Red Mountain

Red Mountain - in the Mojave Desert

The mission - find an HPS not located in one of the closed forests/parks impacted by the 2020 fires across the state. The solution - Red Mountain on BLM land near Ridgecrest. We were in a rare area not impacted by the smoke but could see it to the south, west, and north most notably the pyrocumulus cloud from the Complex fire near Sequoia. This was also the first (extinct) volcano I've hiked.

Trailhead:

Off Trona Road on BLM land. We drove as far as my 2WD would take me on Steamwells Road (35.364407, -117.609302)
Difficulty:

Easy with an initial steep incline to warm you up
Aesthetic Rating:

Great desert hike with a 360 view from the top
Distance:

5.5 miles out and back
Type:

Dayhike