No doubt influenced by the many mountaineering books I read, and also by Harlan Stockman (hwstock.org), a local hiker who frequently links peaks together, I decided I'd like to link Charleston and Mummy. They're both fun peaks, and both stout climbs in their own rights.
I knew I'd need a pretty decent amount of time, so I decided to leave the house around 3:30, to hit the trail at 5. When I parked at the Trail Canyon lot, I could hear the wind whipping through the trees. Sure enough, the entire hike up Trail Canyon I was buffeted by strong gusts of wind. There was an ominous roar that would grow in volume preceding each blast of wind, and coupled with the dark of night, it made for a spooky experience.
I was able to turn off the headlamp at the junction and continue on in the early morning light. I did need to don a thin pair of gloves I'd brought, since the wind wasn't allowing my fingers to stay sufficiently warm. Even then, I needed to periodically stuff a hand in the opposite armpit to warm up. I began to think it'd be a long day if the wind kept up like this. Still, I made good time.
Right around Lee Peak (around 6 miles in) the wind finally died down. I was able to make quick work up the switchbacks to the summit of Charleston.
The nice thing about this route is it's easy to bail on the second objective, but I was feeling well, so descended Charleston intent on heading for Mummy.
About halfway down, I realized that I may not want to climb the infamous scree slope since it would be ascending vertical I'd already descended. I knew (from previous, accidental experience) that the ridge that separates Kyle and Lee Canyons is intersected by the scree slope. Thus, at some point that seemed appropriate, I ascended a short distance up from the NLT to the ridge, and followed it all the way to Mummy.
The portion of the route between the scree slope and the summit of Mummy was VERY tough. I was gassed, eating Milano cookies as quickly as I could fish them out of my pack, and still my body needed to be heavily persuaded to move further. It was tough, but it felt good to be in tune with my body and to push through adversity.
I reached the summit, luxuriously took my socks off and ate my caramel apple. I could finally know that my day was a success, as it was an easy descent from here.
This was easily my largest achievement in the mountains, at least as far as numbers are concerned.
Final Stats
Distance: 18.2 miles
Vertical gained: 5997
Total time: 10.5 hours
Topo of the route:
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