Horse Peak Exploratory Loop #3 - 9/24/20

Horse Peak (R), Sisters Ridge (L) & McFarland Peak (C)

Onyx Peak from Horse Peak

Horse Canyon from Horse Peak

Horse Spring & Climb to Ridge

Four club hikers drove up to the Sawmill Trailhead to start a third in a series of explorations using Horse Peak as the destination in a loop route. Getting up to the peak has become fairly straightforward, however, today, we found Horse Spring next to the road in the upper reaches of Horse Canyon. Walked right by it two times before! Also, today, we noticed a network of horse trails on the hillside next to the canyon bottom. (That's how we found the spring!) Once we reached the saddle above, we started taking in the great views of Mummy Mountain, Lee Peak, Lee Canyon and, eventually, the Sisters Ridge as we walked around the game trail on the ridge. From Horse Peak, we saw Black Sister, Macks Peak and McFarland Peak as we sat for a small break.

Ridge Views

Here's where today's exploratory began. Our goal was to continue following the ridge around and down next to Horse Canyon. There is a small black rocky peak on this ridge that we wondered about climbing.

Desert Floor View

Since Black Sister (which is sometimes now called Black Rock) is in the vicinity, I decided to name the new black rocky peak, Onyx Peak. This gives it a sense of mystery, don't you think?

Climbing along Ridge - Horse Peak in near Distance

Approaching Onyx Peak

Getting over to Onyx required a dip and a couple of climbs. Then we scrambled easily over the black rocks. Careful here because the stones are all loose! After this, each small peak became steeper and steeper to descend on the other side. Finally, we deviated from the plan a little and started a descent on an intermediate ridge to the left. It was easier to continue the descent here and, eventually, we dropped into the right side gulley. The gulley turned into an old road and we happily dropped down to Macks Canyon Road. A right turn led us back toward the cars but, on the way, we cleaned up a particularly trashed campsite that we had noticed on the way in. Three heavy bags later, we returned to Sawmill to deposit the trash bags. We felt very dirty by then as some of the trash was horridly disgusting. (Really folks. If you don't know how to clean up your campsite when you leave, you should not be camping. Nuff said. The location of the campsite was at the junction of Macks Canyon Rd and Horse Canyon Rd. You know who you are!) Otherwise, it was a fulfilling day and a good workout. Views were great and the wind kept the wildfire smoke at bay. Tune in later for nailing down the perfect Horse Peak Loop. We're almost there!

Stats: 5.5 miles; 1650' gain; 4.25 hours (including campsite cleaning)

Down the Ridge

Fun Dead Tree on Intermediate Ridge

Trash from One Campsite - Three Bags Full