Cherum Peak

Here’s a few photos from our hike up to Cherum Peak in the Cerbat Mountains earlier this month. The Cerbats aren’t terrifically tall, but they do best most of the surrounding mountains by a thousand feet. Cherum Peak rises to just under 7,000 feet, high enough to see over Nevada into California and enjoy panoramic views in every direction.

The first 3,000 feet of climbing is done via Big Wash Road, a surprisingly well graded dirt road that would be an absolute blast in a rally car. Most passenger cars can make it up the mountain just fine with a careful driver at the wheel. The hike itself is about 5 miles round trip and not all that difficult, though it can get still and hot on the east slope during the first part of the ascent. Fortunately, there is a nice shady spot to stop and rest just off the trail once you crest the ridge. The rest of the way up there is plenty of shade and a nice breeze.

The mountainside is littered with abandoned mines, most very near the trail, and many well hidden. Shortly after passing a rock sundial, the trail merges with a road that comes up from Hualapai Valley. Right about this time we found ourselves under a storm of birds dancing overhead. I can only guess it was mating season?

The trail branches off from the road again after a few hundred yards and begins the final climb up rocky switchbacks to the summit. This last segment is where the best of the scenery comes into view, ending with an unobstructed 360° view on the peak which extends for miles.

A little scrambling is required to reach the top, where a crow’s nest of rock has been built around the benchmarks. There’s even a recliner built into one wall for an afternoon nap.