Birthday Wkend: Bighorn Sheep & Charlest on Pk, NV

“Casinos, Hoover Dam, Bighorn sheep and carcamping:
http://community.webshots.com/album/484827967rpWulb”

“October 21-23, 2005
Birthday weekend: Charleston Pk, Hoover Dam, Casinos and Bighorn Sheep

I took Fri off to drive to NV, to climb a peak north of Vegas (Charleston Peak) with Calhiker (SnowDude had to work). Its one of the peaks that we need the extra driving day for, and since it was my birthday that was a good excuse to take Friday off. What a difference it made not driving all night before a long hike!

Thursday: We left late and drove to Boulder City, NV. We weren't sure about just pulling off the road to camp, and I had been to this area before. After getting lost in the construction area and driving in circles (was not on the map), we finally arrived at a campground by Lake Mead at 3am.

Friday: We slept in til 8am. Its noisy at campgrounds, and it was getting too hot to sleep. Calhiker slept on a cement picnic table and had gnats flying in his face, so he was glad to get up. We were prepared for cold weather this was shorts weather. I should have brought more clothes. After breakfast at the Hacienda Hotel and Casino and dropping our change in the slot machines, we drove to Hoover Dam. Calhiker had not been here, and wanted to check it out. We drove around a little, then stopped at a small park near Lake Mead to photograph bighorn sheep (counted 40, 11 of them were rams). We had a salmon dinner at Chili's, then drove to the Mt Charleston trailhead to acclimatize.”

“Charleston Peak, NV (11,919') http://community.webshots.com/album/485847264oEEhEV
Saturday: Woke up feeling great! Another birthday, but this time I'm injury free! Drove to the trailhead (7,650'), took pics, then headed out. The first 5 miles gained 3,000' on steep switchbacks. Patchy snow at 9,000', then snow covered trail at 9,500'. Near the saddle we saw Griffith Peak. If we got back here early enough we would bag that one too. The trail was pretty mellow from here. 4 miles and about 1300' gain/loss, but covered with 5-6" snow, probably from earlier this week (judging by how soft and fluffy it was). We walked through bristlecone pines, which were not as gnarly as the ones in the White Mountains at 13,000'. We were able to identify Death Valley peaks that we've climbed in the last 2 years. We could see north Vegas to the east, the village where we started below, Kingston Peak to the south, . . (add here?). Near the summit, it looked like a storm was coming in fast. We were going to sign the register and leave, but after our first summit shot it cleared up. We ended up staying an hour, even though it seemed like only 20 min. Too late to do Griffith.
The trip down was a lot faster. Used headlamps for the last hour down. Drank a glass of cabernet while changing into clean clothes, then had Filet Mignon at the Mt Charleston Lodge. I was really tired, so Calhiker drove til he got tired, and we pulled over on a side road just outside of Jean, NV to camp.”