Goshute Peak (NV)

Overview

Located just south of Wendover Nevada, this one is a dandy of a peak.  With almost  3700 feet of prominence, it comes in at #32 on the prominence list for the state of Nevada and this makes it a highly desirable peak for those of us who chase  the prominence peaks of Nevada.  Despite its proximity to Wendover, relatively few people have found their way to the top of  this one as there has been very little information available on this peak and its surrounding area.  This page should resolve some of the "mystery" and will provide a decent way to find a route to the summit. A key jeep track penetrates the interior but the track is rough and is only for those who have high clearance, 4WD and don't value their paint job,

Getting There

  
On Alternate Hwy 93, head south from Wendover go to virtual milepost 34.3 and find a gravel/dirt road
heading right off the highway. (Roughly 21 miles from Wendover) Zero your odometer.

0.0 Leave highway (waypoint 40.4905   114.1530)
0.5 Continue straight (north) - ignore additional right forks
2.1 Keep left, up the wash (trending southwest)
4.6 Fork in wash - better road goes left and up a ridge to climb out of the wash, but keep right and continue up the wash
5.4 Go left, on mapped Jeep Trail  (waypoint 40.48555 114.22455 )- it gets rougher
6.3 A fork goes right to Felt Spring - stay left
8.2 If you get this far you should park here (three vehicles made it to this point including a  tundra)  Park earlier if you value your
      paint job.  I also had my antenna snapped off by one of these paint scratching trees. If you get to this waypoint,  40.4746
      114.2735, there is room for a couple vehicles to car camp.  It is also the "trailhead" for the route we utilized.

Route

  
The key to success as we found it to be was to get to this waypoint: 40.4746   114.2735.  A drainage can be followed that has some "trails" provided by the horse population of the area and by following this up to the headwall of  the drainage, easy access to the upper slopes is obtained.  See the GPS track Dennis provides at peakbagger. com.  If you have a GPS that takes downloadable tracks,  just plug that in and follow it all the way up to the summit.  There was nothing difficult encountered on our route and nothing more than class 2 hiking.  All cliffs and
obstacles could be avoided by going around them to the left or to the right.  No scrambling is required to capture this summit and the reward is tremendous views from the summit.  Also take note of the bristlecone forest on this mountain and we were fortunate enough to be there at the time of the Balsam Root floral bloom.  It was beautiful with slopes covered in the yellow blooms of these plants.  We found no benchmarks on the summit but did find a glass jar register protected by a red can cover.  The elevation gain was about 2700 feet and the round trip distance just over 5 miles. Not exactly the death march we had been expecting.  No ticks encountered after leaving the trail head but they were there in abundance so we had to check for them prior to getting in our vehicles. 

Other climbers have approached the summit from Felt Spring and one even hiked it from the highway.  Should you not have a vehicle capable of dealing with Felt Canyon, you could hike from the point where you begin to get uncomfortable and aim for the GPS waypoint I"ve listed above. It is in lat/long nad 27.

Red Tape

Wilderness Study Area - For more information:

Managing Agency - Bureau of Land Management
Local District: Elko Field Office
Contact Info: (775) 753-0200
3900 East Idaho Street Elko, NV89801

   
Office Hours: 7:45 am - 4:30 pm M-F  |  Public Room Hours: 7:45 am - 4:30 pm M-F

 

When to Climb

It is possible that this could be climbed year around but that will depend on the condition of the roads.  Rain can change the roads and make them impassable.  Spring through fall would be the best time of year but be aware of tick season. 

Camping

Car camping can be done just about anywhere on BLM land and you should practice the Leave no trace ethics.  Rooms are available at nearby Wendover but there are no "regular" campgrounds in this area.

Register history

 

Most of the time when I find a register on a rarely visited peak, I'll try to take pictures of the pages since they represent a unique history of visitation. Most of the registers I find in Nevada were placed by Gordon MacLeod and Barbara Lilley or by John Vitz. They were interested in the range highpoints and so you find their registers frequently. Registers get destroyed, lost, damaged, etc so this is my attempt to save what I can. This register through 2013 had the following:
1997
Gordon MacLeod - Calif
Barbara Lilley - Calif
Bill Sanders - Calif
2002
John Vitz - Calif
2003
Tom Roundtree - Nevada
2007
Greg Jagielski - Utah (Vermont)
Eli Hermansen - Utah
2008
Richard Carey - Calif
2009
John Stock - Washington
2012
Mark Nichols - Arizona
Andy Martin - Arizona
Bob Sumner - Nevada
2013
Ken Jones - Washington
Dennis Poulin - Oregon
Dean Molen - Utah
Susan Wyman-Henney
Victor Henney
Victor Zhou - Utah (Mass)
2014
Bob Packard - Arizona
Adam Helman - California

That isn't a lot of people for 17 years.
  

External Links

See this album (Facebook) that has a lot of pics

Gone Goshuting by Victor Zhou

Disclaimer

As road conditions can change and hiking or traveling in this type of country can be inherently dangerous, the above information is provided only as a courtesy. You accept all risk and responsibility for your activities in this area and I recommend that you let others know of your plans and where you will be hiking/climbing prior to heading to this area. Be self sufficient and carry plenty of food, water and shelter in the event of a breakdown. Good quality tires are a necessity on the rough and rocky roads you will encounter as is a vehicle in good condition. An example of changing road conditions was reported by Victor Zhou when he encountered a washout during his visit.  Having said all that, have a good trip and please let the author of this page know of changes that you encounter.

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Images

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