Distance: 2.8 miles round trip cross country
Summit Elevation: 2270'
Elevation Gain: 1091'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.9
Round trip time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Recommended water: 20 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Zzyzx Road
Difficulty: Easy
This was a bonus peak on the way home from Old Dad. I exited on Zzyzx Road southbound from I-15, crossed over the freeway and parked in a dirt turnaround. With about two hours of daylight left, I thought I could get up and down before dark. I was somewhat concerned about leaving my truck alone for two hours, but geared up and got moving. According to Wikipedia, "Curtis Howe Springer made up the name Zzyzx and gave it to the area in 1944, claiming it to be the last word in the English language. He established the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa in 1944 at the spot, which was federal land."
The terrain was open with little vegetation. I crossed two small drainages before heading up the boulder filled gully toward a saddle in the first line of foothills. From the map, it looked like I could follow this gully to the ridge just south of the summit. However, after passing the foothills, the ridge looked like easier going. I took a sharp turn east to gain the ridge, then followed it in a semi-circle to the summit. The summit was only a mile from road as the crow flies, but 1.4 miles on my route. On top, I found a wooden post and wire that had fallen, but no marks, and no register. I had great views of the local mountains and the long, thin line of concrete that was I-15. I tagged the summit and immediately started down, racing the sun. As soon as I was back in the gully, I was in shadow, but there was still plenty of ambient light. I got back to the truck at dusk.
Commendations on the new IH logo--looking sharp!
ReplyDeleteGloop,
DeleteThanks, always trying to improve within the blogger constraints.