W6/ND-317

This peak is not much to look at from a distance, but was a nice hike. Red Rock Canyon State Park is just north of a small fault line, and it creates a stunning escarpment. This peak is the southernmost SOTA peak along the escarpment ridge. I wanted to get some miles in, so I parked across the park in an unmarked dirt lot on the side of Highway 14 at about 35.37715, -117.98062. This seems to be a real trailhead, and I saw other people parked here or starting their OHV drives when I got back later.

Starting up a wash.

The road parallels the highway for a little, then turns and starts up a canyon wash. The surface changes from constructed road to just sand and gravel here. Definitely something you need real OHV to drive. It was much nicer in the canyon away from the road, and I enjoyed my jog up. There was a small slot canyon to go through, so that was fun.
 

Some of the red rock canyon?

At the top of the canyon the road made a u-turn around a ridge to the south, then turned again to continue north through a parallel canyon. At the top of this climb was a nice view of the wide canyon in the middle of the park. I took in the view, then crossed the canyon. 

Summit finally in view.

On the ridge on the other side, the road got much rougher but it was still easy to follow. Up out of the canyons the wind started to pick up as well. It wasn't a hot day, but the breeze did feel nice. After traversing the ridge for a while I made it to the turn off spot. This was right below a sub-peak. I went around it on the south side then was on the summit. I didn't see any register, so I found a nice spot to set up to make some contacts.
 

Looking south, more or less.

 

The HF bands were good, but I didn't get anyone on VHF. I thought there would be people out and about in the desert since it was the weekend. Once I was done I packed up and took the same route back. This went well, until I made a wrong turn in the first canyon and ended up at the top of a large cliff. Thankfully it was a short backtrack to the correct branch of the canyon and back to the car.

Canyon walls.

There were some other people parked in the lot when I returned, and someone drove in to start there OHV adventure. I was a bit surprised since I hadn't seen anyone on my run.

Trailhead: At the dirt lot at (35.37715, -117.98062)

Website: SOTA Site.

Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.

Route: Take the OHV trails through the canyons and up to the summit.

Red Tape: None. 

Not the way to go!