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| Hiking | 17.00 Miles |
5,600 AEG |
| | Hiking | 17.00 Miles | 8 Hrs 30 Mns | | 2.00 mph |
| 5,600 ft AEG | | 10 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | This will probably end up being my biggest hike of the year, which is fine as it is truly spectacular. I trust the GPS route data I used for the miles, and I feel the AEG is probably accurate, but I am not 100% sure I lost and gained that much additional elevation on the hike. Did I?
Passing through Las Vegas and with the long drive, I remembered why I always ignored this hike and opted for Colorado or California hikes and peaks in the past. However, that really isn't a good reason to skip Charleston, more so when living at low elevation, but mostly because this is probably one of the most interesting hikes I have done in the last few years. The hike along the upper cliffs is just spectacular, the views of Kyle Canyon, and then the bristlecone forest are really worthy of a hike in their own right. Charleston Peak, as an Ultra-prominent summit might as well be much higher. I am sure I'll be back someday to hike this again, and other stuff in the range.
I ended up being in better shape than I expected, and it turns out that yes, the heat, has a lot to do with my lower tolerance for longer hikes this year. Altitude did fatigue me and slow me down, but I was not sore or dead tired as I expected. I was tired for the last few miles, but 2 days out I barely notice, which is good and much better than 1 month ago in Zion, and even 2 weeks ago on Wrightson. Guess I like hanging out in heat, but not hiking in it. Who knew? My legs, it seems. I found the upper 6 miles (12 round trip) above Trail Canyon on the North Loop Trail to be spectacular, and the miles simply are not as noticeable as one might think they would be. They go fast!
I ended up having great dry conditions with zero storm risk, and fantastic hiking conditions. A trough was pushing the monsoon flow east, but it brought smoke into the valleys from numerous fires in California. So, I could barely see most distance points, and Telescope Peak was hazy and just visible. No Sierra Nevada views, as hoped for. I bet, on a good day in early winter or fall after the cold dry, clear air comes in, this is a fantastic place to be. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Pretty scattered, but this is a drier range. |
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Cave Spring |
Gallon per minute |
Gallon per minute |
| | | Even if the pipe feeding the trough is not extremely fast flowing, the trough is deep, clear, and probably easy to filter from. Expect a high mineral content, I'm sure, as it comes from limestone and the water was so clear it might be very alkaline. | | _____________________
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