Clark Mt. CA (North of Mountain Pass, near NV border)

photos by Harlan W. Stockman & Steve Nguyen
Sunday, May 15, 2005

Don't follow the old DPS instructions to drive on the powerline road. That road is now terrible. Just east of the powerline road is a very good gravel road. Here is a GPS log (relative to WGS84) FOR THE ROAD ONLY which you can use at your own risk. The last 2 miles are high-clearance road. I got my Subaru Outback (7.5" clearance) to the Picnic Area, but with three people in the car, we were pushing our luck, and the car bottomed out a few times.

The i15 exit to Mountain Pass is only ~50 miles south of the (southern) intersection of i95 and 215 in Las Vegas. The interstate is a fast road, but often crowded on weekends. From South Vegas, it probably takes less time to get to Clark, than to Kyle Canyon.

GPS trace. The route labeled "UP" is the better choice; the "Down" route is full of loose talus. The "3" indicates the approximate position of the DPS class 3 section, on the south side of the ridge; this section is just SW of where the knife edge meets the cliff band. A backside view of the knife edge, from the summit of Clark, is here.	Flax.	More flax.

A large (meter-long) harmless gopher snake.	Bioturbated limsetone.	Up the ridge, view S to Mountain Pass rare earth mine.

Another view S to Mountain Pass rare earth mine.	Luba and Harlan ponder routes to the top.	View WSW. The firs are apparently in the shadow on the north side of the peak.

Launching across the knife edge.		We downclimbed the knife edge half-way along, to try the DPS recommended ascent route.

Coming up the traditional "class 3" section. It's very hard to photograph this section to get the proper perspective. It's really very steep, but the rock is frictional… and occasionally, loose.	View N to Charleston Peak. Already, the ladybugs are visible.	Steve, Luba, and ladybugs.

Look at me! Look at the ladybugs!	Where is Bob Greer these days, anyway?	Pravda.

Kute kokopela.	Obligatory apple-in-mouth pose.	We decided to forgo the traditional "class 3" section, and descend via the knife edge. If you don't mind exposure, this route may be a better choice.

Steve comes down one interesting section.	Claret cups. The lower part of the hike had many flowers -- Palmer penstemons, pink phlox, wooly daisies, mallows, etc.