SUGARLOAF PK (4623') PANANINT TO OWLSHEAD TRAVERSE 2/16-18/91
R. Jones / S. Smith


Seven desert rats and one desert rattus met Friday night at Owl Hole Springs about 23 mi west of the Harry Wade Exit on highway 127 north of Baker. This 33 mile north to south backpack requires a car shuttle and Steve Smith first led us onto Leach Lake in Camp Irwin. We were wondering why the A-10's were making strafing runs around and over us when Jim Conley pointed out we were a mile inside the Marine Base at a time when pilots were training for the conflict in Kuwait & Iraq. We beat a hasty retreat, expecting a chopper to land anytime and the military to issue a citation. The old Randsburg Road we were on is not marked and so at about 1.5 mi west of the iron ore mine at Owl Hole Spring one is advised to take the right fork to stay legal and in one piece. We drove west about 24-1/2 more miles, past Quail Spring to the south, to about BM 3307 and the turnoff north to the visible microwave station. Another 2-1/2 miles (all pretty good periodically maintained dirt road) took us to the posted , gated entrance to the Randsburg Range of China Lake N.W.C. Here we left one car where we would end our backpack and took 2 cars back to the Death Valley N.M. west side road and then onto the Warm Springs-Butte Valley road where we drove west about 7 miles to about 400feet and the mouth of Anvil Spring Cyn. Wes Shelberg had day hiked Sugarloaf 11 years earlier and suggested the route.

Here we shouldered our backpacks, with 3 days of provisions and about 24 pounds of water, and started hiking WSW up Anvil Spring Canyon. It was the first backpack since summer for many of us and it hurt! About 5 miles up canyon we took the left, southerly, fork of Lost Spring Canyon, so named for the spring shown on the Anvil Spring Canyon, West 1985 provisional 7-1/2' topo (and shown but not named on the Wingate Wash 15' map). In about another 4-1/2 miles we came to Lost Spring which I was surprised to see had a small flow in this dry year! In 1/4 mile at about 2300 feet we came upon a larger spring with vegetation and a better flow. This would be a nice place to set up camp but we chose to hike another mile to a delightful dry camp at about 2500'. This route does have magnificent scenery and the weather was great.

The next morning we were off at 7:30 and carried our packs south on the ridgeline, over bump 4484 and in about 2-1/2 miles we were on top of the named Sugarloaf highpoint, 4623' on the 1985 topo. It was a very clear day and the views are outstanding from this summit. One sees the rugged east side of Needle Pk about 8-1/2 mi to the west, you can see the 3rd class summit block of Manly, Striped Butte and most of the Butte Valley, the mouth of both Goler Wash and Redlands Cyn, the Slate Range and Argus Range beyond, the backside of Porter, of Sentinel and Telescope, and to the east you see Smith and Charleston and Kingston and Clark and more. You also lookout over the whole Owishead Range and Owihead Pk at 4407'.
 
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