Mummy's Tummy - 10/02/12

                             

 

                                Still Colorful in Trail Canyon

                                Still Colorful on the North Loop

 The Super Tuesday Hike for today was Mummy's Tummy. Mike OC gives us the details and photos in this entry. Candace and Larry also added photos. Mummy's Tummy is a fitting end to the Tuesday hikes in the Spring Mountains for 2012.

 On an October day when valley temps would flirt with the century mark, eight gallant soldiers from Anderson's Army sought a little relief from the heat.  One final trip to the Spring Mountains.  Objective:  Tickle the Tummy.  Mummy's Tummy.

The photos to the left show members in today's hike climbing "The Wall." (That infamous scree field.)

                                Larry Ascending the Chute

Jackets were donned at the trailhead and the climb began.  After an interminable summer of Trail Canyon ascents, today's cadre was more than familiar with the agonizing jaunt to the saddle, perhaps the longest two miles in America.  From the saddle, we picked up the North Loop Trail and continued up past Cave Springs, arriving at our jumping-off spot--The Wall.  The infamous Wall is a nasty 40-degree, 550-foot vertical scree field.  Two steps forward, one back.  Hike Leader Steve Anderson solemnly intoned that this was the crux of the hike.  There's that damn word again--crux.  It seems to surface regularly on the Tuesday outings.  Why is there always a crux?

                       The Boys on the Summit (Ladies in Photo Above)

 Leaving the talus behind us at the top of the Wall, we transitioned to steep limestone before finally reaching the base of the third-class chute.  Hiking poles were stowed as we negotiated one final obstacle before catching a glimpse of our ultimate destination--Mummy's Tummy.  The second highest peak in southern Nevada at 11,529 feet, she curtsies only to Mt. Charleston, a mere 400' higher.

 

                                     Mt. Charleston from Chute Descent

                                 Tricky Descent

                                        Burned Tree on Trail Canyon Trail