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| Mt. Charleston Peak from the North Loop Trail |
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| Passing by the Devil's Thumb Corner |
Tuesday's Super Hike was a climb up Mt. Charleston Peak; the seventh highest peak in Nevada after Boundary Peak, 5 peaks in the Great Basin NP Snake Range and Mt. Jefferson. Although its peak elevation is only 11, 918 feet, the prominence of the peak at 8241 feet comes in a respectable 6th place in the United States. The all day out and back hike up Trail Canyon and the North Loop is 17 miles in distance and a total of 4950 feet of elevation is gained. Twelve hikers signed in and out after their grand peak bagging day.
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| Sneaking by a Melting Snow Glacier |
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| Beginning the Switchbacks up the East Face |
Laszlo sent in these photos which were mostly taken during the highest 5 miles of the hike. The group of twelve arrived at the peak at separate times but they kept an eye on each other as they went. The most laborious part of the climb came at the end when the seemingly endless switchbacks up the east face of the peak went by very slowly. The air is pretty thin up there past the tree line so the climbing becomes very deliberate across the moonscape.
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| Finishing the Switchbacks to the Peak |
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| On Top of the World (in this Neighborhood) |
This is only the first of several expected climbs to Las Vegas' crown jewel for the coming summer. Due to the reduction in open trails (because of last summer's fire), Charleston Peak comes to the fore as this year's main challenge.
Another group of five club hikers followed these hikers up 2 hours later and turned around at the four mile mark. The two groups did not see each other during their hikes.
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| Dropping Back into the Bristlecones |
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| Cockscomb Ridge is a welcome sight! |
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