Trip report
Jan 21, 2022 — Adalac Benchmark is the high point of the Lucy Gray Mountains, south of Las Vegas. Despite its proximity to the city, I've held off on this one for a while because I thought the road to reach it was horrible. Ultimately I didn't have any trouble, but it was nice to engage 4WD to get through some of the deeper sections of sand. To get to my starting point, after heading east out of Jean NV, head south here (35.7760705, -115.316757) and follow this paved, then mostly well-graded dirt road. Turn left here (35.655261, -115.265640), then right here (35.6568039, -115.262103) where the road deteriorates, and then continue south and park on the side of the road.
I started up the eastern spur ridge of Adalac Benchmark, which was mostly just a steep slope with an occasional short section of Class 2. I made quick work up this, scared an incoming storm would head my way. I wrapped around a false summit just before Adalac, but it would likely have been better to just go up and over because of the somewhat tedious side-hilling. Class 2 boulder-hopping led to the summit.
I dropped off the peak and started north toward Calada Peak (Adalac spelled backward, though I don't know who named it this). On a topo map this ridge looks like it could be difficult, but ultimately it was only Class 2, though for the most part was easy walking. Although there were two major bumps along the ridge that added vertical gain, I found it to be a pleasant traverse overall. I kept to the ridge crest for its majority, keeping left at times to avoid rocky parts along the crest. A final drop to the saddle on the south side of Calada Peak required either Class 3 boulder-hopping if going direct, or an easy Class 2 slope descent if staying slightly to the east.
Another steep slope with a couple of Class 2 sections led up the south ridge of Calada Peak, with a Class 2+ bit toward the summit. I dropped back down to the southern saddle and decided my best bet for returning to my car would mean side-hilling on the slopes and dropping into a couple of drainages before finding a pleasant wash that took me back. This was the least fun part of the day because the ankle-high brush was a little annoying, but I got out of it quickly enough. The final wash led back to the road I drove in on, which I followed to my car.