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 ~5600’ 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 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 Sandwiches” 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 at the 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 very bad washout part way up the road; you will need to squeeze around it, or drive carefully over it. 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; 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 ~7000’, you will need to navigate over or around a rocky “knife edge” of sorts.

The good ground is just to the north of the knife edge. From there, keep working W and WNW till you reach ~10300’ elevation:

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.

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.