Badger Pass Variation - 5/15/25

Techno Trail Descent

View nearing bottom of Techno Trail

Ascent to Techno Trail junction on Badger

View back from previous photo's Ascent

Years ago, we hiked a Badger Pass Loop on many a Saturday morning. It was short, had an abundance of views and a little elevation gain. Parking at the Badger Pass Trailhead not far up the Cottonwood Valley Road, we would join the Techno Trail and climb over the hill to Badger Pass. The return descended the switchbacks to Red Valley Trail which would then, in turn, return us to the cars. That was a beginner hike. Over the years, our bodies adjusted to much more challenging hikes and we rarely visited Badger Pass in any configuration. Returning to our roots, this entry's hike not only visits Badger Pass but takes those beginning trails and extends the route. We began at the Cottonwood Valley Road Trailhead that is located on the south side of SR 160 and sports a park maintained restroom. It is not too far west from the Late Night Trailhead. Bicyclists and off-roaders use the trails that emanate from this large rough dirt parking lot. We added hiking to the users.

Badger Trail among the Bird Spring Formation

Badger Trail heading toward Badger Pass

View back on Badger Trail

Last ascent to Badger Pass

We headed out to the east by bushwhacking it to connect with the Badger Trail that runs straight (north/south) about 1/3 mile from the trailhead. It was the shortest distance between two points. We turned right on the Badger Trail and climbed a hill up to the Badger / Techno junction and continued on the Badger. This trail took us between two large hills and ran between those hills and the higher Bird Springs Range. After another 0.9 mile, we made our final climb to Badger Pass. Continuing straight here leads you down the switchbacks to Red Valley. A sharp left takes you up to a peak in the Bird Spring Range. We took our photos then turned up to the right connecting onto the Techno Trail, a beautiful fun trail that climbs up and over a large hill winding its way down the other side to the area of the Badger Pass Trailhead. Nearing the bottom of the hill, there are a couple of trails that junction off to the left that we ignored. One goes to the first side of the BP TH and the next goes to the other side of the old BP TH. It was tempting to turn at the last one but we continued to a trail indicator on down a little ways. 

Three Lady Hikers at Badger Pass

Small ascent on Techno Trail with Badger Trail below Right

Mt. Potosi from Techno High Point

Sandstone Bluffs from Techno Trail

An obscure, less worn trail turns to the left here. This is the connector trail that takes hikers and bikers zigzagging up and across the Cottonwood Valley Road that lies not too far away. At the road, we crossed and found ourselves at a trail junction that appears as a campsite, although there is a "No Camping" sign here. The trail continues through the "campsite" and straight up the hill toward Mt. Potosi. (No worries. We were not going to reach the mountain!) Up the trail, we came to a fork. You can take either forked direction. We veered to the right. This led us around and up a small hill and junctioned with the trail that we had left at the fork. Now, just a little further up the trail, there is a right turn marked by rocks. We turned right onto what I will call the Lower Deadhorse Trail. If you peruse the maps below, you will see that a parallel trail runs above this lower trail. This upper trail continues down the valley to the south and, at one time anyway, was named the Deadhorse Trail. These trails are well worn by bicyclists and easy to follow. 

Low Point on Techno Trail nearing Badger Pass Trailhead

Starting Crossover Trail up to Cottonwood Valley Road

View back at Crossover and Techno Trails Junction

Campsite Junction at Cottonwood Valley Road

Our trail dipped into a large gulley and rose again to an area where we could see our trailhead to the east. We continued along the trail until we junctioned with the road/trail that runs parallel to SR 160. A right turn headed us toward a huge 3-poled powerline. We passed that and nearing the trailhead, we came to a small trail that turned to the right leading us back toward the parking lot. It was a pleasantly cool day so the shadeless trail bore gorgeous views that were not marred by hot sun. We had fun!

Stats: 5 miles; 800' gain; 2.75 hours

Trail Junction (Campsite Trail / Lower Deadhorse)

Interesting Tidbits

Trail from Lower Deadhorse to Trailhead

Mountain Springs Peak v Horse Trail & Upper Cairn Trail - 5/10/25

View from escarpment Snack Cliff to Cottonwood Valley

Stratosphere Casino through small window near Snack Cliff

Desert Sunrise

Sunrise on Mt. Potosi

It was going to be a hot day in May so three lady hikers parked up at the Mountain Springs Pass Trailhead very early, still wiping the sleep out of our eyes. Watching the sun come up in the cool morning air, we climbed up the first hill and took the trail over to the bottom of the Cairn Trails circle. A left turn here, brought us around to a collection of agave roasting pits. There are nine pits that I know of just in this area. Passing the last one and connecting with the more travelled road above the springs, we found the beginning of the Mountain Springs Horse Trail that traverses the foothills of the escarpment peaks. We wanted to get this part hiked before the day began to heat up. There were many flowers that were there to admire and enjoy.

One of several agave roasting pits in the Mountain Springs Area

Susan likes to climb trees!

Mountain Springs Horse Trail across Foothills

Small wash route to escarpment Rim

About 2.2 miles into the hike, we turned right off the trail. (Sometimes this junction has a small cairn.) We turned and began hiking a vague path through the low scattered blackbrush. The terrain here is a small ridge that runs along a wash on the left side about 50' down to 10' away. When the ridge brush became a little thicker, we found a good place to drop into that wash and started up. Being careful not to let small wash forks take us up to the right, we followed our wash with indications of foot traffic and side paths. As we gently climbed for around 0.75 mile, there were familiar landmarks. At this point, I'm afraid I got anxious and turned too soon up a wash on the left. No matter. I've done this before! At any rate, we gained the ridge on the left side of the small wash and began our climb up toward the escarpment rim. 

Best scramble in small Wash

Charleston Peak from ascent Ridge

Susan climbs the ascent Ridge

Kay and Sue peek over the side of Cliff

This was the most challenging climb of the morning. We took our time and went slow. We followed the most obvious track through the scarce brush and recognized landmarks. There is a little bit of a trail beginning to form over the years. Reaching a small cairn, we veered to the right and traversed over to the escarpment rim trail just above the Snack Cliff. Here, we found the small window with the view of the Stratosphere Casino and took our break on the cliff overhang. What a view! Most prominently, we saw the Hidden Peak and Monument Peak bench stretching out from left to right in front of us. After our break, we continued along the escarpment rim trail up to Mountain Springs Peak. There are a few forks to the trail in this section. The best rule, if you want to hit the peak, is to stay on the trail that is closest to the rim on the left. We did until we didn't. Missing the last fork, we ended up hiking up to the peak from the other end of the summit. No worries. It just happened! Anyway, we took our photos at the peak, remarked on the triumvirate of survey markers and continued down the trail along the escarpment. As we hiked, we noticed the abundance of Claret Cup cacti blooming. Other new flowers included indigo, primrose and Utah penstemon. Agave spears popped up left and right.

Hiking up to find small window at Snack Cliff

Hidden Peak and Monument Peak from Snack Cliff

Susan and Sue take their break on the Snack Cliff

Black Velvet Peak (L) and Windy Peak (R)
from Mountain Springs Peak

We hiked down the escarpment rim trail toward Windy Peak and made sure to take a right fork on the ridge when it appeared. The left fork offers a spectacular view of Black Velvet Peak down below but we needed to hit the high point ahead to junction with the Upper Cairn Trail. This junction is marked by a small unassuming double cairn to the right. After turning right, a small trail marked by many small cairns appears. The trail follows the top of the ridge all the way back down to the Cairns Trails Circle. Small cairns mark the way and sometimes it behooves the hiker to pay close attention to the indicated route as, sometimes, the trail crosses over rock slab.

Wilson Peak, Monument Peak and Calico Hills from Mountain Springs Peak

Three Lady Hikers on Mountain Springs Peak

Mountain Springs Peak Trail

Mountain Springs Trail approach to
Upper Cairn Trail junction from North

With a small cheer, the lady hikers arrived at the Upper / Lower Cairn Trail junction! We hiked down to cross the  circle and stay on the trail. At our favorite crossing location, we crossed the big gully and turned right on the old dirt road. The road took us around to the shortcut trail and down that first hill of the radio relay tower road. When we parked the car in the morning, there were only a couple of campers at the trailhead. On the return, they were gone and many other cars were there. Since we only saw one other hiker all morning, these cars, most likely, belonged to bicyclists. One great morning! And, the heated wind had only just started its engines! Good planning ... if I may say so myself! 😉

Stats: 6.6 miles; 1500' gain; 4.75 hours

Mountain Springs, NV from Upper Cairn Trail Descent

Upper Cairn Trail atop the Ridge

Sue crosses the Gully