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There’s a lot of action packed into this remarkable day of wilderness immersion! You’ll ascend a nice trail through beautiful Ponderosa Pine forests. Then, in the majestic Bristlecone Pine zone, passing the 4,000-year-old ancient Bristlecone Pine called “Rain Tree“. Continue your ascent to 10,284ft Fletcher Peak for incredible views of Kyle Canyon, the La Madre Mountains, Las Vegas Valley and points beyond. Then descend, retracing your way back to Rain Tree.
Pass Mummy Springs and leave the nice trails for a one-mile pathless wilderness traverse in Bristlecone Pine country along the Eastern slopes of Mummy Mountain. Now, head straight up! Still, in pathless terrain, ascend a wash that is steeper than you might have imagined, and it gets steeper with each step! The trees you pass along the way reveal the steep angle of the slope. The wash ends at the base of the even steeper Mummy Mountain Eastern cliffs.
Find a narrow weaving gully as you ascend Mummy Mountain’s Eastern cliffs, steep, but not beyond a class 3 rock scramble (except for one 15-foot scary vertical ledge! Once on the ledge, it’s a simple walk to the summit. You’re on Mummy Mountain, forested with the most ancient, weirdly sculpted Bristlecone Pines. The views at the summit are even more spectacular than those of Fletcher Peak summit.
Now, descend the steep West slopes of Mummy Mountain (a bit gentler than the East slopes and cliffs). On the way pass through a Quaking Aspen forest to reach the North Loop Trail. Take that trail to the Trail Canyon Trail and then back to the Trail Canyon Trailhead where you began. Wow! This will be an incredible, unforgettable adventure!
Note that this is a fairly extreme adventure due to the distance, relentless incline and decline on a loose rock surface, elevation gain, and a few rock scrambles. Be sure to do the Mummy Mountain West adventure before attempting this more extensive adventure. That adventure will help guide your way down the West side of Mummy Mountain.
To give you an idea of timing, it took 2 hours to summit Fletcher Peak, 6 hours to get from Fletcher Peak to Mummy Mountain Summit, and 2 hours to descend from Mummy Mountain Summit back to the Trail Canyon Trailhead. I believe I could cut off 2 hours from the Fletcher Peak to Mummy Mountain stretch and went on to do that in the Fletcher, Mummy, Lee Peak adventure. Still, even at 8 hours, this circuit takes me longer than the entire Mt. Charleston Loop, which I have made in less than 7 and a half hours.
Stick to the Summer months. These altitudes are refreshingly cool compared to the Summer heat in the Las Vegas Valley, where people are roasting in 115 degree weather! Avoid the Winter months, where temperatures at these altitudes can easily plunge below zero, and the steep surfaces are caked with ice!
Your adventure will begin at the Trail Canyon Trailhead in the Mt. Charleston Wilderness. To get there, head up Hwy-95 North from Las Vegas, take a left at the Kyle Canyon exit, continue about 20 miles up Kyle Canyon to Charleston Village, pass a fire station continuing straight where the road bends to the left. You’ll arrive at the Trail Canyon Trailhead parking area (same parking used for Mary Jane Falls). In all, it’s less than 40 miles from the Las Vegas Strip.
Getting to Fletcher Peak is pretty easy. Ascend the Trail Canyon Trail, take a right 2 miles up at the North Loop Junction, circle around the East side of Mummy Mountain to Rain Tree and take a right towards the North Loop Trailhead. In about 1/8th mile where you pass a huge fallen tree that crosses the trail (the portion over the trail has been sawn off and cleared away) take a right toward Fletcher Peak. There is no trail marking pointing to Fletcher Peak. You just have to know that this is the place to turn right toward Fletcher Peak. Though it seems like a long distance with a huge incline, the stretch from the North Loop Trail to Fletcher Peak is quick, around a mile! Be sure to look back during your ascent for a unique and beautiful view of Mummy’s Toe.
Fletcher Peak itself, unlike Charleston Peak, is covered with a beautiful Bristlecone Pine forest. It’s the only peak in the Charleston Wilderness where I have seen deer. Note how the trees are sculpted into a multitude of unique shapes beyond the ability of the greatest artists. While there are peaks with more spectacular views, you will get a great view of Harris Mountain, Griffith Peak and the saddle between. The La Madre Mountains, Sheep Range and Gass Peak are also in view. Fletcher Peak is one of my favorites. One could enjoy an entire day there.
Descend Fletcher Peak to the majestic, 3000-year-old Bristlecone Pine Rain Tree. Turn right toward Mummy Springs. You won’t see gushing water, but rather a wet ledge. In the Winter it turns thick, sculpted ice! The trail looks like it ends at the base of Mummy Springs but continue straight through the bushes to find the trail resuming. After about 100 yards there is a hard switchback. Make the turn, then immediately leave the trail and head up the ridge through the pathless wilderness, hugging the right side of the ridge and gradually traveling to the right until you reach the wash at the base of that ridge. Head up the next ridge and cross it, making a similar descent to a second wash. Head up the following ridge and cross it making a similar descent into what I call the “Delta Wash Canyon” (aka “The Fingers“) below the Eastern Approaches to Mummy Mountain. Throughout this wilderness leg of the journey continue to weave around rocks, cliffs and fallen trees along a route that seems logical. You will see very faint signs of a trail now and then to reassure yourself that you’re on track. Also, be guided by the observation that you’re tracking along parallel to the base of Mummy Mountain, always above to your left.
Delta Wash is a wide canyon composed of three washes that begin close together at Mummy Mountain’s Eastern cliffs, then spread out as they descend the slopes below (like an upside-down river delta). Take the middle wash up to the cliff base. Then, turn left and proceed about 1/8th mile to the Southeast Mummy Mountain approach canyon. In the video I took the left wash toward a false dead-end canyon and ended up having to ascend Mummy Mountain twice: Ascending the dead-end canyon, then descending back to the base of the cliff and traveling along the cliff base to ascend the Southeast approach canyon. Far better if I’d headed up the middle wash and turned left at the base of the cliff toward the correct Southeast approach canyon. However, the video shows what it’s like to ascend the dead-end canyon and see the view at the top, then descend back to the base of the cliff, turn left and navigate to the correct Southeast approach canyon.
Just before the Southeast approach canyon reaches the base of the vertical upper cliff below the summit, turn right, proceed along a rather narrow shelf for about 100 feet, then climb a truly scary 15-foot vertical rock wall exposed to a 100-foot drop! As you top the rock wall you’re immediately scrambling up loose rock that slants down to the very edge of the rock wall, hoping that you don’t slip and slide back down over the edge to a 110 foot drop and almost certain death! This is where having a more experienced, skilled climbing buddy with a rope would be a great help!
However, after successfully scrambling up to the base of the summit cliff you’ve pretty much made it! Take a right, it’s an easy 150-foot walk along the base of the cliff to a comfortably wide upper ledge, then another 100 yards to the edge of the summit cliff. Take a left around the edge of that cliff for an easy ascent to Mummy Mountain Summit. Congratulations! I’ve taken this route twice and may not take it again! In a subsequent adventure I ascended the 3rd (most Western) delta wash and found it to be less scary. It was steep, but with no significant exposure. I prefer the most Western delta wash ascent!
Topping that last rise to realize you’ve made the summit of Mummy Mountain is an incredible feeling! There’s a huge sense of accomplishment plus relief in knowing the hardest part of the adventure is now behind. And, the summit is spectacular with the best 360-degree views of the day! There’s Kyle Canyon below to the South with all its high points: Harris Mountain, Griffith Peak, Charleston Peak and Lee Peak. Beyond, you can see all the way to Telescope Peak on the West side of Death Valley! To the North are the Sheep Range and Gass Peak. To the East is the La Madre Mountains and Las Vegas Valley and points beyond.
In addition to these views is the wonder of being on such a large, beautiful summit area, the largest summit in the Mt. Charleston Wilderness. You could put a football field or two on this summit! And the summit is dotted with ancient, sculpted Bristlecone Pines that create a terrain unlike any I have seen before. I once made a complete Circuit of Mummy Mountain Summit in order to spend more time taking it all in.
You’ve got a few descent choices at the summit. You could retrace your way down by the route you just ascended. To me both mentally and physically, that was overload at this point. I had not yet explored the steep steep descent down the Western delta wash slope, so that was unknown. Later, I took that route, but not today! At this point the most welcoming route was the familiar, friendly descent route down the West side of Mummy Mountain to the North Loop Trail. This kept me in happy victory mode!
Begin descending the West side of Mummy Mountain through the V-shaped canyon (see the Mummy Mountain West page). This is where it’s a good thing to have taken that descent route before. It’s not so easy finding the exact descent channel from above, so prior experience is important. At the summit opening to the V-shaped descent channel, be sure to notice a beautifully framed view of Charleston Peak. Also, notice the beautiful, wild North ridgeline of Kyle Canyon between where you are standing and Lee Peak. I took that in the Fletcher, Mummy, Lee Peak adventure…an extension of this adventure. It’s a magical stretch!
At the base of the V-shaped canyon, you’ll connect with the Mummy Mountain West Trail. This is an unmarked, but nice climber’s trail that will take you along the base of Mummy’s cliffs and around to the steep descent slope above the North Loop Trail.
Soon you’ll reach the upper ridge of that steep descent slope I call The Horrifying Half. It’s a half-mile plunge down a scree slope, but actually not nearly as difficult as the terrain you’ve already navigated.
At the top of the slope you have a choice of turning right and staying on that upper ridge toward Lee Peak, Charleston Peak and beyond, or head down the slope to join the lower North Loop Trail. For this adventure proceed left to the North Loop Trail /Trail Canyon Trails junction, passing through a significant Quaking Aspen forest. Then take a right on the Trail Canyon Trail and head back down to the Trail Canyon Trailhead where you began.
