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| Horse Peak (Black Sister in Distance) |
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| Mining Sled at Ada and Edith's Mine |
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| Mummy's Nose, Chin & Forehead (and Lee Peak) from Horse Peak |
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| Starting up the end of Horse Canyon |
Necessary tools for an exploratory of terrain that the group has no previous knowledge of:
1) a group of people that love exploring
2) a group of people that are ready for almost anything
3) at least 1 person who has studied the "to be explored" terrain v. Google Earth
4) at least 1 person who has a topography map is highly useful
5) a group of people who just enjoy a day on the mountain with no real agendas
6) GPSs, for sure
On Thursday, five friends began searching for a good, not so steep route to Black Sister without the necessity of driving out Macks Canyon Road. Other purposes were to learn more about Horse Canyon Road (a 4WD road that spurs off of Macks Canyon Road) and to get a feel for the Ada & Edith Mine on Nutans Road (a small mine found not too far up into the mountain above Lee Canyon Road.
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| Rita with Horse Canyon in the Background |
We parked at the junction of Lee Canyon Road and Macks Canyon Road to begin our hike out Macks Canyon Road for almost a half mile. Here, we turned left to begin a gentle climb of Horse Canyon Road.
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| Approaching the Summit of Horse Peak |
Horse Canyon Road is a very nice but narrow high clearance 4WD road that has several primitive campsites. We didn't see anyone camping in these sites so we had the canyon to ourselves.
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| Horse Peak to Black Sister, McFarland Peak and Macks Peak |
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| Mike on Horse Peak |
The road petered out after about a mile but a trail continued up the wash at that point. When we reached the box canyon fork of 3 washes, we discussed the routes. To the right, there is a wash that is more gentle in slope but it is longer to the peak in front of us (Horse Peak). The left wash is shorter and steeper. Another wash presents a difficult scree slope as seen on Google Earth. Not seeing much difference in the left wash and the ridge climb in front of us, we chose to just go straight up. Up, up, and up, we struggled for around a third of a mile. Regardless of the effort, we enjoyed ourselves and the gorgeous views that started appearing about half way up. We decided to name the peak "Horse Peak" simply because it rose at the end of Horse Canyon! We had seen evidence of wild horses and elk along the way ... and probably a deer or two. Finally, at the top, we could appreciate Horse Peak in its entirety. We had only hiked 2.1 miles but we had a 360 degree view of Mummy's Nose, Forehead, and Chin, and Black Sister, McFarland Peak, and Macks Peak.
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| Starting down into The Elks Club Wash |
We also had a clear disheartening view of the route we faced to continue up to Black Sister! First, we would have to lose about 150 elevation feet then begin again with the climbing ... topping it off with that really mean last climb to Black Sister.
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| Just my Size |
Losing all that hard-earned gain was just too much for any of us to swallow right then so, after a unanimous vote, we decided to begin a loop down from there to try and find Nutans Road and the nearby mine. (It was a hot day anyhow!)
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| Starting up Nutans Road to the Mine |
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| Tailings and Sled/Trolley Run |
We circled around a small peak in front of us on a game trail then dropped down to the saddle junction above the Sisters Spur Road. (Familiar territory.) Then, we turned to the left and began a fairly steep drop in a wash that connected to another wash we affectionately called The Elks Club Wash! Lots of elk evidence here. This wash was easy to negotiate. (You just never know about washes until you try them.) I guess the animals use it often. Another half mile and we noticed a small trail up the left side of the wash that led us to junction with Nutans Road where it switchbacked up the hill. We only hiked up the small mine trail about 100' to find a few mine artifacts. At that point, we decided to come back some other day and explore the mine area more thoroughly. The mine trail is supposed to continue around the next ridge. Next, we descended Nutans Road to Lee Canyon Road and finally, hiked back to the cars for a mile along the pavement. ... (not our original plan!) Nevertheless, it was a successful exploration with a lot of possibilities for a future hike or two. It's amazing what you can find in these mountains!
Stats: 4.4 miles; 1300' gain; 3.25 hours
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| Old Mine Floom or Flue? |
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| Descending Nutans Road |
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| One Mile on Lee Canyon Road |
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