Cove Ridge

Overview

The Cove Ridge Route (CRR) starts at the end of the rough “aqueduct” road, and ascends roughly west up the ridge on the NORTH side of Cove Canyon. The route ascends ~5000’ in 4.8 miles—and most of the ascent is in the beginning. Once you reach the ridge at ~10500’, curve south, then east, and walk the gentle hills to the summit at 11361’. The accumulated elevation gain, at the end of the day, will be ~6000', since you must ascend, descend, and reascend several lumps on the final gentle ridge. The Cove Route is the orange-red northern route on this map:

DO NOT enter Cove Canyon – it has very thick brush, steep talus, and almost impassable cliffs. Stay on the ridge.

Getting There

The first trick is to find the old “aqueduct” road marked on the USGS 7.5 minute Carvers quad. The turn is given in the GPS list below. Just south of Carvers, there is a gas station-convenience-store and “Shoshone Market” shop on the east side of the road; from that shop, travel roughly north on sr 376 for 2.9 miles to the left (west) turn for the “Aqueduct” road (NO sign). There is a barbed-wire gate perhaps 50' back from start of the road; please close this gate after you pass. In reality, this is a very rough dirt road, and the “aqueduct” is just a water pipe, initially buried, on the south side of the road. There is one washout part way up the road; you will need to squeeze around it, or drive carefully over it. With slow driving (and occasional pruning of loose rocks), a vehicle with 7-8" of clearance will make the trip.  The driveable road ends at a small loop, where you can park. You can walk further up the almost invisible road, to the base of the first steep slope.

Route Description

From the end of the old dirt road, continue W and WNW up the steep slope. This is the ridge on the NORTH (right) side of the Cove Canyon stream. The first 0.3 miles are class 2-3; if you look for solid rock, the way will be easier. Though most of the broken volcanic rock is stable, occasionally a large piece will move; be careful.

At ~7600’, you will need to navigate over or around a rocky “knife edge” of sorts (the edge is actually almost perpendicular to the ridge).

The good ground is just to the north of the knife edge. Follow the ridge, cutting R (N) when you come to a cliff at ~9500.  Past the cliffy area, at ~9600', you can either follow a faint animal trail on the N side of the ridge, till ~10400’ elevation; or you can follow the ridgeline almost exactly to 10400'. The ridgeline in composed of nastier, broken rock; the route to the north has more shade, and is composed of very steep scree, which one must run across (at times) to keep from sliding downhill.

At this point, the bristlecones become sporadic. Soon the ridge turns slightly S (still heading WSW). Pass over the peak marked 10666’, and descend ~200’ over the SW side of the peak. From here, the true summit is directly S. Travel south, then finally east on the ridge to the summit. (Resist the urge to travel on the sides of the intervening lumps, to save gaining elevation; you will loose more energy trying to side-hill on the ridges.)

The highpoint is a nondescript lump with the remnants of an old theodolite station. The rougher peak to the SE is actually slightly lower; there is actually a class 2+ route up the southeast summit, and there was a register in 2013. Adding the SE Summit will add another 300' in accumulated gain for the day.

Here are GPS coords for select waypoints, in decimal degrees, relative to WGS84. This text is a Maptech format “mxf” file.
The first point is where one turns west from state route 376.
38.810860, -117.188245, "Cove376Trn", "COVE376TRN", "COVE376TRN", ff0000, 47
38.816338, -117.210214, "Cove-park", "COVE-PARK", "COVE-PARK", ff0000, 47
38.818117, -117.213122, "cove1", "COVE1", "COVE1", ff0000, 47
38.818921, -117.216926, "cove2", "COVE2", "COVE2", ff0000, 47
38.818520, -117.219320, "cove3", "COVE3", "COVE3", ff0000, 47
38.819707, -117.221029, "cove4", "COVE4", "COVE4", ff0000, 47
38.820599, -117.225732, "cove5", "COVE5", "COVE5", ff0000, 47
38.821329, -117.230111, "cove6", "COVE6", "COVE6", ff0000, 47
38.820672, -117.234348, "cove7", "COVE7", "COVE7", ff0000, 47
38.821135, -117.236953, "cove8", "COVE8", "COVE8", ff0000, 47
38.820700, -117.238196, "cove9", "COVE9", "COVE9", ff0000, 47
38.821614, -117.240871, "cove10", "COVE10", "COVE10", ff0000, 47
38.822217, -117.245389, "cove11", "COVE11", "COVE11", ff0000, 47
38.821051, -117.251352, "cove12", "COVE12", "COVE12", ff0000, 47
38.814608, -117.255407, "cove13", "COVE13", "COVE13", ff0000, 47
38.805777, -117.255260, "cove14", "COVE14", "COVE14", ff0000, 47
38.798810, -117.251620, "summit", "SUMMIT", "SUMMIT", ff0000, 47

Essential Gear

Lots of water - route is completely dry.

External Links

Images

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