Hike Grapevine Peak and Mount Palmer Death Valley National Park, NV

Nov 05, 2020 — Grapevine Peak and Mount Palmer are two peaks in the Grapevine Mountains far enough that I wanted to get them both in a day so I wouldn't have to return along the long dirt road approach. The area is remote and has some outstanding scenery. To get to the trailhead, turn off at 37.049269621454684, -116.77191081681414 and follow the obvious, main dirt road to the trailhead listed on my trip report. Google will try to take you on some nonsense road otherwise. The dirt road is in great shape until about five miles from the trailhead, where mid-clearance is necessary. Better vehicles could make it to the saddle to the west of where I started, but I parked at a turn-off before the road became very rough.

I hiked along the road to the saddle, then headed north to do Grapevine Peak first. I recommend initially keeping along the ridge, then staying just to its right to avoid additional Class 2 obstacles. The potential rockiness only lasts for the first quarter mile ascent, and then the rest of the route to Grapevine Peak is just a series of ups and downs on small bumps, where I had to dodge trees and occasional brush. It's not particularly fun, but also wasn't too annoying. The route required passing over some minor ridgeline bumps, and for the most part I would recommend just keeping to the slopes of these bumps since the minor high points aren't prominent enough to even be called "peaks". After the third bump, a social trail leads down to the east slope of Grapevine Peak, and then heads up to the peak. Along the way up the peak's east slope are a couple of talus fields, barely Class 2.

The summit views from Grapevine Peak were less exciting than I thought they'd be, a ridge to the west obscuring a nice view into Death Valley. Mount Palmer to the south seemed dauntingly far away. I didn't linger for long, backtracking to the saddle and ready to begin Mount Palmer.

A short Class 2 section leads up from the saddle as I headed south to Mount Palmer. From here, a steep ridgeline continued, much less brushy than the route to Grapevine Peak. There was even a pretty well-defined social trail. I found myself traversing the ridge and ended up on Peak 8040. I scoped a potential route for later toward Wahguyhe Peak to the east, but it seemed excessively steep and loose, and I would ultimately run out of daylight later anyway. Also from Peak 8040, I could trace the route to Mount Palmer, which would include two somewhat aggressive bumps along the ridge, then a long trek south to the peak. I continued southwest from Peak 8040, a steep slope with a social trail leading down. I passed over the two bumps along the ridge that couldn't be avoided. Of course this meant I'd have to re-ascend them on the way back. I'll note that to save some elevation, I was able to avoid Peak 8040 on the way back (see map).

After summitting the second hump along the ridge, I descended to a saddle where Mount Palmer was plainly visible ahead. The route required me to leave the primary ridgeline at this point to get to Mount Palmer. I dropped south down from the saddle, side-hilling on steep dirt (minor Class 2) to get to a low ridge below. This low ridge was gorgeous - sweeping desert views in all directions, Mount Palmer's lengthy ridge approach ahead. It was mostly clear of brush and was overall just a nice jaunt through the desert.

The route slowly began to ascend to gain Mount Palmer's northern ridge. A social trail kept route-finding minimal, and there was only one very steep section required to gain the ridge. I followed the ridge, mostly staying on the crest except for some easy side-hilling to avoid a bump. The last half-mile or so before the summit introduced some Class 2 rock outcroppings that required some short descents and re-ascents, and then I found myself faced with the crux of the day, a rocky headwall that guards the summit. The route starts up some steep Class 2 before avoiding the sketchy-looking stuff by keeping to the right and wrapping around to safer ground. The route gets confusing here, and I messed up badly on my ascent. Pictures below may help better, but I recommend doing an ascending traverse to a small rocky edge, then dropping down 50 feet into a minor gully, then reascending on its opposite side. If you find yourself scramblnig within any gullies, you've likely gone the wrong way or missed the route to higher ground. If you're doing anything harder than Class 2+, try again. Once out of the gully, a steep and loose social trail leads up to higher ground, where a pleasant stroll leads to the summit. Mount Palmer's summit views down into Death Valley and to the surrounding peaks of the Grapevine Mountains were incredible.