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| Sylvania |
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| What is it? The hood gives it away. |
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| Huge ring at Sylvania BM |
- SYLVANIA BENCHMARK el 8160 is the high point of the Sylvania Mountains. Jeeps easily make to el 7600 in the north canyon. Drive to mp ES 11.2 on Nv 266. Turn south onto a good road and go 1.8 mile to a main fork. Go right on easy 4wd for 1.3 miles then get on a bypass road on the left bank. Don't get tricked by a 3 way fork just before. Keep going up canyon for another mile and a half to the end of the road reading N37 23060, W117 41759 el 7600. There is a tiny turnaround here. Hike on up the canyon for half a mile to the reg at 22626, 41875, which I couldn't find in 2020. 45 minutes, 600 gain. For a tour of rock rings, don't go up the canyon creekbed. Instead, go up the east rim to a good ring at 22760, 41629 then another at 22699, 41693. Some more are higher up and one is a few feet before the BM. Then 100 feet NW of the BM is the biggest I've ever seen. More are on down the west ridge with a big one engulfed by trees at 22811, 41963. Posted 2014, 2020.
- PEAK 7989 sits on the south rim of Sylvania Canyon. I followed a string of Indian rock rings along the rim to make a loop. Take highway 266 to mp ES 10.2 and follow a good road a bit over 4 miles to a saddle el 7700 at the head of the canyon. I walked the rim skirting along the right side of little peaks and found two rings at N37 23709, W117 42648 el 7750. I went on to another one at 23547, 42905 then just beyond that and up a little on a flat is another. I went on to the peak and the forest there is the best. I threw this peak in for peak addicts who read this blog but the view turned out to be outstanding. I dropped NW off the peak for less than a fifth mile to a ring on the ridge center. Just ahead is the state line marker but it's a boring cairn, so it's best to skip it and drop to a ring at 23202, 43316 then to one just before a saddle at 23366, 43496. I went into the saddle then left up the ridge for 300 feet to a ring then a few past that is the mine road shown on the map that leads down to Sylvania. I then had a mile back to the start. This is a 3 or 4 hour hike made easier with a shuttle. The first half mile along peak 7922 has light brush. Posted 2020.
- ALUM CREEK is interesting. You'll think you're in Utah. The roads going down the rims of it are not driveable. The east rim road isn't even walkable but the west rim road is easy to walk. Turn off highway 266 at mp ES and drive a bit over 5 miles on the roads shown on the topo to the saddle above Poison Spring. 2wd trucks could make it but parts of the road can get plowed up by morons driving it wet. From the saddle, take an easy 4wd road to the west rim road. 4 wheelers can go a tenth mile down it and cycles can go another tenth then it's hikers and helicopters beyond there. It goes down to the spring like the map shows. It's a wide open creekbed with an intermittent stream that drys up by the time it reaches the road coming in from the mouth. That road is a goner too. I went down to the Cottonwood Canyon fork and came back up that then used the east rim road for the final leg. That's when I found out it has slid out. Cottonwood is dull and brushy anyway. Forget it. It would be a 3 hour hike down the west rim road to the spring and back up the same way. It's worth it to look at the bizarre yellow color. UNCLE SAM CREEK LOOP - it's easy to go down that canyon then out the west rim road. I parked at the saddle next to Uncle Sam Spring then walked a faint road down into that canyon. After about 800 feet, the road turns sharp to the right. A clean gully goes down there to the floor of the canyon and then it's a cakewalk down to Alum Creek. At el 6600 there was a small stream coming out of a main fork on my left. It tasted normal but didn't last a tenth mile. I went on down to Alum then up to the road like the topo shows and up to the rim. I rim walked back and saw some rock rings but wood cutters have ruined that area. That took 3 hours with 1300 easy gain. I'll be back for this one. Posted May, 2020.
- MALKMUS PEAK el 7571 is what I call the one on the west rim of Uncle Sam Creek. Turn off highway 266 at mp 11.2 and follow the roads on the topo to the saddle el 7100+ next to Uncle Sam Spring. Then go up the ridge to the summit. A rock ring is on the way up at N37 21583, W117 39043. The ridge to peak 7449 has some rings but not very good. The next ridge west has several, the best one is at 21281, 39208. I wandered down the NW ridge and found one on the rim at 21535, 39365 and another a little more down the rim. I descended a canyon back to the road. Nice forest. Posted 2020.
- WHITE CLIFF CANYON has an unspoiled stream in the upper reaches. Turn off highway 266 at mp 11.2 and follow the roads on the topo as if you're going to Uncle Sam Spring. At a T just before the spring, turn west and stay on the main road to the mouth of the canyon el 5250. It's 10 miles or so of dirt road total and 4wd wasn't needed that day. A third mile up canyon is a minor fall with a bypass trail on the left. Then it's clear sailing to the upper canyon. A mega flood cut a trench in the creekbed and that has to be crossed several times but the banks are easy. At N37 22311, W117 42908 el 6300 I dropped to the creekbed and stayed in the rest of the way. The stream shows up around the 6800 level. I was able to easily go on up to the end of easy travel at the 7440 level just below the spring shown on the topo. That took 5 and a half hours and the only strenuous gain was 100 feet or so at the fall. Very light brush is on the banks. I wore shorts and got minor scratches. The canyon is in pristine condition aside from some ancient cow chips in the middle portion. I doubt grazing ever comes back. It has a good Joshua Tree forest. Willow Spring had a trickle. ONE WAY VERSION - there is a way into the upper canyon from above. Either drive into the north canyon of Sylvania BM or for a shorter shuttle, use the 4wd road on the west side of Cucomungo Spring then hike into the saddle west of peak 7583. The map should be green on the canyon leading into the saddle because it's a nice forest. Keep going to the east rim of the canyon where the topo shows an "S". I went down the ridge there with a reading of 23187, 42140 el 7700. Soon the ridge split into two ridges, I stayed on the left one and followed it all the way down. A spotty deer trail runs down it. It's like descending a sand dune. The water was flowing just upstream from where this ridge bottoms out. Here's how to walk downstream and use the banks and avoid the trenches and I would use long pants on the banks. Stay in the creekbed until 22560, 42785 and get on the right bank. That lasts over a quarter mile to a left bend and you're forced back in. Soon it's easy to get back on the right bank then when forced into the creekbed stay in it to 22103, 42985 and get on the left bank. That fades out then it's over to the right then back to the creekbed and stay in to 21800, 43033. Get on the right bank there then back left at 21369, 43260. At an air mile from the mouth, stay tight along the creekbed to 20979, 43476 to get on the right bank. There's no more trickery until the fall. Get on the bypass trail at 20651, 43611 then it's a third mile to the vehicle you spotted there at the mouth along Willow Creek. These tedious coordinates can be avoided by just staying in the creekbed, but that's even more tedious. This version comes in under 5 hours. It's the best hike on this page and even better if a side trip to Sylvania BM is taken. The one rock ring I saw is at 23034, 42013 el 7700. Posted May, 2020.
- SOUTHWEST CANYONS - the next main canyon to the west of White Cliff Canyon is easy and a loop can be done down the next one to the west but that one has one rappel. I came in from Oasis for 13 miles on the graded Eureka Valley Rd. I started up canyon at N37 20526, W117 45938 el 4750 and stayed in the main creekbed to a tricky fork at 21957, 44963 el 5550. I went left there then over the saddle on the SE side of peak 6420 but that's brutal. It's better to stay in the main creekbed to a chokestone at 22375, 45487 el 6000. It's 8 feet high and I stopped there but could get up it with a hook and etrier and then pray there are no more obstacles to get into the next canyon. Once in the next canyon, I had a few minor drops that I could easily step down then came the big one of 40 or 50 feet at 21451, 46269 el 5300. Boulders 20 back from the lip make for a good anchor. I tried going over the south rim but no go. I didn't have rappelling gear so I had to retrace back out. Posted 2020.
- WILLOW WASH has a lot of good color. I made a loop down the next canyon east. I parked at the wilderness boundary on the Eureka Valley Rd at N37 21512, W117 47757 el 5250. Don't try to drive closer. Nobody wants to look at eyesore tire tracks. I went up the main canyon to a fork at 22591, 47404 el 5650. I took a side trip up the left fork for half an air mile to where it opens up el 6100. I came back then went up the right fork. It has a couple of minor class 3 falls then I climbed up to the rim at 22615, 46898 el 6250. A shallow canyon is on the other side. I strolled up that to a fork at 22576, 46690 el 6350 that took me over the rim el 6550 south of peak 6904 then into the next canyon. I had an easy stroll down that until a 10 foot, class 3 fall at el 5550 in a deep gorge. That wasn't hard then no more issues back to the start. That took 3 hours, 45 minutes with about 300 feet of strenuous gain. If you only have time for one easy hike in the area then this is it. Posted 2020.
- SYLVANIA RIM LOOP - go 4 miles up the Sylvania road to a closed road. Walk it a mile into a main wash and stay in that to the end at a ring reading 23586, 44839 el 7350. Next one is at 23363, 44907 then circle low in washes and go to the saddle on the rim at 23120, 45033 el 7400. Nothing until a ring at 23079, 45302 then one 100 feet downstream on the left bank. A possible one is at 22983, 45448 then one at 22986, 45590. Peak 7462 has the best at 23078, 45716 then one at 23068, 45962 then 23089, 46028 and second best at 23091, 46104. Walk the ridge on down to the last at 23283, 46706 then down to the wash and exit up a gully at 23849, 47994 and walk hi ground to the rim of the starting wash at 24181, 48043. 5 hours, nothing steep, all in shorts. Thin forest. A shuttle could work. And the ridge down thru peak 6904 looked easy for a one way. Posted 2020.
