Eastern Ridge

Approach

Option 1 is from Highway 190 that connects Furnace Creek in Death Valley and Death Valley Junction or Amargosa east of Death Valley. From Death Valley Junction/ Amargosa where Hwy 190 and Hwy127 intersect, proceed west on Hwy 190 for 18.1 miles to a paved road on your left or south side of the road. If you are starting in Furnace Creek, proceed east on Hwy 190 for 12.1 miles from the Visitor Center and then turn right or south onto the paved road. This paved road has a small sign indicating Dantes View and the Billie Mine are accessed from this road. Proceed south 7.3 miles to a dirt road on your left. This is the Greenwater Valley Road and there is a sign that says Shoshone is 36 miles away. This is a good road and I drove 30+ MPH most of the way. Proceed down this dirt road 7.6 miles, stop, and pull off the road. The elevation here is about 4,050 ft. Funeral Peak is on your right or west about 2 miles across the desert. You should be near the highest saddle on the Greenwater Valley Road. Don’t drive past this saddle.

Option 2 is from Hwy 178 that connects Furnace Creek and Shoshone. From Shoshone proceed north on Hwy 127 for 1 mile to and then turn left on Hwy 178 for 5.6 miles. Turn right or north on the dirt Greenwater Valley Road. From Furnace Creek it is a long drive through Death Valley, pass Badwater and at the south end of Death Valley Hwy 178 starts to climb out of the valley and you go over Jubilee Pass and Salisbury Pass. 4.9 miles from Salisbury Pass is Greenwater Valley Road on left or north. This is a good road and I drove 30+ MPH most of the way. Proceed down this dirt road 16.1 miles, stop, and pull off the road. The elevation here is about 4,050 ft. Funeral Peak is on your left or west about 2 miles across the desert. You should be near the highest saddle on the Greenwater Valley Road. Don’t drive past this saddle.

Route Description

The route is straightforward and easy to follow. Before you start, note where your car is parked. You wont’t be able to see it from the base of the mountain, so note where the tallest hill east of you car is in relation to Funeral Peak. The first part is heading directly across the desert towards the summit. The footing is good and the brush is low and easily avoided. Do avoid the brush, most of it has thorns for your hiking pleasure. After about a mile you will start crossing washes that start in mountains ahead. Continue crossing these or bearing to the left until you get into the main wash that has good footing and heads directly at Funeral Peak. On my descent I stayed in the wash for a full mile from the base of the mountain. You should reach Funeral Peak after about 2.25 miles, one hour of hiking, and climbing about 600 ft from Greeenwater Road.

Don’t follow the wash up the canyon past the foot of the mountain because eventually you will have to climb a cliff to get up to the ridgeline.

At the base of the mountain just pick an easy route heading up the eastern slope of Funeral Peak. There are footing options here to meet your personal preferences. There are grassy areas and rocky areas. The rocks are usually very stable and easy to travel up. Stay in the middle of the slope and keep heading west up the wide ridgeline. As you progress you will crest several ledges and the ridge becomes more narrow. Persevere and continue climbing. Eventually, you will crest a ledge and see the summit ahead. It is shaped like a coffin sitting on a burial mound. The last little rocky ledge heading up to the summit is fairly steep and the rocks are bigger and less stable. Don’t twist and ankle here.

Head back to your car the same way you came. Make sure you have kept track of the tallest hill east of your car that you noted at the beginning of your hike and head for it. From your car to the summit it is about 4.5 miles. It takes about 2.75 hours to get there and the total climb is about 2,400 ft. Returning to the car only takes about 2.25 hours.

Essential Gear

Sunscreen, Water, Hat, Good Shoes, and the Ten Essentials. There is nothing technical about this route. There is NO water along the route, so bring more than you think you need. Long pants and hightop boots are nice to have also.

Miscellaneous Info

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Images

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