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Trip Report    

Day Hike - Whiskey Dick Mountain

Still lots of flower blooms and color all over the area! A great adventure. The wind was a force to be reckoned with!

Delwin Elder Delwin Elder
May 03, 2025

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We started from the Pumphouse Rd entrance on Vantage Highway. Some of the roads are open to off-road vehicles as of May 1st, but Pumphouse Road is closed to them until July due to construction in the area. 

It was super windy! The forecast called for 22 mph winds with gusts up to 32 mph. They seemed to have gotten stronger later in the day and felt twice as strong at our peak and high ridges. 

There were scattered wildflowers starting immediately from the parking area. Most were past their prime, but still plenty of blooms and color every step of the way over our 7 mile trek. The lupines were putting on a good show, and the cactus blooms still had not fully opened

 We followed the former off-road path (now being reclaimed by plants) that runs to the northwest and eventually meets with Whiskey Dick Corral Rd. We did not follow it that far, but stayed on the trail for 1.9 miles as it transitioned from grassland and flowers to sagebrush and flowers and then reached the bottom of a gully. Then we went off trail and uphill to the northeast until we intersected with Whiskey Dick Ridge Road. When traveling off-trail--which is allowed in this wilderness area--we made sure to spread out and now walk single file to minimize the impact on the land. This road is open to off-road vehicles, and we did see one in the distance, but it must have turned around because it never reached us. We went east for 0.5 miles until we were just below the highest point in the area, and went off-road the last 0.1 miles to reach the rocky peak. Fortunately, the rocks provided some much-needed shelter from the wind, and were a good place to rest and have a snack and soak in the views. We backtracked until we reached the bottom of the gully I mentioned earlier, and then followed it east for about a mile, then crossed to the other side and intersected with an old off-road track that is being reclaimed (no off-road vehicles allowed). We followed this road the rest of the way back to the trailhead. Our group did not see anyone else on trail all day. 
No other cars in the parking lot when we arrived at 9am, and none when we got back to the car.
No port-a-potty at the trailhead. 
The parking lot a couple of miles west on Vantage Highway had 8 or so cars/trucks and off-road access from there was open.