Location: Kern County, about 16 miles north of Mojave, 120 miles from Los Angeles

Maps

Auto Club: Kern County

USGS Topos: Cross Mountain, Cinco

HPS: Route(s), waypoints and explanation of usage

Nearby Peaks: Chuckwalla Mountain

Distance: 8 miles round trip from Chuckwalla

Gain: 3500'

Time: 6 hours round trip

Rating: Class 1, moderate

Navigation: Moderate navigation following OHV tracks in desert terrain

Original: John Backus, March 1973

DRIVING ROUTE 2

• See the Chuckwalla Mountain guide.

HIKING ROUTE 2

• From the summit of Chuckwalla Mountain, hike down the trail for Route 1 for Chuckwalla Mountain to the flat area just below the mine prospect.
• From here, follow a motorcycle track southwest down into the saddle northeast of elevation 4616'.
• Turn left at this saddle and follow a motorcycle track up to bump 4616', then turn right at a track running northwest generally down the point of the ridge to the gully.
• Follow this down to an old cabin and auto body in the streambed at the bottom of the canyon (shown on the Cinco topo).
• Turn left and go up the canyon following a motorcycle track. Note carefully the prominent rounded bump 4762' on your right that is east of the very rocky subsidiary peak 4784' of Cross Mountain. When directly south of bump 4762', the canyon floor splits into a west and southwest branch.
• Take the southwest branch, which turns first west and then gradually northwest to a saddle at 4200'+.
• Just before this saddle turn right onto a motorcycle track that continues all of the way to the summit.

NOTE

The trip statistics, including Chuckwalla, are 11 miles round trip and 5200' gain.