This is one of my favorite spots as it also provides a nice view of the Test Site. If the day is hazy, blow it off, as you'll be wasting your time. Also, forget about those months where there is snow up there. Access will be difficult. Not too bad on hot summer days due to the higher elevations.

Special Considerations:

You need a 4wd for this trip. The dirt road seems pretty good at first, but steadily deteriorates the further you get from the pavement. At 9.2 miles, the right wheel track becomes a major ravine, stopping all but the most crazed (i.e., stupid!) 4 wheelers. A small wheelbase Jeep C-J type vehicle might be able to get beyond this point with some road work and cut out some hiking, but it's risky.

You'll be looking through 46 miles of atmosphere, normally not much of a problem in the clear desert air. However if it's a hazy day, you'll just be wasting your time. Also, bring the best optics you can. Binoculars do only a fair job at these distances, and magnifications in the range of 15 to 30 power are more useful. If you use a higher power spotting scope, consider a tripod to cut down the shakes you will undoubtedly experience upon seeing the legendary Papoose Lake!

If you want detailed maps of the area, the most useful is probably the 7 1/2 minute USGS Mt. Stirling quadrangle. For a larger scale perspective, the 1:100,000 USGS Las Vegas and Indian Springs maps are helpful.

There is a slim chance you might encounter a lock on the access gate. In late 1994, the Nevada Highway Department upgraded many of the existing barbed wire gates along Hwy 95 to chain link gates. While this may have been a good thing, they also added shiny new locks and chains for reasons unknown.

The land on the westerly side of Hwy 95 is all BLM land (i.e., public!) up to the base of the mountains, where it becomes US National Forest. The BLM was not too happy about this, and for a time, would send out a ranger with bolt cutters if requested. Things seem to have stabilized now, and the commonly used access points remain open. The Mt. Stirling access has only been observed to have been locked once, just after the locks appeared. No one has reported any problems since, but be aware of the possibility.

If the gate is locked, for whatever reason, you have two choices. The first is to find an open access on the same side of the road within a few miles. You will note the presence of a powerline running parallel to Hwy 95 about a mile west. There is a service road under this powerline which you can access from any other dirt road coming off Hwy 95, and take the powerline road back to the main Mt. Stirling access. Your other choice is to travel, as I do, with a set of bolt cutters for those "special occasions."

Getting There:

Mt. Stirling itself is roughly 48 miles directly northwest of Las Vegas. Access is from a dirt road that intersects Hwy 95 at milepost CL 131.1, approximately 55 miles north of I-15.

If you're heading north from Las Vegas, you'll reach this milepost about 11 miles after passing the Indian Springs Auxiliary Airfield. Be observant, it's easy to miss. The median has a paved drive-across here to allow left turns onto the dirt road.

If you're coming from the north, you'll reach the intersection with the dirt road on the right about 8 miles after passing the Mercury turnoff and 1 mile after passing the Nye/Clark County line.

Start up the dirt road running off to the southwest using the following as a guide:

The Hike:

The object is to reach an elevation of at least 2100 meters (6888'). This is the elevation at which Papoose Lake becomes visible, generally speaking, in this neck of the woods. While there are a number of ways this can be accomplished from this location, the following seems the easiest. Feel free to improvise, however.

Continue walking up the 4wd path up the canyon, beyond where it went to hell. After about 0.4 miles there is an easy to miss 4wd path coming in from the right. Turn right onto this path and start climbing. After another 0.75 miles on this path, you'll reach a high point, an old mining site, beyond which the 4wd path drops down and ends. Stop at this high point and have a look around.

At this location you've reached an elevation of about 2100 meters (6888') and Papoose Lake is just barely visible if you know right where to look (See the viewing directions below). In reality, it helps to do a little upward scrambling to get a better view.

The simplest, although strenuous, way is to start scrambling up the spine of the ridge immediately behind (south). After a bit (Hah, a good, solid hour is more like it!) of climbing, you'll reach a rounded summit at an elevation of 2427 meters (7960'). While this is not Mt. Stirling (it's another 0.75 miles southeast along the crest to Mt. Stirling itself at an elevation of 2505 meters (8216')), it will serve its purpose.

The view here is outstanding, with Pahrump visible to the southeast, the brothels of Crystal to the southwest (along with the lakes of Ash Meadows), and the Armagosa Valley to the west. A good place to hang out.

This is the first possible campsite (i.e., lots of flat spots) after leaving the high point of the 4wd path. There are a few ledges along the way part way up, where it's possible to throw a sleeping bag and have a scenic but uncomfortable night. Nothing big and flat enough for a tent until you get near the top. A nice compromise is to set up camp at the 2100 meter spot and simply hike up the slope for 10 or 15 minutes with the optics of your choice.

To locate Papoose Dry Lake, it helps to first find Bald Mountain. To orient yourself (What? You didn't bring a compass??) look toward Hwy 95 and remember it runs approximately east/west here. Next look off into the distance, about due north. You should be able to see a pronounced peak that has a conical shape, but with a wide base. This is Bald Mountain. Just below Bald Mountain, the hills blocking the view of its base are the Papoose Range. Further dropping your gaze, the lake bed visible at the base of the Papoose Range is (Drum roll please...) Papoose Dry Lake. Another reference point is a small, very dark set of hills blocking part of the view of Papoose. These hills are usually pretty easy to spot. Annotated photo of Papoose Lake from Mt. Stirling.

If there are saucer hangars built into the side of the Papoose Range, you're looking right into where they have been claimed to be. Personally speaking, I hope you have more luck than me in seeing anything.

For more precise locating, the following is a listing of the magnetic bearings to a number of selected locations from the vicinity of the high point on the 4wd path:

Send comments to: Tom Mahood, tlmahood@home.com