Overview | Deer Creek Rd, Mummy Springs, Raintree, Fletcher Peak Circuit | Mt. Charleston Wilderness | Spring Mountains, Nevada
Scope of Adventure and Spectacular Views
This comprehensive circuit adventure covers most of the entire Eastern section of the
Mt. Charleston Wilderness including the canyon off
Deer Creek Road at the base of
Mummy’s Head, the ridge leading up the left (East) side of that canyon to the very
Northeastern tip of Mummy Mountain’s mid and highest section (Mummy’s Tummy), the route across the wilderness at the base of
Mummy’s Eastern cliffs to
Mummy Springs, then on to
Raintree and the intersection of the
North Loop Trail, the brief stretch of the
North Loop Trail to its
intersection with Fletcher Peak Trail, the summit of
Fletcher Peak, then the return past Raintree and
Mummy Springs to the Cougar Ridge Trail and finally the descent back to
Deer Creek Picnic Area and
Deer Creek Road where the adventure began. Besides contributing to the longest sentence on this website, the adventure probably covers more points of interest than any other adventure on this site. From
Fletcher Peak Summit additional views included the
Sheep Range,
La Madre Mountain,
Mt. Wilson,
Harris Mountain,
Griffith Peak,
Charleston Peak,
Lee Peak,
Mummy’s Toe,
Mummy’s Knees,
Mummy’s Head and Chin,
Cockscomb Ridge and
Cathedral Rock. Basically, this adventure, more than any other, includes views of most of the
Mt. Charleston Wilderness!
Accidental Nature of the Adventure
Curiously, this is an accidental adventure. I had attempted at first to summit
Mummy’s Head or at least explore potential summit routes from
Deer Creek Road. However, I was taken off course in my attempts to respect the private property from
Camp Stimpson in the base of the canyon to private homes on the left (East) ridge above the canyon. I kept angling up the left ridge of the canyon until I realized that I was at the very Northeastern tip of the
Mummy’s Tummy Cliffs at
the exact spot I had reached last year while traversing the wilderness from the Mummy Springs area. So, I decided to “close the loop” and just head back toward
Mummy Springs and
Raintree, summit
Fletcher Peak then return to
Deer Creek Road via
Cougar Ridge Trail.
Photos of Mummy’s Head Climbing Routes
Missing
Mummy’s Head was not a complete loss. I was able to take some great pictures of
Mummy’s Head and potential climbing routes from my high position across the canyon. These photos can be found in the slide show on this page.
Directions to Start Point | Deer Creek Rd, Mummy Springs, Raintree, Fletcher Peak Circuit | Mt. Charleston Wilderness | Spring Mountains, Nevada
As you’re traveling
Deer Creek Road, about half way between the
North Loop Trailhead and the intersection of
Lee Canyon Road, there is an obscure, unmarked unpaved road on the left. Just because it was there, I decided to take it. Woo-hoo!! Within about 100 feet and around a corner hidden from
Deer Creek Road there is a huge parking area that could fit 50-100 vehicles! That parking area serves multiple purposes. It’s a lower parking area for
Camp Stimpson, a parking access for
Forest Road 078 and a
Search and Rescue staging area. As such, it’s very well graded and well kept. There are no trailheads, but this turns out to be a great jumping off point to
Mummy Mountain’s Head area and the
Northern Rim of Mummy Mountain’s Mid-section.
↓ Narrative Guide ↓
Narrative Guide | Deer Creek Rd, Mummy Springs, Raintree, Fletcher Peak Circuit | Mt. Charleston Wilderness | Spring Mountains, Nevada
Taken Off My Original Course
My original goal was the explore potential summit approaches to
Mummy’s Head. The first mistake I made was to head up the left ridge of the canyon from the parking area. Next time I’ll go for the right ridge! The left ridge started a domino effect of errors that eventually took me entirely off course and changed the goal of the adventure. First, I quickly emerged from the wilderness and onto the main road to
Camp Stimpson. A staff member drove by, stopped, offered a ride and was friendly enough. However, I noticed he drove on then stopped around the next bend, seeming to be watching my every movement. Wanting to remain invisible, I disappeared into the wilderness ascending the main left ridge of the canyon.
Weaving Between “Private Property” and “Forest Service Wilderness” Signs
However, on that ridge I was confronted by more location signs than I’ve ever seen in the wilderness. There were private property signs mixed with
Forest Service wilderness boundary signs. The top of the ridge was populated by homes and “private”, the canyon below was “private”
Camp Stimpson property, so I stayed mid-ridge weaving around and attempting to remain on
Forest Service Wilderness land. This took me ever further upward. At one point I summited the ridge and found a well established unpaved road with “private, no trespassing” signs. I headed down a bit back to
Forest Service Wilderness and finally re-ascended the ridge above the last home.
Arrival at the Very Northeastern Tip of Mummy’s Tummy Cliffs
Now I was near the tip of
Mummy Mountain’s Northeastern cliffs. Realizing that attempting the
Mummy’s Head area would involve a huge descent and re-ascent, I decided to close the loop of last year’s adventure that had ended at this very spot. Unfortunately this day, as I traversed the lower edge of
Mummy Mountain’s Eastern cliffs, my route was too low and went off course. I found myself descending a steep avalanche slope into a canyon (
Delta Canyon aka “
The Fingers”) way too low. So I re-ascended that long steep avalanche slope to get back on my familiar higher wilderness course. I never totally made it to the elevation of the familiar wilderness course as I continued to traverse the wilderness area below
Mummy Mountain’s Eastern cliffs. However, the terrain looked sort of familiar and finally I arrived at a trail. Amazingly, it was
Cougar Ridge Trail. And, I found I was only a couple hundred feet below
Mummy Springs Trail and only about 1000 feet from
Mummy Springs! Amazing how one can connect the dots though the wilderness!
Back on Familiar Trails Two Surprises
The remainder of the adventure was over ground I’ve covered before on established trails. Over to
Raintree, up to
Fletcher Peak Summit, back to
Cougar Ridge Trail and down to
Deer Creek Road. There were two final surprises on new ground. Just above
Deer Creek Road there is a wonderful picnic area with a little stream…water running in the stream in mid-August. The stream is the run-off from
Mummy Springs. I think it’s called
Deer Creek at that elevation, that would make sense. The picnic area with 10 or more picnic areas along the stream has children playing, people barbequing. I felt like
Rip Van Winkle having emerged from 15-20 miles and a long day in the wilderness into the populated family fun area. That was one surprise.
The other surprise was how close I was to my starting point on
Deer Creek Road. I thought I would need to run 3-4 miles along
Deer Creek Road to get back to the parking area. However, I was only a quick 1/4th mile off from my starting point!
Next Time: Take the Right Ridge of the Canyon!!
Learnings from this adventure: Next time I’ll stick to the right side of the original canyon and ascend to the base of
Mummy’s Head. Once I’ve done that I will know the entire
Eastern Mummy Mountain wilderness area from
Fletcher Peak to
Lee Canyon Road. More to come!
