Horse Benchmark 8491'

This very obscure peak offered a surprisingly nice, mellow hike and some nice rock near the top. The access point is ~13 miles up the Wheeler Pass Road (2.5 miles past the left turn at 10.5 miles– see Wheeler Toiyabe 2009 page). The start is in the wash, just N of the limestone pinnacles. The southern ridge route has some brush; the northern wash route is surprisingly clear most of the way, but has enervating, soft gavel near the bottom.

CP e-mailed me for a hike to “someplace new” that would take a half-day. Knowing CP’s antipathy for repeated ascents, I suggested this obscure place. He bit. To avoid the worst heat (it was ~105 in Vegas), we got there at 8AM; the starting point is only at ~6000’

pics by Harlan W. S.
August 11, 2009

	First photo! the ascent route gave some needless but fun class 3.	I walked up on the southern quasi-kinife edge, thinking I’d get great pics of CP on something similar. Alas, the true northern peak was mellower.
View NW	The register was actually placed by MacLeod and Lilley in 1984.	Macks in middle horizon, Bonanza to L, Mummy to R.
Charleston.	Wheeler.	View SE.
		We start down.
The upper descent is steep; we lost 1150’ in 15 minutes.	The lower wash is mainly flat, open gravel.	Man-made structure.
CP’s right shoe. Guess how old these shoes were? The only thing between his heel and the ground is his orthotic.	Yep, that’s a toe.	Left shoe.