"I had every intention to climb Backus as well. But I went up a different wash and got kinda gassed. I’m just glad it was winter. I started at 7am. It was super steep going up. The Carins and use trails helped. I went down the south side into a lovely Joshua tree grove and then just followed the road back to my car. A nice lady came and gave the dogs water. I’m loving the Owen’s peak wilderness area! Can’t wait to explore more. When summer comes I’ll do Owen’s peak " — bentalkington • Jan 21, 2026

"A little under 2 hours to Russell via the SW ridge, fun but windy traverse to Backus followed by a loose descent off the SW face. Complete TR: https://themtsarecalling.com/backus/" — Christopher • Mar 15, 2022

"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

"Nice day with a constant breeze. I had previously experienced sandy terrain doing a cross-country peakbag after I hiked Backus Peak last weekend. I wasn't expecting how much more difficult it was after the soil had been softened up from a large area wide rain a couple days prior. The softer sand required twice as much energy to hike and often my hiking poles would sink a foot or two into the ground. However, the exhausting hike was worth it as the summit was absolutely still with a nice sun. It took me more than an hour to convince myself to climb back down. This peak holds an absolutely amazing view; I prefer it over both Morris and Backus but with Jenkins view still better." — Irrationalist • Mar 10, 2013