"Russell -> Backus traverse. I'd recommend doing the ridge the other way. The climb up to Backus is over better ground; Russell has a lot of loose sand/scree sidehilling. Contrary to HPS guide, there is a well-ducked solid use trail the whole length of the ridge. Expect 1.5-2 hours to traverse, not the 3 hours they suggest. Backus has an awesome view of the Indian Wells Valley / Ridgecrest area." — edg • May 5, 2019

"I hiked Backus and Russell Peaks in a counter-clockwise loop from SR178 after spending the night at Walker Pass CG. I started at the jeep trail closer to Backus and slogged through the sand to the mountain's southeast ridge. Here the ground was nice and solid and the climbing more enjoyable. On the way to the summit, I ran into a Great Basin Gopher Snake, but he was too cold to pay me any attention. The traverse over to Russell wasn't too bad at all. I was able to make it from summit to summit in just over 1:30h - much shorter than the 3h indicated in the HPS description. There were only a few sections that involved some loose side-hilling. From the summit of Russell it was a quick descent down the sandy slopes to the flats below. Along the way there was a nice variety of wildflowers to admire in addition to the great many Joshua Trees. I took a quick break at Walker Well, then hiked back to the road and closed the loop with a 2+ mi road walk. A fantastic outing in the desert of the Southern Sierra Nevada." — klotito • May 14, 2017

"Started out around 9:30 AM from the jeep trail off the 178. The jeep trail is 2.4 miles in from the start of Freeman Junction. Approaching the jeep trail you will see a call box on the left side. It was nice out with a bit of a breeze. Much better than last week when I had to turn around due to crazy high winds at the top (35mph sustained with 40+ gusts). I have to say that the hike isn't trivial. You are doing a far amount of cross-country and pathfinding and the really loose terrain (sand, gravel, if you are lucky rock) makes for an exhausting hike in combination with the constant elevation gain (I had 0.7 miles of gain). The hike overall took me about 8ish miles and 6 hours. I was out more like 7ish but that is because I spend plenty of time taking photos." — Irrationalist • Mar 1, 2013