Utah has been under a heat wave this summer and it is contributing to our poor drought conditions. But I needed a getaway and have been hankering to get out to the west desert and the House Range in particular. The range is famous for its limestone cliffs and caves, and in particularly for the north face of Notch Peak with a 3000’ drop to the desert below.
To get to the range you first find Delta Utah, and then head west on old road 6/50 with ~60 miles of gravel. The range runs north-to-south with two major passes that cross it, connecting east and west. Armed with an old guidebook for caves in the area, but scant location information, I left Delta late afternoon with temps well above 100 and drove to Death Pass. My first goal was to locate as many caves as I could, searching mostly high in the cliff bands on canyons accessible from the west side of the range.
In the course of the next 24 hours, I hiked through multiple canyons and found a total of 8 caves. Some were easily accessible and others required some class 4 scrambling up to the appropriate cliff band. Many caves had huge openings visible for miles, while others were more discreet. Some of the caves I located had names I could establish based on the guidebook maps:
- Antelope Springs Cave
- West Desert Sinkhole
- Sinbad Cave
- Cannon Cave
- Painted Lady Cave
- Hooker’s Hole
- Grand Central Cave
- Mcyntosh Cave
To manage the heat I concentrated the biggest hikes when the sun was low early and late in the day. I also employed a sun umbrella when I didn’t have to use my hands for scrambling. Searches were done with binoculars and with a drone when in the appropriate airspace.
One highlight was the Amasa Valley area on the southern part of the range. Reminding me a lot of the geology of the City of Rocks, the valley sits at an elevation of about 8000’ and included a (high-clearance 4×4) road to the range backbone where I spent the last night of the trip in relative coolness.
The final morning included a hike to Notch Peak, coming in from the north along the ridge rather than the conventional east approach. As you approach you can see the incredible sheer face of the peak, and eventually standing atop it is a great experience. This mountain is one of my top three in Utah (with Deseret Peak near Grantsville and Nebo near the town of Nephi). Leaving the range and heading east I saw the first other vehicle I’d seen in almost 40 hours — such isolation and such beauty!
Resources:
- The drive in from Delta is a nicely-graded road with plenty of gravel. Once you are in the range you’ll find the roads vary in quality but all the main arteries are well graded.
- Plenty of primitive camping available across the range, but be aware that there is no water in the area.
- I won’t publish a hiking track for the caves, to preserve their secrecy, but if you search you will find!
- Hiking track for Notch Peak from the North
Lessons Learned
- I carried my Core Hiking Gear plus the following items:
- Extra water and salty snacks
- Sun umbrella (silver on top)
- Binoculars
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