go across the saddle then up to the summit. One 5 foot high class 3 step is the only obstacle. No reg in 2013. Under 3 hours, 1700 gain. All but the drivers would have the option of returning down the drainage heading north from the deep saddle, eventually hitting the road much lower. In April 2013 the Titus Canyon road was firm enough for mtn bikes, but that can change. I would start pedaling at the park entrance el 3600 about 2 miles in from 374. It's 11 miles and nearly all uphill to Red Pass with a little over 2000 gain then 15 miles of coasting to the highway on the floor. 
• GRAPEVINE PEAK el 8738 is the highest in the Grapevine Mountains. Take highway 374 from Beatty for 4 miles then turn at the sign for Rhyolite. Go 3/4 mile then left on another paved road. Follow that for 2 and a half miles to a main fork, which is right after a sharp right bend. You should be reading N36 53706, W116 51943. Go left for 8 and a half miles to a fork, staying on the main road which is decent high clearance 2wd. The fork is the Strozzi Canyon road at N36 58851, W116 55880. Go left for 2.7 miles and you'll see a road on the right climbing at a backward angle onto a bench. The Phinney Canyon road is on top of the bench. Follow that for nearly 9 miles to the best campsites in a pj forest at N36 57275, W117 06541 el 6600+. In another third mile is the short bad spot in the road el 6900. Rigs without lockers will have a tough time getting up. Then it's another 3/4 mile to the main saddle el 7500 with good camping. Hike the ridge from the saddle toward the peak. There are several bumps on the ridge, and you have to go nearly over the top of most. But one can be completely passed. At a saddle at N36 57668, W117 07590 el 7750,  just drop down a little on the left side to get on easier terrain and walk that level for a third mile where you then get into the next saddle which is 100 feet higher. There is spotty trail along the way. It's easier to find on the way back. Then stay close to the ridgetop all the way to the last saddle at N36 57808, W117 08321 el 7900. From there it's an easy ridge to the summit. 4 hours, 1600 gain, pj forest all the way. There is parking room near a mine just before the bad spot. That adds 700 of gain and nearly a mile one way if starting there. Some high clearance 2wds might make it to the bad spot, but it's over 20 miles to get help. No water. Wahguyhe Peak is not hard but Palmer is a tedious roller coaster. Posted 2013.  
• T89 HIGH BENCHMARK and it's higher south summit are worth a visit at the north end of the Grapevine Mtns, but I didn't keep a record of that hike. I'll get around to it again.

Rock circle at McLain BM