The unranked, unnamed peak of 5980 is not the reason for this drive; the views into Mineral Gulch at the end of the trail (and the ride itself) are what makes this an exciting peak to bag.

I pass the small staging area after turning south off of Hwy-9 at 37.2242, -112.7196. The road is sandy, and little signs mark the former jeep track as an ATV/OHV trail. I've included for today a couple of small unranked peaks along with the more gigantic mountains in hopes of seeing some new territory and marking off more of a quadrangle. Many Peak-Baggers on the website I use only check-off the ranked peaks. If possible, I would like to reach the summit of all mountains in the quadrangle before considering it complete.

Unnamed peak 5980 is a small bump in the road near a cattle pen and fence line. I stop and wander around until I get a lock from the GPS. The road seems well-traveled, and I am curious as to what else is along this particular path. Indeed, people are not beating down the door for 5980.

The track soon follows a crumbling limestone ridgeline to a viewpoint before turning back against the hillside. I drive to the overlook and stop.

The road along the hillside has seen better days and it hasn't been graded in some time. Water runoff has left mounds of dirt along the track and I walk a ways to verify that the Fj can make the turns and handle the hillside's angle. I can follow the road with my eyes around the head of the the canyon and across the small plateau on the other side.

The Fj handles the slope with ease, and I am soon enjoying the higher speeds across the plateau's deep sand. Twisting and turning through Juniper Trees, the trail soon leads to a narrow but manageable neck of land where cliffs drop away from both sides of the road.

The canyon is Mineral Gulch. I've wanted to hike this area for some time but haven't yet. The trail continues, and a small turn around exists at the end of the plateau. The views into Mineral Gulch are stunning in every direction.

End of Road view south into Mineral Gulch