Hike Avawatz Peak via Sheep Creek Spring Avawatz Mountain BLM, CA

Dec 12, 2020 — Apparently there used to be a more accessible route up to Avawatz Peak, but the land that approach used was sequestered by the military. The result is this approach from the north via a long and mostly boring hike up Sheep Creek Spring. I was happy to have some new friends along the way, Robert and Stefan, not only because they're lovely indivduals, but because they helped pass the time as we hiked forever through the barely-changing approach. Thanks for planning this outing with me, friends! Saratoga Springs Road was in great condition, as was the first bit along Sheep Creek Springs Road (junction here: 35.64250243335932, -116.32055432027691). However, the road became a bit rocky and rutted, especially toward the end. Mid-clearance should be fine, but good tires required.

From the trailhead, which features a lovely abandoned portable toilet without a tank, we headed across the trickling water coming from Sheep Creek Springs and up onto the left hills via a social trail. You could bushwhack directly up the watercourse if that's your jam. The social trail avoided the whole mess and pleasantly dropped us back into the wash. Many miles of walking south within the wash went by quickly since I had people to talk to, but it did feel a bit monotonous after a while. Along the way, we encountered a section of narrows that included two Class 2+ moves over some minor obstacles formed by boulders. There was another very small section of narrows that featured a very pretty slickrock wall and some trickling water/mud.

As we neared the head of the wash around 5 miles in, we began to ascend up a progressively steeper and boulder-ridden drainage. The eroded cliffs surrounding us finally added some interesting scenery, and the drainages formed a somewhat difficult complex of possible routes. We messed up a couple of times and were quickly cliffed-out, eventually making our way up the primary drainage without too much effort, some Class 2 boulder-hopping slowing progress. The top of the drainage required a loose slope, but we then emerged onto flat ground and wide views of the surrounding desert, Avawatz Peak visible ahead. There's a couple hundred feet of undulating desert, avoidable by keeping to the left and side-hilling down to the base of Avawatz Peak. Then an obvious ridge with a social trail led up to the summit. There were some great views of the surrounding area from way up here.