Printable Peak Guide

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK

01L

Backus Peak

6651'
(UTM 155460)

Location: Kern County, about 43 miles north of Mojave, 140 miles from Los Angeles

Maps

Auto Club	Kern County
Forest Service	Sequoia National Forest
USGS Topo	Owens Peak 7½
Official HPS Maps	TPO file - Save to your computer then open with National Geographic TOPO!
	Viewable JPG file - Approximately 1.4 megs
	GPX file or Google Earth KML file to download to GPS units and other map software (How to use GPX and KML files)
	Routes as shown on CalTopo using the above files (How to use CalTopo)

Nearby Peaks: Russell Peak (Russell Peak can be hiked from Backus Peak.)

ROUTE 2

Distance: 8 miles round trip on trail and rocky cross-country
Gain: 3700'
Time: 8 hours round trip
Rating: Class 2, strenuous
Navigation: Moderate route finding
Access: Do not park past the Wilderness boundary signs.
Original: Byron Prinzmetal, April 1999

DRIVING ROUTE 2

Take SR 14 north to Mojave.
Continue north on SR 14 to the intersection with SR 178 (Freeman Junction).
Go west on SR 178 4.7 miles to a dirt road on the north side of the highway. Park here. Unlimited parking space. If you are coming from the west, it is 3.7 miles from Walker Pass summit to the parking location.

Note: You will save several miles of hiking if you leave a car at the parking spot for Route 1.

HIKING ROUTE 2

From Russell Peak hike southeast along the ridge passing over bump 6515'.
Continue along the ridge staying to the south side of bumps 6661' and 6582'.
Continue past bump 6582' up the ridge to Backus Peak.

The ridge from Russell to Backus is only 2 miles long, but plan for it to take at least three hours due to route finding and rocky cross-country travel. There is 900' of gain and loss along this ridge. You should not traverse any of the bumps on the north side. All rock outcrops should be skirted to the south. There is a faint use trail developing and one should look for it.