The Sweetwater Mountains are an overlooked range thanks to their more showy neighbor, the Sierra Nevada. Occupying a piece of largely undeveloped land north of Bridgeport and bordered by highways 395 to the west, 208 to the north, 338 to the east, and 182 to the south, access is exclusively via 4×4 vehicle once you get off pavement.

From my glimpses into the Sweetwaters from 395 and my Sierra summits, I’ve never felt drawn to the range. But as the northernmost peaks in my favorite Desert Summits book they piqued enough interest to deserve further research. What I found was a geologically and historically fascinating area with relatively few visitors. I tucked the Sweetwaters in the back of my mind, planning to explore them some open summer weekend.

Trip Report

Sweetwaters from a cabin in Boulder Flat

Back in July the Aspen fire was burning down by Lake Edison and the wind was blowing the smoke all over the Sierra. Other than the smoke, a beautiful weekend was in the forecast and I wanted to get out to elevation for a weekend before our bigger trip. The smoke was staying clear of the Sweetwaters so we decided it was the perfect weekend to explore the range, the tallest point of which is the 11,654 ft tall Mt Patterson. I threw together some maps and waypoints and we hit the road in the Tundra.

Driving into the Sweetwaters, smoke from the Aspen fire in the distance

My goal was two-fold: first, explore the range in general – get a feel for the terrain, the views, the conditions, etc. The second was to climb Mt Patterson (and it’s slightly lower neighbor on the same ridge, Wheeler).

There are several roads going in to the range and many are passable by ATV or dirtbike only. There are also a handful that are good for full-size vehicles, provided they are 4×4. I chose the east to west approach via the Sweetwater Ranch and 338. We drove out early Saturday morning and passed through Bridgeport before continuing east into Nevada. At the Sweetwater Ranch we turned off of pavement back towards California and the adventure began.

A network of old mining roads in the Sweetwaters, all poorly mapped

Using the directions I had found online and the waypoints I had dropped into my GPS, we slowly worked our way through the maze of old mining roads and began the climb along the southern end of the range. The roads were narrow and rocky, but David navigated the Tundra like a pro. We kept our fingers crossed that no one was coming down – there is no space to pull over along much of the drive.

Eventually, after climbing about 2000 ft from pavement, we reached an open plateau at about 8500 ft. This was once the mining town of Star City but no structures remain. The only signs of the history here are the decaying roads and the occasional prospect or tailings pile on the hillside.

From here, the drive gets a bit sketchier, a narrow shelf road with lots of rock and nowhere to pass. In a little over a mile it climbs another 1700 ft to Boulder Flat and the ruins of the town of Belfort at 10,200 ft. The orange bare rock of Wheeler Peak provides a striking backdrop to the trees and decaying cabins of the old town.

Boulder Flat and ruins of Belfort, Wheeler Peak southern slope, and the dirty Tundra

We drove across Boulder Flat (lots of good camping) and a bit higher to a viewpoint of the colorful Ferris Canyon, getting out of the truck to wander the road and check out an old mine tunnel. Along the way I started to notice the unique rocks underfoot. This is where I knew we were somewhere special.

Melting mountainside

Typical tailings-pile rock at Boulder Flat

Backtracking to the cabins at Belfort, we drove through to the high point of the road at about 10,600 ft and parked the truck. From here we planned to hike to Patterson and Wheeler Peaks.

The hike follows road all of the way and we probably could have driven it, but I wanted to walk and get in some hiking at elevation. Along the way we picked up and studied fascinating rocks, enjoyed views of the martian landscape, and eventually chatted with ATV riders on the summit of Patterson. The road traverses the high ridge of the Sweetwaters and much like the Whites and Inyos, provides a lovely view of the Sierra to the west.

Pinks and yellows along the Sweetwater Traverse

Mount Patterson on the left, Ferris Canyon drops away to the right

A smoky view of the Sawtooths in the Sierra from Patterson

The hike to Patterson from the south is easy (other than the elevation), following road the entire way. The side trip to Wheeler is not on trail or road but the cross-country travel in this terrain is as easy as it gets. One thing to note is that there is very little to provide scale to the landscape up here, so things look much further away and bigger than they really are. I didn’t believe my GPS when I navigated to Wheeler because it looked so much further away than the ~500 ft my GPS was telling me.

Wheeler (right, in back) from where we leave the road

The downhill drive on the shelf road was a bit faster and more exciting!  David pulled out his pro skills and we cruised back down to pavement in about half an hour. Again, we were lucky to not encounter others on the road other than in places where passing was easy (up at the cabins in Belfort).

Additional Tips

• This BLM land is popular with ATVs and dirt bikes so if they bother you avoid this range. We had quite a friendly chat and snacks on the summit with some riders and everyone we met on the road was polite and would slow down to throw up as little dust as possible when they passed us walking.
• Driving in and all the way past Belfort in our Tundra with truck tires was fine, but rocky. I would not take passenger tires on this road – the rocks were sharp.
• There is not a lot of information available about this area, so if you go prepare well – bring maps but know your plan. I found that the roads marked on the topo maps were not at all accurate.
• The Sweetwaters get snow just like the Sierra and Whites.

Sweetwater Traverse: Patterson and Wheeler (08.03.2013)

74 photos

Style:

In and Out day hike on gravel/rocky road with optional easy cross-country side trip to Wheeler Peak. 4WD required for trailhead access. If no 4WD is available, this hike can be done as a longer dayhike or backpack, but due to dry conditions you will need to carry all necessary water with you.

Distance:

6.8 miles round trip from Boulder Flat

Elevation Gain:

+/- 1800 ft

Trailhead and Permit Notes:

There are no permits required for day hiking or parking in the Sweetwater range. If you will be dispersed camping, please follow LNT and campfire regulations.

Camping Tips:

There is dispersed camping throughout the Sweetwater Range. Boulder Flat has several places where one could set up a nice campsite.

Resources:

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