Avawatz Mountains Wilderness

The Indian trail to Sheep Creek Spring

Washing machine up from Sheep Creek Spring

 Mine up from Sheep Creek Spring

Peak 5777

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  A note left at the mine up from Sheep Creek Spring

  
  

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  The western portion of the range is on the Fort Irwin base but that's been "don't ask, don't tell" forever. Highway 127 runs along the east side and has a decent VZ signal. The graded but sandy Harry Wade road runs along the north side. RVs can camp at Silurian Lake. Baker and Shoshone have the nearest gas. Posted 2020.
• AVAWATZ PEAK el 6155 is the high point of the range and the only reason anybody goes in there. The road from the east up to a repeater had been repaired as of April 9, 2020 but a mega flood on April 13 may have wiped it out. Take highway 127 to mp SBD 19.1 and follow an easy 4wd road for 4 miles to the mouth of a canyon. Getting close to the repeater depends on vehicle and flood damage. I wouldn't take anything wider than a jeep and it better have a locker. From the repeater, walk the road for 8 tenths mile to a little ridge at N35 29942, W116 17748. Climb a couple hundred feet up this to the main ridge then go left to pick up the trail into the saddle. Cross the saddle and go up the ridge where a good use trail awaits then go right to the summit at 30755, 19899. 5 hrs, 2500 gain. There's camping room at the repeater. Mormon Spring had vegetation but no water. There are rock ruins in the draw below the repeater. Use the road that stays on the left in the draw. In 2008 I could ride down to tailings at the first ruins. In the main canyon at the bottom of the road and to the right is another ruin. This was the primary route used by the Sierra Club when the road was passable. Update - on Dec 5, 2020, I followed the road for a mile inside the mouth to el 860 meters where a narrows is the first thing to get annihilated by floods, but it looked OK. I stopped there but jeeps could keep going.
• AVAWATZ PEAK BACKPACKERS ROUTE - a 5 mile Indian trail connects Salt Creek to Sheep Creep Spring that works for hikers with only 2wd. Take highway 127 to a short dirt road at mp SBD 29.2. Get on the trail at N35 37488, W116 17353. Walk it to 37348, 17673 then 37184, 18032 then 37096, 18293. It starts bending left on smooth ground and fades then resumes at 36771, 18893. Keep going to 36373, 20072 then it goes up a wash to high ground at 36205, 20533, but forget that and use a better but very faint trail on high ground at 36383, 20251. It will merge with the other and go on to the road that goes to the spring. This trail was a lot of work for the Indians. They moved a lot of rocks. A million cairns set up by paleface help on this route. It's rocky to be sure, but no deep gullies. I have never seen that spring dry up. The next spring is up canyon at 32987, 21728 el 3350. Miners built a pipeline to it but only sheep use it now. Posted 2020.
• IRWIN PEAK el 5700 sits on the west rim of Sheep Creek Spring canyon. It says Irwin right on the topo? It's hard to find a peak in this range that doesn't have a higher one right next to it, but for this one it's a mile and a half to a higher peak. Take highway 127 to mp SBD 29.7 and turn on the Harry Wade road. Go 2 miles on that then go left on road #233. Follow that road for 4 miles to the spring at the mouth el 1700. Walk the left bank to get around a thicket then stroll on up the main wash to el 4000 and pick a route up. I left the wash at el 4250 (1300 meter line) and went up a ridge at N35 31561, W116 21355 el 4550. It goes parabolic then bends left to the rim el 5400. Then it's a stroll to the summit area at 31591, 22030 with a weather station. I kept going on the rim to 31747, 22145 el 5500 then up around the left side of a bump. Then I could look down to my right and see a saddle el 4850 next to peak 1522. I dropped down and crossed it then walked a sheep trail along the north side of that peak to 32446, 22075 el 4750 where sheep go straight down the ridge. Upon approaching a saddle where the ridge bottoms out, I dropped to the right to the main wash I came up and retraced back to the start. That took 7 and a half hours with 4000 gain, 3000 of it is easy. An upper spring in the canyon at 32987, 21728 el 3350 had a small flow for a tenth mile. Posted 2020.
• PEAK 838 meters sits between the mouth of Anvil Canyon and Sheep Creek Spring canyon. I made a good loop. I parked at the mouth of Sheep Creek Spring canyon and walked on up the road to the spring then on up canyon to the first main fork. I went left and entered a nice gorge with one tricky fall. It's 8 feet high and nearly class 4 but I didn't find it risky. Sheep likely have a trail bypassing the gorge on the south rim but that's boring. I went on toward the main saddle and used a trail at N35 34573, W116 20630 el 2550 to get into the saddle. The peak is a tenth mile away at 34601, 20482 el 2749. I then went down the drainage from the saddle to Anvil Canyon and went down to a sheep trail at 34670, 19892 el 1850 that got me on the left rim. It soon splits, I stayed left then it split again into 3 ridges. I stayed in the middle reading 35004, 19848 then soon I had a major canyon on my left. I stayed on the rim of that canyon all the way to the flats then followed a trail of stinky burro shit back to the start. That took nearly 4 hours with about 2500 gain but hardly any is steep. A shorter hike would be to return from the peak on the sheep route that skirts the gorge. Posted 2021.
• ANVIL CANYON WEST RIM - I made a loop by walking up Sheep Creek Spring canyon then walked the rim back. I started out the same as for Irwin Peak but took a left fork at N35 32620, W116 21612 el 3700. I call that fork Half-A-Gorge because it has cliffs on only one side. It's a steady wash up it with no falls. At 32276, 20741 el 4750, I went left up a side gully and bended left to the rim el 5050, just north of peak 1593 meters. Then I strolled down the rim to 34320, 21102 el 3350 where I went straight down a ridge to the very tip where it meets the wash I walked up and then had a short walk back to the start. That took 7 hours with 3500 gain but only 300 could be called steep. Mostly easy terrain. Posted 2020.
• SOUTH CANYON is the major canyon two miles south of Old Mormon Spring. It's the best canyon in the range. A loop can be done going up canyon from the spring then over into South Canyon on a faint mine road then back along the base. Take highway 127 to mp SBD 19.1 and turn on easy 4wd road #D101. Go 4 and a half miles and park where the road dips into the main wash el 2000. Walk up the road to a left fork at N35 30194, W116 16471. Go up that for nearly half an air mile to a main fork and go left to the main saddle el 4250 separating the two canyons. Drop down the other side to the main creekbed of South Canyon. A quarter mile upstream at  29023, 16940 is a small stream at a narrows. The miners had a road to the spring on the route I walked but it's mostly a goner. It's an easy walk downstream in the canyon. Several falls up to 20 feet high all have class 2 bypasses. At the mouth, a party of hikers could walk 4 miles directly to the highway and only the driver would have to walk the 4 miles along the base back to the start. I was the driver so I had to walk the base. I went down to 28702, 13919 el 1850 then headed for a point in view. At the point, I stayed on the right bank of a wash to get to 29417, 13377 el 1500 then headed for high ground at 30389, 13615 el 1250. I walked up that to the next point and stayed left of two knolls there then up a wash and then to the right side of a knoll at 30761, 14539 el 1750. At that knoll I cut across a wash and followed high ground back to the start. That took me 6 hours with about 3000 gain, never very steep. 2 out of the 6 hours was spent walking the base but I didn't have to cross many deep gullies. Posted 2020. I repeated the hike in 2021 but at the end I walked directly to my RV at the south end of Silurian Lake. Upon exiting South Canyon, I went to high ground at 28539, 14154 el 1950 and went that faded I cut over to more high ground at 28984, 13324 then to a wash at 29335, 12671. I strolled a third mile down that then I could drift left down to the lake. There's good pavement on that route. That whole hike took 5 and a half hours but the next day I rode my folding bike a mile up road D101 then walked the rest to retrieve my motorcycle. Spreading the hike over 2 days is preferable and I have all the time in the world anyway.
• ANVIL CANYON - I made a loop hike by going up the next major canyon to the east, which I call Ladder Canyon, and crossed into Anvil near peak 1416. Take highway 127 to mp SBD 29.7 and turn on the Harry Wade road. Go .7 mile on that then go left on road #238. That road is rocky for the first mile then smooths out for 3 miles to the end of the legal road at the mouth of Anvil el 1550. I wallked along along the base to N35 34248, W116 18039 el 1800 where I could drop down the vertical bank of Ladder Canyon. I strolled up the creekbed to a 30 foot fall at the 800 meter line, 2600 feet. A 10 foot ladder was there but I couldn't make the math work even if I trusted it. I went up a steep gully on the left to bypass the fall. I had to cut steps in the dirt near the top. A 30 foot line would be useful to help others up. Then I dropped 100 feet back to the creekbed and strolled on up .7 air mile to a tricky fork el 3400. I stayed left for .4 air mile to another fork el 3750 then went right to 32007, 19529 el 4200, just past a mesquite clump. There I went right up a side canyon to the saddle el 4500 that connects to Anvil and that canyon has no obstacles or anvils. At 33890, 20341 el 2400 I was able to walk the right bank for a third mile or so. That took nearly 6 hours with about 3000 gain, but only 300 could be called steep. The 30 foot fall is the only issue on the whole loop. I wouldn't do this loop in reverse. Posted 2020.
• ANVIL PEAK el 4911 is what I call the one at the head of Anvil Canyon. I made a loop on the north ridges. I parked at the mouth of the canyon and walked along the base to N35 34817, W116 18901 el 1600 where I got on the high ground and walked a short way to the rim of a wash at 34656, 18932. I goofed here by going up the wash, but should have got on the far bank and stayed on the high ground. That would have put me on the next ridge west of point 591. Instead, I went up the next one west of that and had steep rubble. I got to Little Anvil at 32828, 19162 el 4662 then crossed a saddle to Anvil Peak at 32443, 19386. Then I followed a sheep trail down the main NW ridge to 33151, 20016 el 3350 where I could see the last bit down and strolled on out the canyon. 6 hours, 23 minutes with about 4000 gain. Posted 2020.
• Peak 5777 is prominent from Salt Creek. A loop can be done up the easy south canyon to a saddle west of the peak then down the east ridge. Take highway 127 to mp SBD 19.1 and take a 4wd road to a canyon but just before entering the canyon come back on a north fork for a third mile park in the wash el 1950 below Old Mormon Spring. But as of 2021 that last third mile was closed, but there is an option to try a sheep trail starting at the spring and running along the base to the south canyon at N35 31286, W116 15497 el 2050. Go up canyon passing a spring at 30599,17218 at the top of an easy class 3 fall. Then comes another minor fall. Sheep go up on the right and back in at the lip. Go on to a basin where a right fork at 30409,18275 el 4400 has another spring. Both were running in March in a dry year. Go up this fork and into the saddle 31151, 18760 el 5200 straight ahead then go right to the summit at 31587,18047 after crossing a saddle nearly 200 ft deep. The register had 2 entries in the last 20+ years. Next, go down the east ridge then take another ridge at 31439,17521 el 5000 down to the creekbed, dropping into a gully on the left as you near the bottom. Or stay on the east ridge all the way down. It's rocky as hell until point 1344 then eases up. I went on down to point 921 but might be better to stay on the next ridge west of that point. 7 hours, 4000 gain both ways. The canyon is easy walking nearly all the way to the ridge at 5200 then it steepens but not bad. The 3 minor falls make for steeper grades but those don't add up to 200 feet. Some mine trash is in the basin. I did this before 2012. In March 2021, there was no water. ALTERNATE - the north ridge looks smooth. I would try to get on it next to point 843 reading 33167, 18390 el 2400. It took me 90 minutes of easy walking to get there when I did the Anvil loop. Posted 2020.
• SALT SPRING HILLS HIGH POINT el 1775 - this is next to highway 127. Park at mp SBD 27 and walk the rocky flats to the east ridge at N35 35934, W116 15941 el 850. Go up the ridge to the reg at 35946, 16579. A good descent route is the canyon on the north side of the east ridge. 2 hours, nearly 1000 noticeable gain. MINE TRAILS - these trails are north of the high point. Park near a point at mp 27.8. Walk the west side of the point where rocks are thinner. The first trail is useless. It ends at a boring dig. Keep going to the other trail at 36670, 16399 el 800. It goes along the left bank then over to the right bank and then goes parabolic to the main saddle el 1400. It goes level out of that then drops to a 40 foot tunnel at 36234, 16410 el 1250. They built the trail for that? It's easy to drop down the canyon and walk back along the base. 2 hours, 700 noticeable gain. I saw cleared circles in the area, likely Indian. One is at 36799, 16175 and several are a quarter mile NW in a low saddle of dark rock. Posted 2020. 
• SALT CREEK INDIAN TRAIL LOOP - two trails that connect Salt Creek to Sheep Creek Spring can be used to make a 2 hour loop.  Take highway 127 to a short dirt road at mp SBD 29.2. Get on the trail at N35 37488, W116 17353. Walk it to 37348, 17673 then 37184, 18032 then 37096, 18293. It starts bending left on smooth ground and fades then resumes at 36771, 18893 where the best part starts. Keep going .57 air mile to a fork then turn left to head back. Go on to 36787, 18691 then 36860, 18495 then 36920, 18339 then 36974, 18182 then 37007, 18091 then 37152, 17699. Stay on it another fifth mile to smooth ground then head back to the start. Some of these coordinates may not be needed if cairns are up. Easy but rocky. Posted 2020.