6 NEVADA RANGES GUIDE NO. 6.5

HAYFORD PEAK 9912 FEET CLASS 1

MILEAGE: 316 miles of paved road, 4.1 miles of excellent dirt, 18.6 miles of good to fair dirt road

DRIVE: From Las Vegas, NV drive 24 miles N on US Highway 95 to a signed turnoff "Desert National

Wildlife Range", 0.6 miles N of Clark County highway

milepost 101. Turn right (E), following a

paved road

4.1 m

iles to the signed Alam

o Road/Mormon Well Road junction just past the Corn Creek Entrance

Station (Stop here and sign the Visitor Register upon entering and leaving the area). Turn left (N) on the

Alamo Valley Road and drive 8.8 miles on dirt to a signed fork "Cow Camp Road". Bear left and continue 6.2

miles to the signed "Hidden Forest Road" turnoff, where you'll turn right (E) and drive 3.6 miles to road's end at

a locked gate.

CLIMB: Hike E up Deadman Canyon on what the map calls a Pack Trail for 5 miles to the Hidden Forest

cabin at 7900 feet elevation. From the cabin, choose either of the following two routes to the top. The first

route follows the drainage N from the cabin about 1.75 miles to a saddle (UTM 604577) at 9080+ feet

elevation, located 0.5 miles SW of the summit. From this saddle turn right and hike NE to the top. The

second route follows the major ridgeline right (E) of the route just described. Skirt along the right side of

point 8856 and then N over point 9550 to the summit. A third route gains the ridge to the left and is the usual

route up now. The top of Hayford is easily recognized by its array of radio communications equipment.

ROUND TRIP STATS: 4100 feet elevation gain, 15 miles, 9 hours

SIDELINES

1. Hayf

ord Peak is the highest point in both the Sheep Range and the Desert National Wildlife

Refuge, which

itself includes six m

ajor mountain ranges. The refuge was established in 1936 primarily as a sanctuary for the

desert bighorn sheep and encompasses over 2200 square miles of prime desert, making it the largest National

Wildlife Refuge in the "lower 48". The western half of the range is used by Nellis Air Force Base as a

bombing and gunnery range, making it off limits to the public (and probably bighorn sheep too). A diverse

range of life zones occurs here, extending from desert shrub to coniferous forest communities. The refuge

supports numerous large species of animals as well as over 260 species of birds. Pick up a free brochure at the

Corn Creek Entrance Station explaining these natural features as well as important regulations on driving,

camping, hiking and backpacking within the refuge. Included below are some of the more important

regulations:

A. Vehicular traffic is permitted only on designated roads. Off-roading is not allowed.

B. Camping and backpacking are permitted year-round.

All

camps, except backpack camps, must be

located within 100 feet of designated roads. Camping within 1/4 mile or within site of any waterhole

or spring is prohibited.

C. All pets on the refuge must be leashed.

6 NEVADA RANGES GUIDE NO. 6.5

HAYFORD PEAK (CONTINUED)

D. Campfires are permitted but only dead wood may be used. No wood may be removed from the

range.

E. Searching for or removing objects of antiquity, defacing rock art and disturbing archeological

sites is prohibited. Rock or m

ineral collecting is restricted to ma

terials that are exposed and collectable

without the use of tools including metal detectors.

F. Collecting, possessing, disturbing, injuring, removal or transportation of any plant or animal

or parts thereof (dead or alive) is prohibited.

G. Carrying, possessing or discharging firearms or other explosives on the range is

prohibited.

For y

our protection and to provide valuable statistics for the Refuge administrators, sign the visitor register at

the Corn Creek Field Station before and after doing Hayf

ord Peak.

2. The area around Hidden Forest Cabin offers good camping among the pines for backpackers. The water at

nearby Wiregrass Spring is not safe for drinking. It may contain bacterial contaminants. If you do plan on

using it as a drinking water source, either boil it vigorously for 15 minutes of treat it with iodine.

Revised 4/5/18