Mountain Springs Peak v Horse Trail & Upper Cairn Trail - 5/10/25

View from escarpment Snack Cliff to Cottonwood Valley

Stratosphere Casino through small window near Snack Cliff

Desert Sunrise

Sunrise on Mt. Potosi

It was going to be a hot day in May so three lady hikers parked up at the Mountain Springs Pass Trailhead very early, still wiping the sleep out of our eyes. Watching the sun come up in the cool morning air, we climbed up the first hill and took the trail over to the bottom of the Cairn Trails circle. A left turn here, brought us around to a collection of agave roasting pits. There are nine pits that I know of just in this area. Passing the last one and connecting with the more travelled road above the springs, we found the beginning of the Mountain Springs Horse Trail that traverses the foothills of the escarpment peaks. We wanted to get this part hiked before the day began to heat up. There were many flowers that were there to admire and enjoy.

One of several agave roasting pits in the Mountain Springs Area

Susan likes to climb trees!

Mountain Springs Horse Trail across Foothills

Small wash route to escarpment Rim

About 2.2 miles into the hike, we turned right off the trail. (Sometimes this junction has a small cairn.) We turned and began hiking a vague path through the low scattered blackbrush. The terrain here is a small ridge that runs along a wash on the left side about 50' down to 10' away. When the ridge brush became a little thicker, we found a good place to drop into that wash and started up. Being careful not to let small wash forks take us up to the right, we followed our wash with indications of foot traffic and side paths. As we gently climbed for around 0.75 mile, there were familiar landmarks. At this point, I'm afraid I got anxious and turned too soon up a wash on the left. No matter. I've done this before! At any rate, we gained the ridge on the left side of the small wash and began our climb up toward the escarpment rim. 

Best scramble in small Wash

Charleston Peak from ascent Ridge

Susan climbs the ascent Ridge

Kay and Sue peek over the side of Cliff

This was the most challenging climb of the morning. We took our time and went slow. We followed the most obvious track through the scarce brush and recognized landmarks. There is a little bit of a trail beginning to form over the years. Reaching a small cairn, we veered to the right and traversed over to the escarpment rim trail just above the Snack Cliff. Here, we found the small window with the view of the Stratosphere Casino and took our break on the cliff overhang. What a view! Most prominently, we saw the Hidden Peak and Monument Peak bench stretching out from left to right in front of us. After our break, we continued along the escarpment rim trail up to Mountain Springs Peak. There are a few forks to the trail in this section. The best rule, if you want to hit the peak, is to stay on the trail that is closest to the rim on the left. We did until we didn't. Missing the last fork, we ended up hiking up to the peak from the other end of the summit. No worries. It just happened! Anyway, we took our photos at the peak, remarked on the triumvirate of survey markers and continued down the trail along the escarpment. As we hiked, we noticed the abundance of Claret Cup cacti blooming. Other new flowers included indigo, primrose and Utah penstemon. Agave spears popped up left and right.

Hiking up to find small window at Snack Cliff

Hidden Peak and Monument Peak from Snack Cliff

Susan and Sue take their break on the Snack Cliff

Black Velvet Peak (L) and Windy Peak (R)
from Mountain Springs Peak

We hiked down the escarpment rim trail toward Windy Peak and made sure to take a right fork on the ridge when it appeared. The left fork offers a spectacular view of Black Velvet Peak down below but we needed to hit the high point ahead to junction with the Upper Cairn Trail. This junction is marked by a small unassuming double cairn to the right. After turning right, a small trail marked by many small cairns appears. The trail follows the top of the ridge all the way back down to the Cairns Trails Circle. Small cairns mark the way and sometimes it behooves the hiker to pay close attention to the indicated route as, sometimes, the trail crosses over rock slab.

Wilson Peak, Monument Peak and Calico Hills from Mountain Springs Peak

Three Lady Hikers on Mountain Springs Peak

Mountain Springs Peak Trail

Mountain Springs Trail approach to
Upper Cairn Trail junction from North

With a small cheer, the lady hikers arrived at the Upper / Lower Cairn Trail junction! We hiked down to cross the  circle and stay on the trail. At our favorite crossing location, we crossed the big gully and turned right on the old dirt road. The road took us around to the shortcut trail and down that first hill of the radio relay tower road. When we parked the car in the morning, there were only a couple of campers at the trailhead. On the return, they were gone and many other cars were there. Since we only saw one other hiker all morning, these cars, most likely, belonged to bicyclists. One great morning! And, the heated wind had only just started its engines! Good planning ... if I may say so myself! 😉

Stats: 6.6 miles; 1500' gain; 4.75 hours

Mountain Springs, NV from Upper Cairn Trail Descent

Upper Cairn Trail atop the Ridge

Sue crosses the Gully