Earth Articles

I learned a lot about the Mt Charleston Camping and Hiking Experience this weekend. Camping and Hiking at Mt Charleston are two very different events that you can combine in two very different ways.

This weekend was a fantastic weekend of hiking with camping for one night. The most fun I have ever had at Mt. Charleston to date was on this trip. I forgot that there was more to the mountain than the managed campgrounds and cabin rentals. Maybe I just needed to be reminded of that. The hike to the top of Trait Canyon was an amazing one and the view at the top was more than worth the pain in my feet.

So that you know what I mean by two different events, here is an example:

To hike is to walk through the woods and if you add camping then you are pitching a tent or setting up a bivvy for a few hours of rest until you head out on more of a journey, hiking the mountain or through the trails.

To camp is to drive your SUV or Car to one of the six campgrounds at Mt Charleston and set up your tent on a site, pay the $14 a night, and you have a bathroom and running water very near by at all times. Plus if you feel like taking a hike you can head out on one of the trails close by and then head back to your tent and fire pit when it starts to get to be that time.

See .. I was prepared to camp and hike this weekend when I should have been prepared to HIKE and camp. Good thing we were not in any hurry to get to the top and to get back down. By the time we made it up the short 2.5 mile hike it was perfect time to go around and check out the site and gather any ice we could for water and a few sticks for a fire to melt the ice.

For this camping adventure, Nino had all his ducks in a row except for one thing … Hiking Boots. From the start this seemed like a doomed adventure. Nino forgot his hiking boots and I was unsure of how I would hold up with my new internal frame backpack. I must admit that for our first time out together on a hike of this kind we did really well. I know I had a great time learning about the different hill tops up there and getting to go on a real hike with Nino was totally awesome. You always think that you are in pretty good shape and ready for anything until something comes along that challenges you and this hike really challenged me this time. Next time I will be better prepared and possibly I will leave some of that useless stuff behind when we are going to only stay out for one night.

When you go to Mt Charleston and want to take a short hike that could turn into a larger much more intense hike, a good place to start your adventure is on the Trait Canyon Trail. The Trait Canyon Trail in the first leg is pretty well hiked so even if you are not an expert hiker or outdoorsman you will be safe taking this as your starting point. You can access nearly all the outlying trails from this point if you check your map. There is usually water up at the top that you can refill your bottles and camelbaks with but this time there was only ice and snow for us to melt.

A great adventure awaits you in the trials of Mt Charleston. Although the campgrounds themselves are not as well kept as they should be, the trials are clean and very well kept. You can make several trips of one long trip to any peak at Mt Charleston. When you find yourself looking for a hike or a camping trip for the whole family and you are in the Las Vegas area, check out some of the hiking and camping available right up the street from the city.

I can’t wait to go hiking up there again. I heard through the grapevine that I am getting a new external frame backpack and that I am very grateful for. That would make getting out to Mt Charleston again soon a priority. Maybe the next time we go up there we will be able to take the rest of the family. I want them to see more than just pictures.

Lovell Canyon, located just off of Blue Diamond Road on the way to Pahrump, is one of the places you can go if you are a more experienced hiker. These mountains are directly connected to Mt. Charleston and if you are feeling energetic you can actually hike all the way to the summit of My. Charleston.

That hike is quite the adventure but with a couple days of hiking and camping an experienced navigator can make it no problem. The scenery is quite stimulating up there and getting to the mountains is not as hard as you would think. There is actually a pretty well developed road that takes you deep into the mountains.

There are some washes through there that you will come across while you are hiking through the Lovell Canyon. Usually these are filled with water all year long but don’t jump in too soon. The waters here are a little questionable. At least they look that way. Be sure that you check where you are attempting to swim or drink BEFORE you just dive in.

When you do decide that you are ready for one of the better trips through the mountains in Nevada, try mapping the area of Lovell Canyon to Mt. Charleston Summit. The trail seems to be pretty straight forward and the hike will take you just over a day. With camping and rest stops along the way. The terrain is ever changing and you will need to at least have an experienced hiker with you if you are going to attempt this hike. You will need to navigate your way with a map and compass as there are no marked trails between the two and we didn’t see any on the Lovell Canyon side of the mountain range. There are a few under developed roads, or so it seems, that you can track with most of the way. You may even see a downed plane or two from days passed where aerial explorers have lost control over what some call the Bermuda Triangle of Nevada.