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Number range CHAPTERBUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

**3900 E. Idaho Street, Elko, Nevada, 89801-4611 (775) 753-0200**

**www.blm.gov/nv**

#  HIKERS GUIDE TO PILOT PEAK

The following information is from Karl Libsch of Salt Lake City. Karl
and his group made the hike to the top of Pilot Peak in mid-June 1994.
Karl put together the following description of their route since no
hiking guide is available. Thanks Karl for the use of this information.

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Our party of two \"20 something's\", two \"30 something's\" and one 50
yr. old made it to the top. And we thought starting in Miners Canyon was
a good approach. We camped in Miners Canyon about 1/2 mile above the
mine Friday the 10th of June and were on our way up the mountain at 7:30
a.m. Utah time. We **did not** go up the canyon marked Miners on the
topographic map. Rather we went up the somewhat \"S\" shaped canyon to
the northeast. On the way up we hugged the outcroppings on the east
side. That way we were able to avoid the talus - or at least some of it.
The top of the canyon has a cliffy sort of outcropping on the east side.
You can see this on the topo map just east of the end of the
intermittent stream. It\'s a significant enough knob to relocate for the
return trip. It\'s good to look for it and not get confused with the
knob at the 9,113 ft. elevation (to the west).

We left the knob at the head of the \"S\" canyon and headed toward the
knob at 10,182 ft. elevation. The 10,182 knob can be easily viewed
during the transit/climb. We went under the 10,182-elevation knob and
climbed up the ridge to the Peak. The route to the top can be easily
seen. It took the \"20 something's\" about 3 hours to get to the top.
The \"30 something's\" and 50 yr. old took 5 hours. I\'d advise most
normal non-athletes to plan on the 5 hours.

The top was very interesting. I counted 5 ruins of possible signaling
stations\*\*. The logbook in the \"mailbox\" at the top started with a
guy in 1963. It is about 60 pages long and has about 5 pages left. At 6
people per page - most people left notes and comments - I\'d estimate
300 people have climbed the peak in the last 31 years. About 10-12 per
year. We coincidentally met another party of about 5 on top. They
indicated they had come up the ridge that almost due East of the Peak.
They indicated it was tough. All talus.

The way down took us the same time as the way up because we had to do
talus the whole way. The \"20 something's\" had a six-hour hike. The
others had a 10-hour hike.

Recommendations:

\- I like the route up the \"S\" canyon.

\- Because of the talus, the \"normal\" estimates of 1 hr. / 1,000 ft.
elevation gain work on the way up. But 1/2 of that doesn\'t work for the
way down. Plan on a 10 hr. trip.

\- Carry extra water. At least 1 gallon per person. Two-quart water
bottles just aren\'t enough.

The road to Miners Canyon turns off just **BEFORE** the 2nd cattleguard
after Leppy Pass. This good road isn\'t marked on the map. Maybe it is a
4WD trail. I think it\'s been improved since the map was drawn.

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Access to Miners Canyon:

\- From Interstate 80, take the Bonneville Exit (Exit 4) in Utah. It is
4 miles east of Wendover UT/NV.

\- Fuel and food are available at the truck stop at this exit. Continue
north on the pavement until the road curves to the right to go to the
Salt Flats. Take the left fork (gravel road).

\- Stay on this main bladed road (there are no good roads turning off of
it) and continue north. After crossing Leppy Pass, the western edge of
the Salt Flats and Pilot Peak will be clearly visible.

\- When you cross the first cattleguard, you will be in NV. Continue
north about another 11 miles, skirting the edge of the Salt Flats, until
you come to a second cattleguard. The road that Karl refers to is on the
south side of this cattleguard.

\- Turn left onto this road, and continue NW about 4.5 miles. Miners
Spring is the only water in this canyon and will be quite evident when
you reach it. Karl and his group started their hike in the canyon just
east (about 1/4 mile) of Miners Spring.

[Wildlife on and around Pilot Peak]{.underline}:

On the lower elevation benches surrounding Pilot Peak, pronghorn
antelope are a common site. Look for them from Leppy Pass north to the
Miners Canyon turnoff, and along the Miners Canyon road until you enter
the canyon where the pinyon-juniper forest begins.

Within the pinyon-juniper forests, mule deer may be found. They will
generally be in close proximity to Miner Spring or any of the other
small springs on the east side of the mountain.

Rocky Mountain elk were released onto Pilot Peak in the 1930\'s. A
thriving herd of over 200 elk make their home here, primarily on the
north and west sides of the mountain. They will typically be encountered
in the pinyon-juniper forest also.

Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep were re-established on Pilot Peak with a
release in 1987. The release site was at Miners Spring. The bighorns
will typically be encountered near the top of the pinyon-juniper
treeline or above.

[History]{.underline}:

The name \"Pilot Peak\" is attributed to Capt. John C. Fremont. In 1845
during Fremont\'s 3rd Expedition, the explorer and his party were
traveling west along the south shore of the Great Salt Lake, searching
for a shorter route to the central Great Basin and onward to California.
From the summit of the Cedar Mountains in Utah, Fremont\'s party could
see one very high peak to the west beyond the expanse of the salt
desert. To cross the desert with the whole expedition and not know if
they would find water was much too risky. Fremont sent famed scout Kit
Carson along with three other men ahead on the best horses with extra
supplies. Nearly 24 hours later, Fremont was able to see with his
telescope the smoke from the signal fire built by Carson and the advance
scouts. Fremont and the remainder of the expedition made it safely
across the salt flats to the life saving waters and abundant grass at
the base of Pilot Peak. The water they came to is at Pilot Ranch, about
8 miles north of the turnoff to Miners Canyon. In 1846, the ill-fated
Donner Party followed this same route. The large spring at the ranch is
called Donner Springs. An interpretive site and information is at Donner
Springs, and the public is welcome to the site.

\*\* The rock alignments on top were thought to be Civil War era mirror
signaling stations. A literature search and discussions with historians
cannot confirm this.