Distance: 3.3 miles round trip cross country
Summit Elevation: 5525'
Elevation Gain: 1500'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.2
Round trip time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 48 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on OM113A road
Difficulty: Easy
West Ord was the third peak of the day. I followed Kathy Wing's GPS track (thanks!) that included the hard to spot dirt road leaving highway 247. The road was not in great shape and high clearance was needed at a minimum. I parked at the cattle guard and walked over it to get around a barbed wire fence. I angled for the low part of the ridge, then followed it up and over the first bump. I continued up, unsure of where the summit was. In fact, the summit remained well hidden until I was nearly on top of it. GPS was helpful on this one. The open desert had few obstacles, but I carelessly kicked a cactus and my right shin went numb for about 10 minutes as I plucked out the needles. After climbing a second bump, I hiked across a mostly level section, up to the highest saddle, then south to the rocky knob that was West Ord. A wooden pole marked the top, and an old, fragile register was in a pair of cans. I spent a few minutes looking for non-existent marks, then took roughly the same route down. Of all the Ords, East Ord remains my favorite. None of the peaks this day were particularly challenging, but they added up to a pleasant day in the desert.
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