Ascent of Charleston Peak on 2018-05-19| Others in Party: | Dave Covill
| | Date: | Saturday, May 19, 2018 | | Ascent Type: | Successful Summit Attained | | Motorized Transport to Trailhead: | Car | | Peak: | Charleston Peak | | Location: | USA-Nevada | | Elevation: | 11916 ft / 3631 m |
Ascent Trip ReportThe North Loop route up and back is a very long day-hike for most people. The trail traverses for a very long time with lots of ups and downs, and can be very wearying. The views and terrain are quite nice. Ideally I wish we had done a loop hike--I think the consensus is that the best way to do this is up the South Loop and down the North Loop.
We got a late start because I flew from Seattle to Las Vegas in the morning, and Dave and I had a hard time meeting up at the chaotic and confusing Las Vegas airport. We got to the trailhead around noon and got packed up quickly. We hiked up from 12:20 PM to 5:00 PM, and hiked down from 5:10 PM to 8:55 PM. There were several large snowbanks above 10,800', and I was glad that Dave loaned me one of his ski poles as we crossed some of these steep snow slopes, some of which had slightly scary runouts.
As we descended the summit cone switchbacks there was quite a bit of thunder from the clouds above, so we hustled down into the trees as fast as we could go--I even cut off a switchback--but we saw no lightning. We did have to break out our headlamps for the last half-mile or so, arriving back at the car in darkness.
There were three parties camping up high on the peak that we saw as we descended, all in for a cold night. We saw many other parties, especially down low, including one guy headed uphill in the dark.
We were certainly very tired after this rushed ascent. I hope I can return to this fine peak some day with a little bit more time and explore other routes. |
| Summary Total Data | | Total Elevation Gain: | 4573 ft / 1392 m | | Total Elevation Loss: | 4573 ft / 1392 m | | Round-Trip Distance: | 16.7 mi / 26.9 km | | Quality: | 7 (on a subjective 1-10 scale) | | Route Conditions: | Maintained Trail | | Gear Used: | Ski Poles | | Weather: | Pleasant, Breezy, Partly Cloudy
Thunder overhead | | Ascent Statistics | | Gain on way in: | 4373 ft / 1332 m | | Gain Breakdown: | Net: 4173 ft / 1271 m; Extra: 200 ft / 60m | | Loss on way in: | 200 ft / 60 m | | Distance: | 8.4 mi / 13.5 km | | Route: | North Loop Tr | | Start Trailhead: | Kyle Canyon 7743 ft / 2360 m | | Time: | 4 Hours 40 Minutes | | Descent Statistics | | Loss on way out: | 4373 ft / 1332 m | | Loss Breakdown: | Net: 4173 ft / 1271 m; Extra: 200 ft / 60m | | Gain on way out: | 200 ft / 60 m | | Distance: | 8.3 mi / 13.4 km | | Route: | North Loop Tr | | End Trailhead: | Kyle Canyon 7743 ft / 2360 m | | Time: | 3 Hours 45 Minutes |
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