Region
Most climbed route
Highlights
Routes
1 summit • 4.8 mi • 1,304 ft gain • 3 hr 34 min
Latest summits
"2nd of 3 SD-100 peaks summitted with Keith Winston on MLK Day 2017. 4.3 miles r/t w/1,800' elevation gain on ducked trails from Pinyon Cyn Road at Whale Peak Road (TH:3,980'), HPS Route 2. Pinyon Cyn Road is a good dirt road in 2017 following rains, no problems driving past the old 2WD parking area." — BradStemm • Jan 16, 2017
"Last summit of the mini-trip. Took the southwest ridges up (not recommended) and stumbled on a pair of desert bighorn sheep. Took the standard gully route down, found it way more enjoyable.
Complete TR: www.themtsarecalling.com/whale" — Christopher • Jan 8, 2017
"Great Peak and Shorter as I thought, took an late Afternoon Hike up there and returned just before getting Dark. Rout Finding can be a bit of an Issue as there are too many Cairns all over the Place. " — Nuernberger • Jul 11, 2015
"I took HPS route 1, starting at the trailhead for the pictographs. My Honda Accord was able to handle the dirt roads just fine, although I was in first gear the whole time; the road does get narrower as you get closer to the trailhead, so it's not exactly easy to deal with oncoming traffic. (I only encountered two other vehicles, though, on my way out.) I camped at the trailhead and hit the trail as soon as I woke up; nobody else was around. It's a great place to camp, smooth and sheltered from the wind.
The route is pretty straightforward, and the trail is pretty well ducked (at the moment anyway) from the point near the top of the gully (around 4300') where you turn to the right. Up to that point, it's pretty obvious where to go, as long as you can get yourself to Smuggler's Canyon. I'm not a rock climber, but really enjoyed scrambling up and down the big boulders. A fun climb!" — HikerMark • Mar 29, 2015
"A hellacious trek through the desert and catci leads, eventually, to a glorious summit with many mountain ranges to be seen. Bring nothing but water and sunscreen! Also bring good hiking companions, mine made the peak special!" — ADKinLA • Apr 17, 2011