Hike Indian Pass Wilderness Loop Indian Pass Wilderness BLM, CA

Feb 24, 2023 — What a place! With absolutely no information about the Indian Pass Wilderness, we decided today would be a bit of a reconnaissance outing. We planned to reach 5+ peaks during an extended and totally ridiculous loop, but our plans were foiled by timing and overall loose, unforeseen difficult summits. Our less than fruitful single peak had us peakbaggers content to call this a scenic loop, but since we got to see some of the most outstanding desert scenery and left with a yearning for more of the area, it was definitely a win. I included two peaks we failed on within my attached map since I reference them frequently in my write-up, but the stats don't reflect our mess-ups trying to reach them. There are many burro trails in this area, and I'd say 90% of the loop we did was either within a wash or on a burro trail. Really, it's a Class 2 day with some short Class 3 dryfall downclimbs.

Indian Pass Road is in decent shape, though you'll want a little clearance for some rockier/sandier sections. This area is easily overlooked because in order to see any of the peaks out here you need to crest Indian Pass first. But once you reach the pass, it becomes apparent that this is an absurdly beautiful area. Not many seem to come this far, and even fewer venture out on foot. How. The. Hell. We parked at a pull-out off the road and set out using a drainage that we felt made sense to contrive a loop. Of course, we altered our course nearly every hour after realizing how complex and wild the peaks/terrain were, so unlike most hikes this one ended up being a bit more freeform.

The drainage was a nice walk, and as we neared the base of our first objective, we sort of just laughed. Peak 1500 seemed unlikely on a map, but it became clear pretty quickly that this would be a technical climb once we saw it in person. Regardless, we valiantly set out to check its east face, the most likely option to reach the summit. I left this little detour on my attached map because it provided a wonderful overlook, though we were left without a claimed summit.

Back in our drainage, we decided to ascend the unranked and unnamed Peak 1420, which seemed like it might be a nice consolation prize. We ascended a loose Class 2 slope to reach its southeastern face. After about an hour of exploring different gully options, we determined there was no way up this thing unless you're excited about a crumbly, Class 5 knife edge from either direction. The burlier climbers in the group put in a bit more effort than I did, circling the summit block base on some of the most horrible-looking desert rock that exists. So much for a consolation prize. We reached a notch on the peak's east side, which is accessible by taking a Class 2 slope. Still without a single peak to show for our hard work, we descended on loose Class 2 from this notch into a drainage below.

A burro trail led us through the drainage and avoided a dryfall. Assuming you're not doing either of the peaks we failed on, the route would only be Class 2 to this point, but within this drainage we encountered a couple of Class 3 dryfall obstacle downclimbs. The drainage continued north and away from the peaks, so we left it with the hope to find a route up to Peak 1280. A Class 2 slope brought us east, where another burro trail took us to a gorgeous, lumpy landscape surrounded by beautiful pinnacles. We traversed this relatively tame section and wrapped north around some steep cliffs on the far west reaches of Peak 1280. Usually still on a burro trail, we continued wrapping around the slope of the peak and finally ascended to its west ridge.

It was on the west ridge of Peak 1280 that we got the views none of us were expecting, but were all hoping for. A panoramic view of Peak 1500 and its many surrounding pinnacles/peaks formed a stunning scene. This was our backdrop for the Class 2/3 ascent to Peak 1280, and I think it was at this point none of us minded we'd failed on two summits. In addition to the pinnacles, from the summit we could see Picacho Peak's impressive form in the distance and the Colorado River below.

We took more time than normal on the summit soaking in the views before we started our descent using a Class 2 boulder-hopping weakness on Peak 1280's east side. The weakness led into a steep gully, which we used to descend for a few hundred feet. We left this gully, hopped over a humped ridge, and followed a burro trail into an adjacent drainage. This one we ascended to a saddle above, beautiful monoliths still everywhere. It was at this point Tyler remembered he'd left his hefty bag of snacks on the summit, so he ran back to retrieve them. Surely we should expect better from our trusted SAR professional ;)

From this saddle, we descended on burro trails through a gorgeous desert landscape. The trails somehow managed to take the most efficient route around little hills and avoiding gullies. Clever burros. Our final burro trail descended into a wash and back to Indian Pass Road, which we took back to the cars.