Hike Manly Peak Death Valley National Park, CA

Mar 05, 2022 — Manly Peak is a high-prominence peak out in Butte Valley, a remote region of Death Valley National Park. Despite being relatively close to Las Vegas, it's eluded me for a long time because I wasn't really willing to risk the drive way out there alone. After about a year of plans falling through for one reason or another, Sean Casserly and I were able to get our butts out there along with Mike Toffey, Chris Henry, and Zach Imm. I had a blast out in the middle of nowhere with these excellent people, and it was great to finally meet Sean after years of his name popping up on my radar. We caravaned out, happy to have two vehicles in case one got into trouble, which fortunately didn't happen. I would have felt confident getting any Crossover vehicle with good tires out here, but it's long and slow and feels like it takes forever.

Some may choose to attempt the reportedly horrible drive from the west, but we decided to take the much better road coming from the east off of Badwater Road within Death Valley National Park. To get out into Butte Valley, start by heading west along the West Side Road starting here (35.93759, -116.70477), then take a left here (35.9541, -116.74655) onto Warm Springs Road. Follow this very good road until it reaches Warm Springs Camp, then keep right here (35.9692, -116.92706) and continue on the less good road as it continues west. After a while, keep left as the road turns into Butte Valley Road here (35.98548, -117.0004). The road continues to a series of historic cabins where people can stay for the night. We parked at the one called Stella Mengel Cabin and spent the night. My short drive from Vegas was nothing in comparison to their 8+ hours. Holy commitment.

The initial slopes of Manly Peak seem to be attained via one of a few drainages, but all lead to the peak's southeast ridgeline. We chose to start from the Stella Mengel Cabin, where we followed a social trail leading over sandy terrain and past another, larger historic cabin. The social trail persisted, leading mostly within the base of the drainage leading southwest up to a saddle. We'd return to this saddle later, which would allow us to also hike up to Peak 5449 as a bonus later, after bagging Manly Peak.

From this saddle, the ascent was straightforward for the most part along the sandy, steep slope. While not unpleasant, the loose-ish sand did slow us down a bit. It would end up being a lot of fun to use as a quick descent later. About halfway up the ridge to Manly Peak, the terrain changed, introducing a forest of granitic boulders. They are easy to avoid via one of many social trails on their right (north), but scrambling through them only adds a little bit of effort (Class 2/3) and leaves the sandy slope for a time. Past here the landscape became a bit more lush, all sorts of desert foliage popping up at this higher elevation. The ridgeline continued to be straightforward as it bent slightly south, though there weren't any more obvious social trails as far as I could tell.

We neared the summit block of Manly Peak, our excitement for this reported Class 5 crux pushing us to get up there faster. Once we reached it, we were a bit underwhelmed. While likely not an easy move for many folks, the large boulder that marked the high point was less intense and shorter than we all expected. The summit boulder is nestled up against a smaller boulder, forming a chimney. Past the chimney is a Class 3 move on a slab. Even though the chimney move is a little tough, there is no exposure and there was a fixed line on our visit. Most of us chose to ignore the fixed line in order to enjoy the short scramble without aid. One in our party didn't like the chimney and opted to scramble up the slab to the left of the chimney, which I thought looked a lot harder, but to each their own. I don't think the summit block is harder than Class 4, but it seems many disagree with me. I know I generally rate scrambles more conservatively side than most, labeling a series of moves a higher class rating when there's exposure, but I thought this was just a few moves of fun.

Once we enjoyed the views for a bit, the team decided they wanted to head out to tag a small bump called Anvil Benchmark, just south. I joined them with the requirement that they'd allow time for Peak 5449, which didn't seem to be a problem. Ultimately Anvil Benchmark ended up being a worthwhile addition. There was some fun boulder-hopping along the ridgeline from Manly Peak to Anvil Benchmark, and its summit actually had a really nice view to the west. Plus, it was cool to see Manly Peak's summit block from this angle.

We backtracked to Manly Peak and descend more or less the same way we ascended back to the saddle with Peak 5449. Only a few of us decided to go for this unnamed peak, but being only about 400 additional feet of vertical gain I couldn't pass it up. The peak's northern ridge was riddled with boulders (Class 2). We chose pretty much the same route to the summit and back, keeping to the right of the ridge crest where the boulders were the most cumbersome. The summit of Peak 5449 had some nice views toward Needle Peak, which we'd be doing next, and a cool perspective of the east slope of Manly Peak, which felt far away from here.