My wife Penelope and I attempted the Hampton Creek approach in June 2019.
The 2016 Hiking Guidebook available for sale at the Great Basin Ntl Park Visitor Center had a section on reaching Mt. Moriah via this Hampton Creek route. We dutifully copied the info to avoid paying for the book.
It stated, “The trail is the shortest route to Mt. Moriah with a trailhead accessible to vehicles without 4-wheel drive.” Just about everything in that sentence turned out to be untrue.
The dirt road ended in a 250 foot washout with old sign warning about lack of access, fallen trees, washed out road. The washout was about 6-8 feet deep on the far site's bank, your 4x4 is useless here.
We crossed on foot (about 2 feet deep water) to indistinct trail. The trail ended in about 3/4 mile.
The approach description must be quite a few years old, there is almost no trail via Hampton Creek. We did about 5 miles up the narrowing canyon, burned out and fallen tress everywhere, very tough terrain after 2014 fire. As the canyon narrowed, the going got almost impossible, fallen trees everywhere. After bivi about 3 miles above the mine in the canyon, we gave up. None of the info in the various guidebooks is current, and grossly incorrect.
The Hendrys Creek is somewhat better approach to Moriah,
BUT
Depending on the season, you might have to ford at least 14 creek crossings (just ask us). As the canyon narrows, the creek gets deeper and swifter (knee to hip deep ++). We gave up on the 10th crossing in mid June. The water was simply getting too deep and dangerous. We will try this again, when we are in the area in the late fall, but early in the season, the creek is deep and swift running. Better in September/October. Not recommended in early season.
Directions are fine as posted here on SP.
PS. WE hiked this in September 2020. Aspens were changing colors and the trail was great even with all the creek crossings. No people via this route. Good camping spot by the creek before starting out.
West approach via most travelled roads starting as described by the OP. It only got confusing at the very end and we stuck to the most travelled route, which led to the main hiking trail on the Moriah massif. This is a bit to the NE of the map posted by the OP. There are several spots to camp, but like everything else in the area it is hard to get level and out of the wind. Not bad though as long as no thunderstorms;) The trip to the summit was quite simple, just follow the trail south until it starts to turn east, then head up a nice open draw to the SW and attain the ridge. At this point we met the OP's indicated route. Tree line is not long after and it is an obvious class 3 hike to the summit.
The road up has a few small rocky ledges, but I think a subaru or similar could make it with caution. Our stock FJ wasn't challenged at all.
asmrz - Jul 6, 2020 5:18 pm - Hasn't voted
Re Hampton Creek Approach 2019My wife Penelope and I attempted the Hampton Creek approach in June 2019.
The 2016 Hiking Guidebook available for sale at the Great Basin Ntl Park Visitor Center had a section on reaching Mt. Moriah via this Hampton Creek route. We dutifully copied the info to avoid paying for the book.
It stated, “The trail is the shortest route to Mt. Moriah with a trailhead accessible to vehicles without 4-wheel drive.” Just about everything in that sentence turned out to be untrue.
The dirt road ended in a 250 foot washout with old sign warning about lack of access, fallen trees, washed out road. The washout was about 6-8 feet deep on the far site's bank, your 4x4 is useless here.
We crossed on foot (about 2 feet deep water) to indistinct trail. The trail ended in about 3/4 mile.
The approach description must be quite a few years old, there is almost no trail via Hampton Creek. We did about 5 miles up the narrowing canyon, burned out and fallen tress everywhere, very tough terrain after 2014 fire. As the canyon narrowed, the going got almost impossible, fallen trees everywhere. After bivi about 3 miles above the mine in the canyon, we gave up. None of the info in the various guidebooks is current, and grossly incorrect.
asmrz - Jul 6, 2020 5:29 pm - Hasn't voted
Hendrys Creek Approach June 2019.The Hendrys Creek is somewhat better approach to Moriah,
BUT
Depending on the season, you might have to ford at least 14 creek crossings (just ask us). As the canyon narrows, the creek gets deeper and swifter (knee to hip deep ++). We gave up on the 10th crossing in mid June. The water was simply getting too deep and dangerous. We will try this again, when we are in the area in the late fall, but early in the season, the creek is deep and swift running. Better in September/October. Not recommended in early season.
Directions are fine as posted here on SP.
PS. WE hiked this in September 2020. Aspens were changing colors and the trail was great even with all the creek crossings. No people via this route. Good camping spot by the creek before starting out.
vvernv - Mar 29, 2021 7:46 pm - Hasn't voted
2020 Trip to MoriahWest approach via most travelled roads starting as described by the OP. It only got confusing at the very end and we stuck to the most travelled route, which led to the main hiking trail on the Moriah massif. This is a bit to the NE of the map posted by the OP. There are several spots to camp, but like everything else in the area it is hard to get level and out of the wind. Not bad though as long as no thunderstorms;) The trip to the summit was quite simple, just follow the trail south until it starts to turn east, then head up a nice open draw to the SW and attain the ridge. At this point we met the OP's indicated route. Tree line is not long after and it is an obvious class 3 hike to the summit.
The road up has a few small rocky ledges, but I think a subaru or similar could make it with caution. Our stock FJ wasn't challenged at all.