Backpacking Trip Report / Route Description
Pictures from Charleston Peak 1998
Quick Facts
Area - Mt. Charleston Wilderness area
(Spring Mountains), Nevada.
Route - Cathedral Rock trailhead to Charleston Peak
via the South Loop trailhead then back.
Distance - 20.4 miles
Date - 8-27-98 thru 8-28-98.
2 days, 1 people, 1 dog
Points of interest along the way
The Meadows
Charleston Peak
Plane wreckage near the peak
Not much else was recorded for this trip since it was before I started
collecting route information for trips.
General Comments
The trailhead is located at the end of highway
157 (the road going to Kyle Canyon) in the Mount Charleston Wilderness
Area, Nevada. Window (my dog) and I started at the Cathedral Rock trailhead,
took the connector trail to the South Loop trailhead then followed the
South Loop Trail to Charleston Peak. After staying a cold
overnight on the peak, we reversed our route for the trip home.
Maps
Click for the High Resolution version of the map.
Right click -HERE- and select "Save Picture As" to save the high res version.
GPS Waypoint Information
Cathedral Rock
Trailhead - - - - tCthdrlRck
7565 feet - - - - N36 15.458 W115 38.966 (WGS 84):
This is Cathedral Rock Trail trailhead.
The parking is better here so it is easier to start from here
rather than
the actual South Loop trailhead.
South Loop Trailhead - - - - tSouthLp
7685 feet - - - - N36 15.284 W115 38.643 (WGS 84):
South Loop trailhead.
Griffith Peak Junction - - - - jGrifithPk
10594 feet - - - - N36 14.189 W115 39.060 (WGS 84):
This junction is where the Griffith Peak Trail meets (and ends
at) the South Loop Trail.
This is the other end of the trail we were on in the trip report
for the Griffith Peak Trail 1998.
Charleston Peak - - - - pChrlstnPk
11918 feet - - - - N36 16.333 W115 41.698 (WGS 84):
The highest peak in the Charleston area, this is where Window
and I stayed the night.
Plane wreckage near the peak - - - - PlaneWrek1
11500 feet - - - - N36 15.999 W115 41.704 (WGS 84):
I do not know the history on this plane wreck, but it is still
cool to go see what is left.
Details
Thursday 8-27-98 - 10.2 Miles
Pictures from Charleston Peak 1998
Start - Cathedral Rock trailhead
Along the way - No side trips were taken.
End - Charleston Peak.
This was my first trip to Charleston Peak and I decided it would
be fun for me and Window to spend the night on the peak. I
did not write a journal for this trip and have few details so
the notes section of this report will be short. We left
mid morning and started our journey to the peak. I was
carrying a lot of water since there was no place to get any
along the way. I also had a few extra things for Window
like food, extra water and a blanket. Everything added up
to a pack weight of a little over 70 pounds! The first few
miles of the trail were very steep and had what at the time
appeared to be endless switch backs. The switchbacks ended
at the junction for the Griffith Peak Trail. Those
switchback destroyed my energy level by carrying 70 pounds on my
back.
After passing the junction we soon found ourselves in an area
called the meadows. This is wide open pretty level terrain
with lots of grass and some flowers. We traveled along the
meadows at a leisurely pace. At one point I took a break
and managed to get a day hiker to take a picture for me.
the trail stayed pretty easy to travel on until we got close to
the peak where it started up again.
When we were about a quarter mile from the peak we were dragging
some serious butt. At one point I looked back for Window
and found she was just standing there in the same spot we last
stopped. It was about 100 feet back so I called her to me
and had to coax her a lot to get her moving. She finally
made it to me and I let her take a break. I started hiking
again and got another 100 feet or so and turned to see her still
standing there. I had to coax her a lot again to get her
to me. The last quarter mile to the peak went just like
that over and over and over until I got her there. I am
not sure if she was tired from the journey or the altitude was
taking it's toll on her. I assume both. She just did
not want to move or go any further.
When we got to the peak I was pleasantly surprised to see a day
hiker there so I asked him to take our picture on the peak.
He did and went on his way. We made our way over to sign
the log book then set up the tent in the rock wind shelter.
It was a hot July day back in Vegas, but it was quickly getting
chilly on the peak. As the sun went down it got cold fast.
We settled into the tent and tried to get some sleep.
Window kept shivering and being wrestles. She moved around
so much I could not keep her covered for warmth. I tried
to get her to lay next to me and use my sleeping bag to cover me
and most of her. Then put her blanket over her to seal her
in with me so we could share body heat. She just kept
squirming making both of us cold. I finally realized she
needed to go potty. I let her out and she went.
After that she settled down and held still for the night.
We stayed pretty comfy even tough it felt like it was in the
30's over night.
Friday 8-28-98 - 10.2 Miles
Pictures from Charleston Peak 1998
Start - Charleston Peak
Along the way - Side trip to check out
the plane wreckage near the Charleston Peak.
End - Cathedral Rock trailhead
We got up, had breakfast and were on our way. As we were
headed back we took a slight detour to check out the plane
wreckage near the peak. After that we headed back the same
way we got there. When we got a few miles from the
trailhead Window's feet seemed to be hurting a lot. I
wrapped them in socks and tape for her to finish the hike.
She seemed to be a lot more ok with it than I thought she would
have been. She acted like she knew it was helping rather
than try to take them off like she normally would have.
We loaded everything back in the car and went home.
Pictures from Charleston Peak 19988
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