Anyone here ever do the North Loop on Mt. Charleston?

[zippetydude]

Hi all. I'm headed to Vegas this weekend, so it's short notice, but if anyone here has done Mt. Charleston (just outside of Vegas) I'm wondering what the trail is like. I've found a couple of Summit Post accounts, but I couldn't find a local forum (like this one is for Mt. San J) to get a real clear account. Any help would be appreciated.

z

[lik2hik]

Hello Zip:
It's a great hike! 2 times I've done up South loop and down North loop.

Photo's

http://www.flickr.com/photos/likelyhike ... 22/detail/

If you decide to do South loop first, check out the photo's because finding the correct trail can be a little confusing.
Tina's done this hike a couple of times too.

If you opt for the North Loop to go up, you might consider starting up Trail canyon. If you decide to descend via South Loop, you only have a 1 mile walk on the road to get to your starting trailhead.

have fun!

[Hikin_Jim]

The top is 11,900' if I recall correctly -- higher than San G. Might be a little snowy.

HJ

[KathyW]

The north loop can be difficult with snow/ice when you reach the Devil's Thumb:



You might find you have to climb up on the Thumb (difficult Class 3) to continue.

If the snow/ice isn't a problem it'll be a nice hike. You could always head over to Mummy Mountain instead (Mummy is actually a more interesting mountain).

Someone in the Vegas area might know what conditions are like - you might check the Southwest forum on summitpost. I do believe many people take an alternate route up a gully/canyon when there's enough snow, but they probably don't have a lot more snow than we do.

[Hikin_Jim]

Nice photo, Kathy.

By the way, the trees in the photo are Bristlecone Pines, pinus aristata, the oldest known living thing.

Hiking Las Vegas reports that there is a 12" base at 8600' at the Lee Valley Ski resort as of 11/29. They also report "Lots of snow and cold above 9000' at Mt. Charleston" as of 11/23. There's a blog you can link to from the site which might have more info.

HJ

[zippetydude]

Thanks all for the feedback! This is such a great forum.

So there's that much snow? I'll go check out the trail, maybe head over to Mummy Mountain as Kathy suggested. If there's tons of snow/ice, I'll just wait and learn the route when it's clear, then maybe try again sometime in the snow. I prefer to learn the lay of the land before I give it a snow go.

One more question. Is there a lot of exposure in the last part by Devil's Thumb? In one post I saw someone mention that if you trip and fall off the trail, it'll probably end badly. Eek.

(I'm hoping to go check out Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire while I'm there as well. I'll post some pics when I get back if they come out good.)

z

[KathyW]

Thanks all for the feedback! This is such a great forum.

So there's that much snow? I'll go check out the trail, maybe head over to Mummy Mountain as Kathy suggested. If there's tons of snow/ice, I'll just wait and learn the route when it's clear, then maybe try again sometime in the snow. I prefer to learn the lay of the land before I give it a snow go.

One more question. Is there a lot of exposure in the last part by Devil's Thumb? In one post I saw someone mention that if you trip and fall off the trail, it'll probably end badly. Eek.

(I'm hoping to go check out Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire while I'm there as well. I'll post some pics when I get back if they come out good.)

z

If it's icy snow, the traverse under the Devil's Thumb where the trail is would be dangerous with a big drop if you fall (sort of like that section at about 7500' on Skyline but longer) - that's why people climb up on top of the Devil's Thumb and continue along up on top of it.

Red Rocks is beautiful - you'll have fun there.

[halhiker]

You might consider this if you don't want snow. It's a bit of a drive but very cool.

http://goo.gl/gQI9G

[neverwashasbeen]

I can highly recommend the Red Rocks, much to see and do there.

[Hikin_Jim]

Zip,

I've got a copy of the book, Hiking Las Vegas, if you want any route info, PM me a fax number, and I can probably fax the relevant pages to you.

HJ