Ragnar Las Vegas

After backpacking in Alaska, I set my sights on finishing my 2nd half marathon and started training in August.  While training for the half, the opportunity came up for me to be a last minute addition to a Ragnar team.  The captain was an old friend and someone I ran with back in high school so I was very happy when I heard that she had a last minute opening.  I had been wanting to do a Ragnar for years and could never gather enough people to make it a reality.

Loaded with wilderness sugar cookies and stuffed mushrooms, I showed up to our potluck the night before and met the rest of the team.  I was so excited to be doing my first Ragnar with the group of people making up the team.  I was one member of a team of 12 and we had an awesome name.... On the Ragnar.  I was set to run legs 8, 20, and 32 and being in the second van I slept in and ate a huge breakfast the next day knowing food was going to be very necessary to get ready for the next couple days.

My first run was around sunset on Friday and started way out in the north of Las Vegas.  I ran a great pace with the sun going down and enjoyed my first leg of my first ever Ragnar.  The second run was ironically only a few miles from my house and on part of a trail along St. Rose Parkway that I had been training on for several months and then it wound through Seven Hills which was also more familiar territory.  The second run started around 3 in the morning and this was the run that Phil decided to drop in and show some support.  My last leg began in Spring Valley area and took me by a hospital that I work per diem at and was by far my hardest run.  It was only 3 miles, but the exhaustion had set in and the weather was unusually warm on Saturday afternoon.  

So the motto is:

RUN. DRIVE. SLEEP? REPEAT.

and that is pretty much correct.  You spend about 36 hours with the 6 people in your van.  The sleep really is a ??? as there wasn't too much of that happening.  By the third run, you really are operating on adrenaline.  It is almost an indescribable feeling when it's all said and done, but definitely something that you will always remember.  It doesn't hurt that they give you a pretty awesome finisher's medal and t-shirt that you can proudly wear as a badge of honor in the future.  The experience actually inspired Phil to sign up for one in 2015 and I definitely look forward to my next Ragnar!

#baking #whiledrinking #wildernesscookies the wilderness cookie cutters were a bit too detailed and had to be supplemented with some more basic shapes

A photo posted by Karen Rosati (@carebearrs) on Nov 4, 2014 at 9:37pm PST

Had the best time on my first ever Ragnar! It was so fun and I ran fast times too despite the lack of sleep and multiple runs in 24 hours. My van mates and fellow ragnarians provided so much entertainment to get through the tough parts. #ragnar #ragnar2014 #ontheragnar #ragnarian #myfirstragnar #notmylast #killedit #killingallnight

A photo posted by Karen Rosati (@carebearrs) on Nov 9, 2014 at 2:27pm PST

Van 2 Crew 

The team minus one runner who is on the course for our team.

Charleston - Mummy Solo

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:

Backpacking Denali: Mileage and Elevation Summary

One of the more disappointing aspects of our week long backpacking trip was the lower mileage days.  For the months leading up to this adventure, we focused on hiking with heavy backs on long distance hikes.  I had first found the trip through Denali National Park on The Clymb, but it was a 10 day trip and we didn't think we were capable since we had never backpacked before and the requirements seemed too stout.  At the end of our 7 day trip though, we knew we would have been more than capable to have continued on with the harder trip.

Traveling in a large group and over natural terrain were probably our most limiting factors, but the slower pace did allow us to soak up the beauty of our surroundings.  We were literally hiking in one of the most beautiful parts of the country and had plenty of time to sit in awe and realize exactly how special it was.  Every lunch break had someone commenting about how amazingly unreal our views were.  One such lunch took place sitting and staring at Denali at the top of a mountain.  On this trip, we were more process hikers versus product oriented and it was a unique change.  The months leading up to this trip, you can tell from our blog that we clearly went into the experience as product hikers.  We had to change our expectations as we went along, but got to savor the moment more.

Here is a short summary of our miles and elevation and hopefully we will get a change to write more about each day:

Macks Peak

This was to be our last Denali training hike before our trip. I wouldn't say it was a particularly good candidate for Denali training, as it didn't allow us to bring heavy packs and really pound out the miles. What it did allow us to do, though, was bag another unique peak. Which is always great. The drive out to Macks is actually kind of long, since you need to drive all the way out to Lee Canyon and then spend another 30 minutes or so on a dirt road to get into Macks Canyon. The payoff, though, is experiencing a rarely visited canyon. We found Macks Canyon surprisingly beautiful. I wasn't concerned about any part of the hike, except for the "chute". All the descriptions I found referenced a chute at the end that was steep and loose. I figured, "eh, no big deal, it's probably just a longer version of the Mummy chute". As it turns out, the chute in question isn't really a huge deal, unless you enlarge your definition of "chute" and include the ledge that leads to the steep chute. Without a doubt, the hairiest part of the route is the narrow ledge that traverses across a 20-ish foot drop. The ledge is littered with loose bits of limestone (go figure, it's typical of this area) and is just awkward and creepy. Once past this ledge, the chute itself is steep but is mostly covered in a thick layer of dirt. It even has some helpful trees for handholds. Grey clouds loomed ominously much of the day, so we decided not to linger on the small summit. We quickly descended the chute, carefully inched across the ledge (worse going down than up), and then made quick work of the rest of the short route. Stats: roughly 2000 vertical, 4 miles, 4.5 hours

 

Mummy's Toe

Mummy's Toe was a no-brainer for me. Awesome-looking, seen by many, climbed by few. It pretty much ticks all the boxes. 

In addition, we needed a peak that would have a far amount of plodding on a trail with a heavy pack, as opposed to scrambling and climbing. We were training for our Denali backpacking trip and wanted to get our bodies accustomed to carrying heavier loads over potentially long distances. The first 3 or so miles are on the NLT, which is perfect for long, plodding miles.

The route up from Mummy Springs is very steep and there are a couple 3rd-class climbs necessary to bypass small cliff bands. We were prepared for a long slog from the saddle to the peak, but I challenged Karen to beat the "15 minutes" we were quoted by our route description. We made it in 12 ;)

The views from the Toe are actually one-of-a-kind, so we soaked them in for awhile. It's one of those small, private summits that are great to luxuriate in. We felt as though we were perched above everything else.

The way down is steep but it goes quickly. Our trekking poles helped immensely, especially since we were carrying heavy loads and inertia was pulling us ever-downward.

We even jogged a bit on the NLT back to our car. We commented on the way down that this would be a good introductory "Phil and Karen hike". Tougher than the typical official trails, with an awesome payoff, and just enough spiciness to keep things interesting but not dangerous.

Stats: roughly 3500 elevation, 8 miles, 6.5 hours.

Charleston Solo

Ever since Karen and I completed our previous summit of Charleston a year ago (http://adventuresofpandk.blogspot.com/2013/10/charleston-peak-we-did-it.html), I'd been bothered by the fact that I felt we could've done better. We were pretty depleted by the end of that hike, and I'd always wanted to come back and give it a better effort.

Karen occasionally picks up extra shifts at the hospital, and we try and save new summits for our together hikes, so I figured this would be a good chance to give Charleston another effort. I decided to get up very early, like before, and just try and get up and down as quickly as possible. Because I was supposed to be training for our Alaska backpacking trip (www.flickr.com/photos/philskaren/collections/721576481954...), I decided to bring a heavier pack (about 35 lbs. with my camera on the front) than I would normally need for this hike.

I ended up making very good time. Karen and I had often talked about how we feel we went too slowly on our first attempt, and that's why we felt so drained. This successful attempt proved that theory correct, as I summitted in under 5 hours, and was back to my car in 9 hours total, including 45 minutes at the top.

Finishing such a long hike (16.5 miles, ~4700 vertical) with plenty of daylight left felt great, and it led to the planning of a multi-peak day for my next solo endeavor...

Mummy's Tummy

Once we booked our Denali backpacking trip, we knew we'd need to train our bodies to become accustomed to many miles on the trail with packs up to 50 lbs. The best way to train for hiking with a heavy pack is to hike with a heavy pack, and since I'm assuming most of our miles in Alaska will be of the "fast-moving, easy terrain" type, I wanted a hike that avoided a ton of route-finding and scrambling. We settled on a repeat summit of Mummy.

As we are apt to do, we got a late start and Trail Canyon was busy and very hot. Things eased up until we reached the infamous scree slope, which I have to say, I'd forgotten how long it was. It really is a bitch. At the top of the scree slope, we met a party coming down from Charleston, who had taken the ridge rather than the North Loop, with the idea of skipping the scree slope. Oddly, they still ended up scrambling up a good part of the scree slope, so they must've come down off the ridge before the scree slope for some reason. 

We followed closely behind them over to the summit cliffs, then up through the chute to reach the summit. I was on the lookout for an "alternate chute" that both Bob Burd and Andy Zdon mentioned as being preferable to the normal chute, but never found anything that was obviously superior. Anyways, the normal chute is loose but short and mostly easy.

We jogged a bit on the way down, but Trail Canyon on descents is always brutal, as you lose about 1600 vertical feet in about 2 miles. At the end of a day, it never fails to grind my knees into dust. This day was no exception, but I was finally able to excel at hiking with trekking poles, and these greatly avoided stress on my joints on the way down.

It was fun to get on top of Mummy again, though next time I'd like to try a different route (probably the one from the East).

Stats were about 3900 vertical gained and 9 miles round trip.

La Madre

I would consider La Madre a "must-climb" peak in Las Vegas.  Not necessarily because the routes are especially interesting, but because it's prominent from a lot of Las Vegas, it has a cool scar on it visible from far away, and it provides very unique views.

There are routes that approach from Red Rock, but it was summer and we didn't want to spend so long at a lower elevation.  We had actually attempted the Northern approach a couple years ago, but we were discouraged by the fact that our chosen route took us through some private mining property.
This time, I did a lot more planning and found some routes that didn't require the trip through private mining property.  They would, however, require some involved rugged 4x4 driving.  For the umpteenth time, I wondered if our Xterra was up for it, and for the umpteenth time, it turned out the answer was a resounding yes.  Besides just being a very rugged road, we had to cross two dry creek beds, and both required pretty decent descents down to them, and then ascents back up.  The Xterra didn't even blink (I did).




Maybe a drawback of reading so many trip reports from such seasoned hikers (Bob Burd, Harlan Stockman, Branch Whitney, Andy Zdon) is that they can sometimes gloss over terrain that Karen and I may still find challenging.  That was the case on this trip, as the round trip mileage is only 5.4 miles.  We were prepared to follow a trail-less ridge up to the top.  Steep doesn't bother us, but what we didn't expect was the ridge being a tedious maze of rugged limestone formations and bushwhacking.  Progress was arduous and hard-fought.  As we approached the scar, it became especially important to ensure we didn't cliff out by venturing too far left.



The top was a great reward, however.  The views are truly unique and even though it was a traditionally hazy Las Vegas day, even Karen admitted that the views were striking.





The descent was full of the same bushwhacking and scrambling, but we did discover that we didn't have to stray so far from the scar as we did on the way up.  We also toyed several times with bailing on the ridge and taking a drainage down that led to a dry creek bed that would eventually take us to our car.  Ultimately, we decided we had no patience for potential route-finding snafus, so we stuck to the ridge, but looking at the topo, I still think our drainage descent has potential.

I'm mildly intrigued by the Red Rock approach routes, especially the one that passes through the dramatic notch that separates El Padre and La Madre.  However, I won't be in a huge hurry to repeat this particular Northern approach.

Bonanza - P & K + A & J-dog

Today we bagged another new peak.  We have wanted to hike Bonanza for several years now and just never got the timing right.  The peak has some north facing slopes so we wanted to make sure most of the snow was melted, which is was today.  The low snow year is going to mean more of Mt. Charleston is accessible earlier than some years.

Driving through the little town (?) or settlement (?) of Cold Creek Canyon was very intriguing.  None of us had any idea this place existed.  It was a huge step up from our last town on the way to a hike, which was Good Springs.  Lots of very nice houses and log cabins.  Intriguing!  We didn't see any power lines, but did notice most houses had solar panels.  More research is to be done on this little town.  The Cold Creek Canyon area is also so intriguing because of the number of wild horses that we saw.  They were plentiful on the side of the road and some even had new foals trotting along next to them.  Dishearteningly we saw why the "wild" horses were located so close to civilization.  As were were driving out, we witnessed people feeding the horses and taking their photos and petting them.  All the wild horses were clustered in the main drag of the town.  They were very calm and did not see alarmed by the traffic or noisy vehicles on the dirt road.

The dirt road to the hike is doable in a passenger vehicle, but it would be a very slow journey.  We made quick work of it in our Xterra and found the parking lot for the Bonanza trail very easily.  The hike was 10 miles and fairly challenging with just under 3,000 ft of elevation gain.  We were partially shaded throughout even with a late start.  The temperature was just perfect in the 60's-70's and the wind kept us very cool.  The wind at the saddle until the peak was very blustery and made the sweat on our bodies down right chilly.  The top of the hike had a great flat area to eat lunch that was fairly protected from the fierce gale blowing on the high point.  Unfortunately all three of us could not locate a summit log.  We searched and searched and came up empty handed.  We may need to put this on the short list to put a log book up there this summer, but I think I will do some searching to see if anyone can point out where it may be located on the web.

Overall, very enjoyable hike.  Great company for P and K, as our dear friend Adam and his beloved J-dog came with us.  It was a good early season hike and another new peak to add to our list.  We also now know the route to hike Willow.


GPX file: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8glm6pe79v7n2iq/BONANZA%20%282%29.gpx

Mt. Potosi

Living in the southern part of Las Vegas, Potosi is a prominent peak. Every single day on my way to work, I stare at it. It has a distinctive shape from our vantage point, and I actually took a photo of it years ago, before I even knew what it was (www.flickr.com/photos/philadendron/3139433323/). It also hold snow in the winter, and it's quite photogenic. 

It's also notable because Clark Gable's wife, Carol Lombard, died in a plane crash on the mountain. From what I hear, there is still a ton of wreckage up there from the crash.

There are several routes to the top, but at the time, we wanted a straightforward, drama-free trip, so we chose to drive through Jean to the start of the dirt road that leads to the top. 

The beginning of the dirt road is really steep, so steep that on our way back down, we chose to walk backward for a while, as a kind of "downclimb". I think the jury is still out on whether it's as steep as the Frenchman Mountain dirt road.

Obviously, with this being a "road hike", the trip was fairly uneventful, but the top offered some views from a unique vantage point. We were high enough to have unobstructed views of both Red Rock and the Spring Mountains, from the South. There aren't many peaks that afford this. We also met a guy who had approached from the Northwest. He was from Arizona and was visiting relatives, and I could tell by his gear and his athletic build that he probably gets out a lot. Not to mention the fact that he took time out of visiting relatives to climb a trail-less route to a peak.

We were happy to chalk up another peak that had been on our todo list forever. One day, I'd like to attempt a more adventurous route to the top. Specifically, I think there are some options from the North.

Link to the GPX: https://www.dropbox.com/s/f1m19y4hzfsdush/Mt.%20Potosi.gpx

2013-2014 Snow Season Resorts

When a time comes that we are not living life we may write more about each resort, but for now here's a summary of our snowboarding season '13-'14:

December 2013
Brian Head
Eagle Point
Brian Head
Solitude
Snowbasin

January 2014
Snowbird
Powder Mountain
Solitude
Snowbird

February 2014
Brighton
Sundance
Canyons
Brighton
Snowbird (P)

March 2014
Canyons (P)
Eagle Point

April 2014
Mammoth
Mammoth

Eagle Point - Hidden Gem

A photo of Karen from the hike out after doing runs on Donner's Descent. They were beyond worthwhile with deep,fluffy freshies as very few had been willing to do the hike back. We tried to get back for a third, but just missed it as ski patrol drew the closed sign out.

Fracture Ridge

Living in Henderson, most hikers are aware of (and have probably hiked) Black Mountain. How could you pass up a peak minutes away from your house? However, there is a lesser-known peak nearby, just South.

I've seen this peak referenced a few different ways. North McCullough Peak, Little Black Mountain, and Fracture Ridge. We took the official Black Mountain trail, until its junction with the BLM 402 trail. This trail passes closely by Park Peak, so we tagged that peak quickly before starting up the ridge to our main goal. We quickly found a trail, and the rest of the way was a simple and easy climb.

At the top, we noted that connecting North McCullough to Black Mountain would require some pretty decent scrambling. It'd be a fun loop, but remember thinking that there's no guarantee that the route "goes". Guess someday we'll find out...

Mary Jane Falls - Our 1st Snowshoe!

Since snowboarding season still isn't in full swing, Karen and I had an extra couple days to play with this past weekend. Mt. Charleston made a post on Facebook about a group snowshoe, so we signed up. There were only 10 people on the trip, and at the end, when we were supposed to turn around, the guide said we could borrow the equipment for the rest of the day if we wanted. We decided to take advantage and took the snowshoes up to Mary Jane Falls. Phil had never done this popular hike before, so it was nice to see the falls, especially in the winter when so few people go up.

The snow was plentiful at the lower elevations, but did thin out near the end of the Mary Jane Falls trail. Several people decided to carry on the to the falls with us, but only one other couple made it all the way. They seemed newer to the outdoors and really seemed to enjoy themselves. It was nice to talk with them about snowboarding since they wanted to get into it.

We had a lot of fun and definitely want to do it again in the future. A lot of the snow resorts we visit in Utah actually have snowshoeing and cross country skiing, so maybe one day we will check those out.


 

Observation Point - Zion, Utah

In November of 2013, Karen and I were itching to get outdoors but it wasn't quite snow season yet. Camping season was done and hiking was winding down, but we wanted one more adventure. We tried to invite a certain member of the family along in an attempt to show support and be a positive influence in their life, but sadly, they declined.  We can't help but wonder if the outcome of today might be different with one decision altered.

We decided to take a day trip to Zion and knock out another Zion classic, Observation Point. Having already done Angel's Landing a few years ago, Observation Point was overdue.

We left around 4:30 in the morning for the two and a half hour drive, liking the idea of getting on the trail early. It was cool to get ready in the parking lot while the big-wall, sport, and trad climbers got ready at the same time. Zion is a world-class climbing spot and sharing the bus with the climbers was fun.

The trail starts low, climbs through canyons carved deep and dramatically by water, reaches the rim of the park, then runs out to Observation Point. It was fun to try to find the right mix of clothing to keep us warm, but not uncomfortably hot, in the shade of the canyon.

We shared the top with a healthy portion of other hikers, but there was still enough rim to sit and enjoy lunch in front of the some of the best views of any hike, anywhere. Looking down on Angel's Landing, where we'd been a few years earlier, was fun.

There are still plenty of Zion classics to go. The Narrows and the Subway spring immediately to mind, and I can't get Lady Mountain out of my mind, either.

This was the first time we've driven several hours out of town only to hike and drive home the same day and it was a nice getaway from the city.  Karen has requested a repeat already and I foresee this being a very real idea again in fall 2014 to stave off our snow dreams.

Windy Peak

Bridge Mountain Solo

Bridge Mountain is considered the crown jewel peak in Red Rock Canyon.  It's not the highest, nor the furthest hike, but it's got a great balance of incredible vistas, stunning exposure, and fun scrambling.  Not to mention the namesake arch near the top.

The biggest problem with Bridge Mountain is getting to the trailhead.  The most popular route starts behind (to the West of) Bridge Mountain, hikes over the escarpment of limestone and sandstone, and continues to the peak.  However, reaching the trailhead involves 5 miles of incredibly rugged driving on a washed out road.  You can see the conundrum:  risk your vehicle on this crazy road, or add 10 boring miles to the 7 mile round trip hike.

Karen and I have a brief history with this very road.  A couple years ago, we tried to drive it to get to the same trailhead to try a different hike, but had to turn around less than 2 miles in.  We vowed to return when we had more capable transportation.

Fast forward two years, and Karen's car, an Xterra Pro-4x, is our outdoors vehicle.  It has extra skidplates, extra clearance, and extra tough tires.  We both thought this drive would be a cinch in our outdoor tank, so when I asked to take it while she was working, she didn't really protest.

Long story short, Rock Gap Road is a BEAST.  I am not a 4-wheel/rock crawling hobbyist, so I was literally sweating bullets as I navigated this vehicular obstacle course.  I actually had to stop the car, get out, and inspect the route ahead, lest I hastily charge forward and get stuck on an impassable boulder or in an especially deep pothole.  I held my breath as the horizontal angle of my vehicle approached dangerous levels.  I prayed as I rolled over an especially tall limestone protuberance that I wouldn't hear a terrible grinding noise.  I watched my side mirrors like a hawk as I squeezed the car between a razor sharp limestone wall and a 25 foot drop.  After 45 minutes, the road eased and I was at my destination.  Reportedly, the roads gets even tougher past this point.

Now I could start the actual adventure.  I made quick work of the approach trail, up and over the limestone ridge behind Bridge.  My first views deep into Pine Creek Canyon were breathtaking.  These views are easily some of the most dramatic I've yet seen in Red Rock.

As I approached the toughest part of the route, I ran through it in my head for the thousandth time.  The Bridge Hike is known for a roughly 100 foot tall crack that you need to climb up in order to proceed.  You then climb out of the crack, step over it, and on to an airy ledge that has precipitous drops a few feet to your left.  The rest of the hike is no picnic, but in performing my pre-hike research, this was one of the areas most people mentioned as the crux of the route.

Over the course of my hiking and snowboarding careers, I've gotten used to the concept of terrain appearing forebodingly steep when viewed straight on.  It's only when you get up close, or view it from an angle, that you get to see the true degree of the steepness.  The Bridge Crack was no exception to this rule.  I kept looking up to it, and saying, "Yup, still looks vertical."


It was only when I got close to it that its true verticality was revealed.  Most people report that hiking in the crack is safer, but makes for tougher climbing.  Hiking the sandstone to the RIGHT of the crack is more exposed, but the climbing is easier.

In practice, I found the first part to be true.  The crack was plenty safe from the pucker-inducing exposure on either side of this rib I was ascending.  I also found that the climbing inside the crack did prove to be tricky, especially for someone as short as I am.  At one point, I did climb out of the crack and ascend the sandstone to the right to bypass a tricky part, but I quickly got back into the crack.  I was uncomfortable with the exposure not to my right, but behind me.  Slipping and falling back would.....not be very good at all.

The crack is over in just a few minutes.  It was fun, and not as scary as some made it out to be.  I stepped over it, on to the airy ledge, and snapped a photo.  The ledge, like the crack, wasn't as bad as it had been reported.

A couple minutes later, I was at the bridge for which Bridge Mountain was named.  It is large and really impressive.  The route takes you under it, into the water hole that created it, and up the other side.


The rest of the route is pretty basic, especially if you're comfortable with friction scrambling on sandstone.

The summit was windy and I found shelter in a hole nearby.  After eating and taking photos, I started back down.  After all, I had determined that by far, the toughest part of the day laid ahead:  the drive back out of Rocky Gap Road.

While descending the infamous crack (slightly spookier than ascending it), I met a couple who had climbed up from Pine Creek Canyon.  We exchanged banter on the various route options for this peak, and I advised them that they were probably 20 minutes away from the peak (maybe a little optimistic, but I have a habit of quoting overly optimistic times to fellow hikers).  What stood out most to me about this conversation was the setting:  I was perched precariously above the toughest part of the crack, and the couple were standing on the exposed sandstone to the right of the crack.  Clearly, none of us were rookies to this type of terrain.



I actually jogged parts of the trail back to the car, because I was feeling great, and I was also very anxious to get Rocky Gap Road over with.

Why no pictures of this terrible drive?  Because it was terrible, and I would prefer to not relive it.  I'm being a touch dramatic, but I am not an offroad enthusiast, and I literally had the fear of God in me that if I damaged Karen's car in ANY WAY, I would probably meet an end far worse than any I may meet in the mountains.

In the end, the Xterra performed most admirably.  It was undoubtedly the reason I escaped the drive unscathed, rather than my superior offroad driving skills.  As I got closer to civilization on the road, I passed many people walking, who were forced to pull over lest they damage their vehicles.  That was a proud moment.



As for the hike itself, it lived up to every bit of its sterling reputation.  It's not a hike for kids or dogs, but now that I've done it, I'd be happy to lead anyone interested in jaw-dropping views and a real sense of achievement.  I only ask that you take your car on Rocky Gap Road, not mine ;)

Mt. Wilson via First Creek - Solo

Mt. Wilson is the highest sandstone peak in Red Rock Canyon.  More importantly to me is the beastly-looking cliffs near its summit you can see from Vegas.

Vegas view from Mt. Wilson:

Like most Red Rock peaks, you can approach Wilson from either the West (backside) or the East.  Both routes are tough, but approaching from the West is simpler and easier.  Something appealed to me about starting way down at the desert floor, at the foot of the mountain, and working my way all the way to the top, so I chose the East route.  The fact that it's considered one of the hardest hikes in Red Rock sealed the deal.

First Creek Canyon:

I got on the trail at about 7:20 and made quick work of the short approach across the desert to First Creek Canyon.  First Creek would be my home for the next 3 and a half hours.  It is full of massive boulders and slabs of sandstone, and there is no trail.  I needed to scramble up, over, and around the boulders to make my way up, all the while avoiding the worst of the terrible brush that grows in the canyon.  At a couple points, I even climbed through some chimneys that were so narrow, I had to pass my pack ahead of me.

Shortly after entering the canyon, I had a bit of a GPS mishap.  It's no secret GPS units struggle in deep canyons, but in my experience, they just start throwing random points all over the place.  This time, however, my GPS created a nice, neat, authentic-looking GPS trail of my progress.  The only problem was, it made it seem as though I was heading off course.  Due to the structure of the canyon, I thought this was highly improbable, but I figured I had plenty of time, so to be safe, I scrambled back down the 400 or so vertical feet to the mouth of the canyon, where I could reliably figure out my position.

I'm still not sure what happened, but I believe I was on the correct route the whole time, and my GPS just got confused.  The set back caused me to climb an extra 400 vertical feet, and travel an extra mile.  However, I could proceed knowing that I was on the correct route, and I bouldered the additional 1500 or so vertical feet to the end of the canyon.

From that point on, the going was easier since I was out of the canyon and on steep sandstone.

When I reached the summit, I was really beat since the canyon was so hard, and since it was over 80 degrees with no shade that day.  I took enough time to change my socks and dry my feet, sign the summit log, and take some pictures.  I also forced some food down, even though I wasn't hungry (loss of appetite seems to strike me on long, tough hikes).

Tranantula whisperer:

Heading back down was painful on my feet and I was tapped of a lot of my strength, but I made quick work of the wash.  Though it was getting dark in the canyon, it was still only about 3PM when I finished.

Now on my morning commute, I can't help but look up at those beastly cliffs in the distance on Mt. Wilson, knowing I've been to the top.  It feels great to know that I could've easily given up on this hike, but I pushed on and finished.



Stats:
Ascent time:  4:46 (including 45 minutes lost to the GPS snafu)
Descent time:  3:15
Vertical gained:  about 4000 (including the extra 400 from the GPS snafu)
Distance:  about 11-12 miles

GPX:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/n0rnqkv9rux6rit/Wilson%20Phil%20Solo.gpx

Windy Peak - Solo

Windy Peak is in the less popular southern region of Red Rock. This area is outside of the scenic loop and visitor center area that most people visit when they come to Red Rock. I like it because it's closer to my house, easily accessible, and doesn't require a fee to access.

Windy Peak is a quick, easy hike with one pseudo-Class 3 section of scrambling. It's Class 3 with almost no exposure, so my cup of tea. Exposure is what gets me nervous. Though don't get me wrong, it's no problem to find exposure on this route. It's easy to find, and easy to avoid. I dispatched the scrambling part with ease, and then it was a 10-15 minute scramble to the summit. Along the way, I saw several pools of water (tinajas) and even a nice little slot.

Since I approached from the West (behind), I hiked over the famous keystone thrust, where limestone and sandstone were violently thrust together who knows how long ago. It's really neat to hike from limestone to sandstone in just a few steps. 

As with all the peaks along the keystone thrust, Windy Peak has phenomenal views East, towering over the desert below. 

Since the hike was pretty tame (95% trail, 5.2 miles, 1800 ft gained), I was able to make quick time up, and even jog a little down. Great day in the mountains.

Peak name controversy in the summit log:

                 

Tarantula whisperer:

Charleston Peak- We did it!!

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After many years of wanting to get to the top of Charleston, we finally did it on the last weekend before the snow fell.  It was a challenge, especially for K but we had clear weather and made the most of our opportunity.  We have now completed all the highest peaks of Mt. Charleston.

More observations will be written later, but here are the stats and our peak photo for now.

GPX: https://www.dropbox.com/s/opp9onlnzf8d5r0/Charleston%20Peak.gpx