gimpilator - Dec 20, 2016 11:25 am Date Climbed: Nov 30, 2016
28 Peaks in 15 Days
The standard norther approach road is now for jeeps, trucks and ATV's only. Our round-trip hike was 24 miles and took 2 days. We camped in upper Hidden Valley and had fun despite the distance. We saw 6 sheep on Muddy Mountain. Muddy Peak has a fun scramble at the end and was one of our favorites of the trip.
Other peaks we did during this trip include; Potosi, Cheyenne, Muddy Mountain, Virgin, The Orphan, Silica Dome, Cairn, The Sentinel, East Redstone, Redstone, Mystery Cairn, Vista, Hayford, Clark, McCullough, Spirit, Stepladder, Big Maria, False Maria, Black Butte, Chuckwalla, Pinto, Orocopia, Toro, Santa Rosa, and Thomas.
Due to lack of high clearance or four-wheel drive, I hiked the dirt road past Buffington Pockets for approximately five miles to the BLM wilderness boundary. I followed the standard route from there. This was a wonderful wilderness jaunt. Despite the record drought in the West, there was still water in the Sandstone Doughnut. Hidden Valley was the highlight. It was a twenty-mile round trip hike from the graded road.
jdmorehouse - Apr 6, 2015 5:10 pm Date Climbed: Nov 11, 2014
Non-standard route
First Muddy Benchmark, then Muddy Peak by a class 4 chute to the south of the usually climbed class 3 chute.
seano - Dec 5, 2013 10:26 am Date Climbed: Nov 25, 2013
Standard route from 2WD trailhead
Starting at the "2WD trailhead" added a couple hours in each direction, making this more of a full day. Still, the scenery on the approach kept it from getting too dull. Trip report.
jdmorehouse - Feb 19, 2013 5:14 pm Date Climbed: Feb 16, 2013
Great Mountain, Terrible Road
The road is definitely a 4x4 road now from Buffington Pockets on. That being said, the climb and the general area (Hidden Valley) are the best in the area. Beautiful valley with outstanding sandstone features, and an awesome climb up good rock to the summit. I loved it. We camped over night and scrambled around on the sandstone and limestone cliff bands on some of the northern mountains that ring the valley the next day.
Davtrex - May 8, 2012 12:15 am Date Climbed: Apr 29, 2012
Full day
Good climb with my brother and cousin.
Tracy - Nov 26, 2011 1:01 am Date Climbed: Nov 25, 2011
NW gully via Hidden valley
I climbed this one with my nephews, Spencer and Nathan, on a beautiful fall day.
weeds19 - Jan 16, 2011 12:28 pm Date Climbed: Jan 15, 2011
Perfect Winter Day
We came in from the south to avoid the long dirt road drive that is part of the typical approach from Las Vegas. We started up Lovell Wash after walking across the desert for a while. We tried to follow the direction set we had in hand, but it turned out that we took a different drainage up the eastern slopes to the main Muddy ridgeline. No matter, we made it to the ridgeline and proceeded to the summit surmounting a couple of minor challenges along the way. The temperature approached 70 on our hike, and most of the day was spend with short sleeves on. Great day and perfect views!
asmrz - Jan 6, 2011 10:16 pm Date Climbed: Jan 1, 2011
January 01, 2011
Penelope May and I had the most beautiful trip climbing the peak on New Year's Day,2011. The road from the Valley of Fire is bad, bordering on true 4WD in places. Disregard the old DPS (cc 2004) driving instructions, presently high clearance vehicle is absolutely required and you'll be happy to have a 4WD!!! We managed to get within about 1/2 mile of the dirt road's end. The hike via Hidden Valley is really beautiful and the scramble from the saddle up very nice. Aestheticaly, this is one of the best desert peaks we have done in many years, the scenery is outstanding. There was snow on the ground and on the rock, slowing us down a little, but making the scrambling sections really neat. Cold winter day. 8.5 hours RT.
goofball - Mar 21, 2010 10:54 pm Date Climbed: Mar 21, 2010
from the south
started from end of road in callville wash. up and into lovell wash and to the peak. a fun scramble to the summit, but otherwise not as remarkable as i thought it would be. still a nice hike tho. then down a SE gully and back to callville wash.
Bob Burd - Dec 13, 2009 10:48 pm Date Climbed: Nov 25, 2009
NW gully via Hiddne Valley
Climbed this and nearby Muddy Mtn with Bill Peters on a fine fall day. Trip Report
Kadee - Nov 12, 2008 5:15 pm Date Climbed: Mar 17, 2007
NW Gully via Hidden Valley
cp0915 knows the awesome peaks. This was a great hike and an amazing area. I met a 70+ year old man while I was hiking, he was coming down the gully when I saw him - he had a great spirit about him and it was nice meeting him.
jimegan - Feb 11, 2008 10:32 am Date Climbed: Dec 29, 2001
Muddy Peak
Climbed with Ed, Richard and Mike
Anya Jingle - Jan 27, 2007 9:44 pm Date Climbed: Mar 1, 2006
Ascent via East Canyon, descent through Hidden Valley
This is an awesome loop that allows one to climb both Muddy Peak and Muddy High Point. Muddy High Point is not as impressive as Muddy Peak, but it is the highest peak in Muddy Mountains. The slideshow is here: Muddy Traverse
brianhughes - Nov 30, 2006 12:19 am Date Climbed: Nov 26, 2006
NW Gully via Hidden Valley
This is about as good as it gets. Muddy is now tied with Moapa as my favorite desert peak.
redsplashman23 - Nov 19, 2006 2:36 am Date Climbed: Nov 18, 2006
NW gully via Hidden Valley
What a challenge. The class 3 part was fun. About 4.2 miles to the summit. The last time the summit log was signed was March 6, 2006.
MoapaPk - May 12, 2006 11:11 pm Date Climbed: Jan 1, 2003
SE side
Actually, 3 times so far. First time, We came in from the SE, went up Lovell Wash, then eventually cut NE up to the ridgeline. From there, we went ~0.3 miles NNW to the summit. Class 3 on the NE route and part of the ridge.
Unfortunately, this route now requires about 2 miles more RT. In 2003, BLM closed off the dirt roads to accommodate the new, larger wilderness area. Now the bighorn sheep will be protected from hikers, but not the people who want to blow their brains out with bullets.
DonnieB - Feb 22, 2006 6:02 pm Date Climbed: Feb 13, 2006
NW Gully via Hidden Valley
Fun hike with awesome company and we added an exploratory descent north down ridge looking up from Hidden Valley as shown in Harlan's GPS tracks. Here is a link for some more usefull info for Muddy Peak includeing Images, GPS, Map etc.
Donnie B.
Met a couple of nice guys on summit who had hiked together for over 40 years.
Route Climbed: NW Gully via Hidden Valley Date Climbed: Nov 20, 2005
I couldn't make it all the way to the TH in my Subaru (or at least, I didn't have the courage to try), but I got pretty close... I misidentified another dirt road in the vicinity as the TH access (it petered out after 1/2 mile), and only reoriented myself when I gained the adjacent ridge en route.
It's kind of a slog to reach the base of the peak, but the scrambling along the ridge and up to the summit makes it worthwhile. Quite fun. The downclimb certainly had my undivided attention--although only rated class 3, there's just enough exposure and more than enough isolation out here to make it inadvisable to fall, especially if you're out solo... had originally intended to tag the Muddy Mtns highpoint as well on a loop back, but it looked like a boring walk-up. I bailed on that plan, opting for the early return and a comfortable motel room instead.
gimpilator - Dec 20, 2016 11:25 am Date Climbed: Nov 30, 2016
28 Peaks in 15 DaysThe standard norther approach road is now for jeeps, trucks and ATV's only. Our round-trip hike was 24 miles and took 2 days. We camped in upper Hidden Valley and had fun despite the distance. We saw 6 sheep on Muddy Mountain. Muddy Peak has a fun scramble at the end and was one of our favorites of the trip.
Other peaks we did during this trip include; Potosi, Cheyenne, Muddy Mountain, Virgin, The Orphan, Silica Dome, Cairn, The Sentinel, East Redstone, Redstone, Mystery Cairn, Vista, Hayford, Clark, McCullough, Spirit, Stepladder, Big Maria, False Maria, Black Butte, Chuckwalla, Pinto, Orocopia, Toro, Santa Rosa, and Thomas.
Click here to see the trip report with photos.
bkrause - Apr 19, 2015 12:42 pm Date Climbed: Apr 8, 2015
Beautiful jauntDue to lack of high clearance or four-wheel drive, I hiked the dirt road past Buffington Pockets for approximately five miles to the BLM wilderness boundary. I followed the standard route from there. This was a wonderful wilderness jaunt. Despite the record drought in the West, there was still water in the Sandstone Doughnut. Hidden Valley was the highlight. It was a twenty-mile round trip hike from the graded road.
jdmorehouse - Apr 6, 2015 5:10 pm Date Climbed: Nov 11, 2014
Non-standard routeFirst Muddy Benchmark, then Muddy Peak by a class 4 chute to the south of the usually climbed class 3 chute.
seano - Dec 5, 2013 10:26 am Date Climbed: Nov 25, 2013
Standard route from 2WD trailheadStarting at the "2WD trailhead" added a couple hours in each direction, making this more of a full day. Still, the scenery on the approach kept it from getting too dull. Trip report.
jdmorehouse - Feb 19, 2013 5:14 pm Date Climbed: Feb 16, 2013
Great Mountain, Terrible RoadThe road is definitely a 4x4 road now from Buffington Pockets on. That being said, the climb and the general area (Hidden Valley) are the best in the area. Beautiful valley with outstanding sandstone features, and an awesome climb up good rock to the summit. I loved it. We camped over night and scrambled around on the sandstone and limestone cliff bands on some of the northern mountains that ring the valley the next day.
Davtrex - May 8, 2012 12:15 am Date Climbed: Apr 29, 2012
Full dayGood climb with my brother and cousin.
Tracy - Nov 26, 2011 1:01 am Date Climbed: Nov 25, 2011
NW gully via Hidden valleyI climbed this one with my nephews, Spencer and Nathan, on a beautiful fall day.
weeds19 - Jan 16, 2011 12:28 pm Date Climbed: Jan 15, 2011
Perfect Winter DayWe came in from the south to avoid the long dirt road drive that is part of the typical approach from Las Vegas. We started up Lovell Wash after walking across the desert for a while. We tried to follow the direction set we had in hand, but it turned out that we took a different drainage up the eastern slopes to the main Muddy ridgeline. No matter, we made it to the ridgeline and proceeded to the summit surmounting a couple of minor challenges along the way. The temperature approached 70 on our hike, and most of the day was spend with short sleeves on. Great day and perfect views!
asmrz - Jan 6, 2011 10:16 pm Date Climbed: Jan 1, 2011
January 01, 2011Penelope May and I had the most beautiful trip climbing the peak on New Year's Day,2011. The road from the Valley of Fire is bad, bordering on true 4WD in places. Disregard the old DPS (cc 2004) driving instructions, presently high clearance vehicle is absolutely required and you'll be happy to have a 4WD!!! We managed to get within about 1/2 mile of the dirt road's end. The hike via Hidden Valley is really beautiful and the scramble from the saddle up very nice. Aestheticaly, this is one of the best desert peaks we have done in many years, the scenery is outstanding. There was snow on the ground and on the rock, slowing us down a little, but making the scrambling sections really neat. Cold winter day. 8.5 hours RT.
goofball - Mar 21, 2010 10:54 pm Date Climbed: Mar 21, 2010
from the southstarted from end of road in callville wash. up and into lovell wash and to the peak. a fun scramble to the summit, but otherwise not as remarkable as i thought it would be. still a nice hike tho. then down a SE gully and back to callville wash.
Bob Burd - Dec 13, 2009 10:48 pm Date Climbed: Nov 25, 2009
NW gully via Hiddne ValleyClimbed this and nearby Muddy Mtn with Bill Peters on a fine fall day. Trip Report
Kadee - Nov 12, 2008 5:15 pm Date Climbed: Mar 17, 2007
NW Gully via Hidden Valleycp0915 knows the awesome peaks. This was a great hike and an amazing area. I met a 70+ year old man while I was hiking, he was coming down the gully when I saw him - he had a great spirit about him and it was nice meeting him.
jimegan - Feb 11, 2008 10:32 am Date Climbed: Dec 29, 2001
Muddy PeakClimbed with Ed, Richard and Mike
Anya Jingle - Jan 27, 2007 9:44 pm Date Climbed: Mar 1, 2006
Ascent via East Canyon, descent through Hidden ValleyThis is an awesome loop that allows one to climb both Muddy Peak and Muddy High Point. Muddy High Point is not as impressive as Muddy Peak, but it is the highest peak in Muddy Mountains. The slideshow is here: Muddy Traverse
brianhughes - Nov 30, 2006 12:19 am Date Climbed: Nov 26, 2006
NW Gully via Hidden ValleyThis is about as good as it gets. Muddy is now tied with Moapa as my favorite desert peak.
redsplashman23 - Nov 19, 2006 2:36 am Date Climbed: Nov 18, 2006
NW gully via Hidden ValleyWhat a challenge. The class 3 part was fun. About 4.2 miles to the summit. The last time the summit log was signed was March 6, 2006.
MoapaPk - May 12, 2006 11:11 pm Date Climbed: Jan 1, 2003
SE sideActually, 3 times so far. First time, We came in from the SE, went up Lovell Wash, then eventually cut NE up to the ridgeline. From there, we went ~0.3 miles NNW to the summit. Class 3 on the NE route and part of the ridge.
Unfortunately, this route now requires about 2 miles more RT. In 2003, BLM closed off the dirt roads to accommodate the new, larger wilderness area. Now the bighorn sheep will be protected from hikers, but not the people who want to blow their brains out with bullets.
DonnieB - Feb 22, 2006 6:02 pm Date Climbed: Feb 13, 2006
NW Gully via Hidden ValleyFun hike with awesome company and we added an exploratory descent north down ridge looking up from Hidden Valley as shown in Harlan's GPS tracks. Here is a link for some more usefull info for Muddy Peak includeing Images, GPS, Map etc.
Donnie B.
Met a couple of nice guys on summit who had hiked together for over 40 years.
Matthew Holliman - Nov 28, 2005 9:09 pm
Route Climbed: NW Gully via Hidden Valley Date Climbed: Nov 20, 2005I couldn't make it all the way to the TH in my Subaru (or at least, I didn't have the courage to try), but I got pretty close... I misidentified another dirt road in the vicinity as the TH access (it petered out after 1/2 mile), and only reoriented myself when I gained the adjacent ridge en route.
It's kind of a slog to reach the base of the peak, but the scrambling along the ridge and up to the summit makes it worthwhile. Quite fun. The downclimb certainly had my undivided attention--although only rated class 3, there's just enough exposure and more than enough isolation out here to make it inadvisable to fall, especially if you're out solo... had originally intended to tag the Muddy Mtns highpoint as well on a loop back, but it looked like a boring walk-up. I bailed on that plan, opting for the early return and a comfortable motel room instead.
Day 3 of my southern NV/UT tour.
SusanM - Jul 24, 2005 8:08 pm
Route Climbed: Date Climbed: March 5, 2005A nice challenge.