La Madre / El Padre Loop - 10/7/14

Las Vegas from La Madre Peak Ridge

Autumn Color on La Madre Mountain

 True to form, the Tuesday hikers did themselves proud on La Madre Peak, today. Jerry and Laszlo sent photos and Jerry wrote up the tale.

Thirteen hikers met early for a climb of the highest peak in the Red Rock Conservation Area, La Madre Mountain at 8200 ft.  The trailhead for this hike was in the La Madre Mountain Wilderness off of Kyle Canyon Road.  To get there we needed high clearance 4WD vehicles.  Fortunately, There were four vehicles that fit the bill and we piled in and took off. We turned down Harris Wash Road off of Kyle Canyon Road.

Thirteen Tuesday Hikers

Gaining Elevation

 After 2.5 miles we turned south onto an unmaintained road with a couple of intimidating wash crossings.  All four vehicles made it across the wash crossings and we parked near the border of the wilderness area.  We started cross country and encountered less bushwhacking than the author remembers for this area.

 

Climbing More

Resting Next to the Mountain's Scar

 After about a mile of hiking up a ridge we reached a saddle.  From this point we started climbing up steep limestone slabs toward the peak.  Luckily the limestone slabs gave way to a knife edge scramble to the summit.  The views of Red Rock and Las Vegas were tremendous.  Unfortunately, the cloudy weather did not lend itself to great photographs. After a short rest we traversed over to the slightly lower peak of El Padre at 7900 ft.

Climbing Around the Scar and Up

Jerry Leads the Pack

  After another rest we decided to try to descend down the wash.  Several of the party were critical of this decision but after a steep descent the wash began to get wider and less steep and the route turned out to be not so bad after all.  We all made it back to the vehicles without incident and negotiated the rocky road back to Kyle Canyon Road.  It was a beautiful day for this hike and everyone said they enjoyed it. ~ Jerry

7 miles; 3200 feet elevation gain; 6 hours

The Red Rock Canyon Escarpment from the Ridge

Mummy Mountain from Descent