Mt. Charleston

Bristlecone Loop Trail – Mr. Charleston

August 22, 2012 by outdoorsvegas · Leave a Comment

Bristlecone Loop Trail

To escape the blistering Las Vegas summer heat, we ventured up Mt. Charleston to hike the Bristlecone Trail. Temperatures average 25-degrees cooler up on Mt. Charleston (this hike begins at 8,000′ elevation) and is a great way to still be outdoors in the middle of the summer.

The Bristlecone Trail is a short kid-friendly hike. We recommend starting at the upper trail head (at the top of the Las Vegas Ski Resort parking lot) and hike up to the lookout point and then back down… the second half of the loop is an old gravel road and not very scenic. The total distance of this hike if you were to hike the entire loop is 6 miles.

The ski lifts are open (even in the summer) and you can take your kids to the top of the lifts and stroll back down the mountain. If you get hungry, there is a cafe by the ski lifts that is open daily and serves appetizers and bar food.

Be advised, the hike begins at 8,000′ and the altitude may cause some people breathing difficulties. Keep an eye on the weather forecast because afternoon thunderstorms are common during the summer months.

Scenic view – Bristlecon Loop Trail

Photos courtesy of Trail Sherpa.

Filed Under: Hiking, Mt. Charleston · Tagged: Bristlecon Loop Trail

Camping on Harris Spring Road (8,500′)

July 14, 2012 by outdoorsvegas · Leave a Comment

View of the western valley from Harris Peak

We had ventured up the Harris Spring 4×4 Trail in the Winter, but the unexpected thick snow fall prevented us from reaching the end of the road which winds its way up to 8,500′ at the Griffith Peak Trailhead. This time, in the blazing heat of the Vegas summer, we were determined to reach the end of the Harris Spring Road… and this time we brought along out camping gear too!

The trail begins at a surprisingly well marked green highway sign on Kyle Canyon Road labeled “Harris Spring Road” – ok, so far so good… Although not supremely challenging as a 4×4 trail, I traveled slowly because the road was comprised of many sharp rocks and the terrain was uneven enough that speed about 10 mph would probably jar the fillings loose from your teeth.

The first part of the trail is fairly boring – almost just a rocky dirt road. Then, a few miles into it, there is a right fork in the road (with a sign marked “Griffith Peak, 5 Miles” – we took this right-hand turn and quickly began our ascent up the mountain. Without the snow, the climb was easy, but progress was slow with some areas of uneven trail and some deeper ruts in the dirt. We weren’t in a rush as the summer sun gave us sunlight deep into the evening.

Descending down Harris Spring Road 4x4 Trail

Descending down Harris Spring Road 4×4 Trail

The 5-miles up this road seemed to take forever -although the views were panoramic and the exposure significant (no guard rails here), we were eager to make it to the top and set up our camp site for the evening.

We finally reached the end of the road at a small clearing on the spine of the ridge at an elevation of 8,500′. Behind us was the Las Vegas Valley and in front of us, down the backside of the ridge was the western valley. The views were beautiful and all you could see in the distance was green tree-lined hills rolling all the way deep into the valley beneath us. At the corner of this clearing was the trailhead of the Griffith Peak hike. If you were motivated and properly equipped, beyond Griffith Peak is the trail to the summit of Mt. Charleston itself. Today, we were not hiking, but were here to set up our camp and spend the night high in the mountains – and hopefully find some respite from the 104-degree temperatures in the Vegas Valley.

Campsite surrounded by a strand of trees

We wandered to the left into a flat clearing surrounded by trees. There were already several fire pits complete with stones forming a ring around them here – a popular camp site from the looks of it. There was a rough trail that weaved further into the trees and slightly uphill to a vantage point where we had a great view of the valley beneath us. We chose to pitch our tents at the edge of the trees – in hopes of getting some minor protection from the winds and also giving us that “cozy under the trees” feeling as we camped. The temperature was a mild 72-degrees up here and we looked forward to the crisp night air and snuggling into our sleeping bags shortly.

We camped with three kids ages 6, 4, and 1 – this campsite was perfect for the young children who enjoyed to explore the area, but was relatively safe for them with no vehicle traffic and relatively flat terrain.

It turned out to be a great camp site, with relatively soft, level ground and plenty of room to set up our camp kitchen and pitch two tents. Once the summer sun finally set, we had a great view of the night sky and all its stars. I gauged the night temperature to be in the low 50s – with a nice and comfortable mountain breeze.

The next morning we explored the Griffith Peak trail and some of the other tributary trails here. We encountered a bunch of dirt-bikers and ATVers this morning. All in all, it was a great camping trip and we looked forward to coming back again.

Filed Under: Camping, Mt. Charleston · Tagged: 4x4, Harris Spring Road

Mary Jane Falls, Mt. Charleston

February 22, 2012 by outdoorsvegas · Leave a Comment

It was still a burning 100 degrees in the Vegas valley in early September when we ventured up to Mt. Charleston for some hiking. We had been itching to go camping, but the Vegas heat had prevented that.

It’s widely accepted that up on Mt. Charleston (7-8,000 foot elevation hiking trails and 11,900+ foot summit) the temperatures are routinely 20-30 degrees cooler than in the Vegas valley – we would put that rule to the test today. Also, with our newly slimmed down camping kit, we were ready for some backcountry camping.

Mt. Charleston allows you to camp unimproved in the backcountry (away from campsites) as long as you aren’t immediately near a water source or trailhead. Today we were going to hike Mary Jane Falls and camp in the backcountry… with two kids, age 6 and 3! We had just slimmed down our camping gear to a near-ultralight weight kit — this meant I could fit all of our gear into my backpack, without overloading it or overweighing it.

Mary Jane Falls Trail, Mt. Charleston

As we arrived at the parking lot for Mary Jane Falls, we happily noticed the crisp mountain air with a light breeze – the temperature was a welcome 82 degrees – almost 30 degrees cooler than the valley!

The beginning of Mary Jane Falls Trail

We started hiking with our full pack of camping gear. I knew we would set up camp somewhere before the switchbacks ascend on this trail, I just didn’t know exactly where. So, as we hiked, I kept scanning the wooded area off to our left – I was looking for a flat area with a clearing. About a half-mile in, I found a perfect clearing with flat ground made of soil. We unloaded our camping gear here and quickly set up camp. Now, with my pack much lighter having downloaded the camping gear, we were ready to start the upward hike to Mary Jane Falls.

View across Kyle Canyon

The switchbacks were steady, but not too steep that even the kids could keep up. As we climbed higher (the trail eventually reaches above 9,000 feet in elevation) the greater exposure provided some great views across Kyle Canyon, the tall bristlecone pine tree covered cliffs, and jagged limestone mountain peaks.

There are portions of the trail where the path narrows to near-single track, and there are areas where there is loose sand and rocks underfoot – so be careful and walk cautiously. As the trail curved around the mountain contour we began to make out the tall dark-colored cliff face of Mary Jane Falls.

The falls are tucked away in a corner crack of the cliff face, with the ice-cold smow melt water pooling below. I caught the kids dousing themselves under the waterfall. We continued on a path past the falls which led us to a large cave and a wide panoramic view of the valley below. Eventually, after enjoying the views, we hiked back down to our campsite. A deer followed behind us on the descent. All of thus hiking built up quite an appetite and we ravenously enjoyed a camp stove dinner of spam and rice. The evening offered temperate 50 degrees of cool mountain air to sleep in. You can camp during the summer heat… on Mt. Charleston.

Mary Jane Falls, Mt. Charleston

View Mary Jane Falls, Mt. Charleston in a larger map

Filed Under: Camping, Hiking, Mt. Charleston · Tagged: Backcountry Camping, Mary Jane Falls

Harris Spring Road – 4×4 Trail

January 23, 2012 by outdoorsvegas · Leave a Comment

The Harris Spring Road is an unpaved dirt road that branches off of the Kyle Canyon Road (Route-157) offering a scenic drive uphill. Eventually, this dirt road leads you to the unremarkable Harris Springs. However, if you take the right-hand fork in the road about 1/2 miles before the end, you will end up on the Harris Springs 4×4 Trail (marked as “Forest Road 104″ on 1:24 topo charts).

This wonderful off-road trail winds its way up the side of the mountain offering expansive views of the valley behind you with lots of exposure and views of the hills beside you. Eventually, the road climbs all the way up to Harris Mountain Peak, at the top of the ridge, around 9,200 feet in elevation. At the top of the saddle, you can see down both sides of the ridge – towards the Las Vegas Valley to the East and down to the town of Pahrump to the West.

Hikers like this road because it gives them easy access (and a head start) when hiking the southern approach to the Spring Mountain peaks such as Griffith Peak (10,800′ elevation and about 1.5 miles 1 way from the end of the road), and only 5.5 miles 1 way to the summit of Mt. Charleston (11,500′ elevation). Additionally, Harris Spring Road gives you access to many miles of high-altitude backcountry camping and remote, unimproved car-camping opportunities.

4×4 Trail with Sweeping Views

Mt. Charleston in the Background

I had heard about this road and wanted to go exploring in the mountains and look for new places to go camping. A recent snow fall also would make this a pretty drive – so we piled into the truck and headed to Mt. Charleston. My Spring Mountains topo map unfortunately did not cover Harris Spring Road in its entirety (it mainly concentrated on Kyle and Lowell Canyons) so I elected to download topo maps to my Android Phone using the BackCountry Navigator app. Later, I would be happy I did as I was able to follow along the moving-map topo display when my phone was mounted on my dashboard and I could see my progress as I climbed the mountain.

There are two ways to enter Harris Spring Road from Route-157 — the first is an unmarked dirt road that would be completely missed unless you are navigating by GPS or topo map. We recommend entering via the second entrance which is marked by a large green sign labeled an obvious “Harris Spring Road” from Route-157. The road initially winds steeply to the south, then curves its way up the first ridge and then continues to snake up to the fork (stay right) continuing to climb as the narrow trail hugs the side of the mountain. The trail is in fairly good condition with some rocks and bumps and a few larger sharp rocks to keep your eyes out for. The drop off is steep to the south, but this also means the views are amazing with a lot of exposure.

Today, the fresh snowfall had accumulated above 7,000 feet of elevation, with much deeper snow banks above 8,000 feet. We continued on past several wide points in the road (good places to play in the snow or even camp on the side of the road in warmer months). Eventually, just shy of 9,000 feet, on a steep incline, the snow drift was deep such that the truck began to slide a bit and my concern over the eventual descent back down over the same snow caused me to do a star turn, turning us around and halting our ascent to the summit… for now (we’ll be back after the snow thaws in the Spring).

Overall the trail and views were remarkable and we definitely identified some great places to hike and camp when the snow melts. I am eager to see the view from the summit… next time.

Below is a comprehensive map (with terrain overlay) showing the Harris Spring 4×4 Trail and the subsequent hike to Griffith Peak and eventually to the Mt. Charleston Summit.