Wilson Ridge South High Point | Lovell Canyon, Nevada
Important Nodal Point for Future Adventures
The
Wilson Ridge South High Point on the East side of
Lovell Canyon, Nevada, is an important nodal point for future adventures:
- To the North: Wilson Ridge to Harris Mountain Summit
- To the West: El Bastardo, Burnt Peak, El Padre Mt. and La Madre Mt.
- To the South: The Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline
Spectacular Views on the Ascent, Descent and at the Summit!
On the ascent there are unique ever-expanding views of the entire length of Lovell Canyon from
Potosi Mountain to the South to
The Mt. Charleston Wilderness to the North. In addition, there are unique unfolding views of
The Wilson Ridge all the way to its summit at Harris Mountain,
Sexton Ridge all the way to its summit at
Griffith Peak and the ridgeline descending toward
The Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline.
All of the above are visible from The Wilson Ridge South High Point in addition to
Charleston Peak,
Mummy Mountain,
Angel Peak,
La Madre Mountain,
El Padre Mountain, Burnt Peak,
El Bastardo,
The Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline,
Bridge Mountain,
Rainbow Mountain,
Mt. Wilson,
The Sheep Range and
Gass Peak to the North, The Las Vegas Valley,
Frenchman Mountain and
The Muddy Mountains to the East. The complete list of visible landmarks is too long to catalogue here!
Best Time of Year to Visit The Wilson Ridge South High Point
The best time of year to visit The
Wilson Ridge South High Point is from mid-Spring after the snow has melted through June until the Las Vegas temperature rises above 100 degrees. Then early to mid-fall from when the Las Vegas temperature dips below 100 degrees to the arrival of Winter snow.
Directions to the Start Point | Wilson Ridge South High Point | Lovell Canyon, Nevada
Take
Hwy 160 from
Las Vegas toward
Pahrump. The highway ascends over a “hump” (the
Potosi Mountain area). There’s a saying around here, “
Over the hump to Pahrump”. Well, you’ve just traveled over that hump. Around 4-5 miles from the point where the highway begins to descend toward
Pahrump there is a well-marked sign on the right for
Lovell Canyon Road.
Proceed 12 miles up the well-paved road until the pavement ends. Park at the parking area there.
↓ Narrative Guide ↓
Narrative Guide | Wilson Ridge South High Point | Lovell Canyon, Nevada
Getting Onto the Approach Ridge
From the parking area at the upper end of Lovell Canyon Road, cross that road (East side) to find 2 large rectangular reddish boulders. These boulders mark the base of the nice gradual ridge you’re going to ascend all the way to
The Wilson Ridge South High Point. Starting at the boulders you’ll begin winding your way up the ridge above. There will be a very faint pathway at times up the initial 50 yards of the ridge. Once you get through the lower brush and trees and have risen to a point where you begin to see the
Torino Ranch below, it’s just a matter of staying on the center of the ridge as it winds upward all the way to
The Wilson Ridge South High Point.
Two Overall Strategic Considerations
Be Prepared for Some Thick, Sharp Brush: The first overall strategic consideration is that during the initial 25% of your ascent on this approach ridge you will encounter some thick, sharp, cutting brush. I advise wearing long pants during this initial 25% of your ascent. I was in running shorts and can only describe my experience here as “death by a thousand cuts”. The
sage in particular is sharp! But the good news is that when you rise above the initial brush, the ridge opens up and the remaining 75% of your ascent is through relatively wide-open spaces on the ridge where you can easily weave around brushy areas.
Stay on the South Approach Ridge: The second overall consideration is that you avoid the temptation to cross the canyon below in order to ascend the North approach ridge. Don’t do it! I tried that, only to discover that most of the route through the canyon and up the North ridge,
nearly all the way to
The Wilson Ridge South High Point summit, is choked by very thick
Manzanita brush barriers. It’s brutal and relentless at nearly every point!
Expansive Views Opening Up Along the Ascent Ridge
Back to the South Ridge you’ve wisely chosen as your ascent ridge. It does make a bit of a wide crescent toward
The Wilson Ridge South High Point, but freedom from brush barriers makes for a much more rapid ascent. This leaves you free to enjoy the expansive views opening up in all directions. These views are described above along with links to adventures in the surrounding wilderness you are now seeing. One distinctive stretch of wilderness I did not mention above is
The Sexton Ridge ascending to Griffith Peak. There are two main ridges bordering
Lovell Canyon:
Sexton Ridge on the West side of the canyon and the ridge you are now approaching:
Wilson Ridge on the East side.
The Wilson Ridge ascends to Harris Mountain.
Legendary Lovell Canyon Circuit Adventure
View the adventure ascending
The Wilson Ridge on the East side of Lovell Canyon to Harris Mountain, taking the
Harris/Griffith Saddle on the upper end of
Lovell Canyon to
Griffith Peak, then
descending Sexton Ridge on the West side of
Lovell Canyon back to
The Lovell Canyon Trailhead and your start/end point at the upper end of
Lovell Canyon Road. This is either a legendary ultra-marathon close to the longest day of the year or a 2-day adventure. Either way, you’ll experience
Lovell Canyon in an expansive, immersive way along with expansive views of
The Mt. Charleston Wilderness and a good portion of many of the major wilderness areas in
Southern Nevada along with points in distant
Arizona and
California!
So, as you ascend to
The Wilson Ridge South High Point, look to the surrounding ridges for future adventures!
Views of the Rainbow Mountains and Their Upper Crest Ridgeline
Another thing to notice is the upper wilderness ridges heading South from
The Wilson Ridge South High Point. The
Wilson Ridge continues South from the high point to eventually reach a connection with
The Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline that will take you all the way to
Highway 160 and
Potosi Mountain. As you ascend the approach ridge you are on, you’ll eventually see
Bridge Mountain,
Rainbow Mountain and
Mt. Wilson poking up over the ridge on the horizon. That ridge in front of those mountains is
The Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline.
The
Wilson Ridge is actually a separate ridge. If you continued South on the
Wilson Ridge below
The Wilson Ridge South High Point, you would eventually cross
Rocky Gap Road, then ascend to
The Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline beyond that crossing. Or you could make a separate circuit heading down
Rocky Gap Road to
Lovell Canyon Road, then finally returning to your start/end point at the upper end of
Lovell Canyon Road. This would give you a complete experience of the lower (Southern) portion of The
Wilson Ridge.
Arrival on The Wilson Ridge South High Point Summit
When you reach
The Wilson Ridge South High Point Summit, additional views open up (noted above). In particular, study the three main ridgelines now opening up before you:
- To the North: The Wilson Ridge Ascending to Harris Mountain
- To the East: The La Madre Mountains Ridgeline to El Bastardo, Burnt Peak, El Padre Mt. and La Madre Mt.
- To the South: The Wilson Ridge descending toward The Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline.
Each of the above are entire adventures in themselves, and you can see the complete ridgeline routes from
The Wilson Ridge South High Point upon which you are now standing!
Today, you may just want to enjoy the spectacular view before descending back to your start/end point at the upper end of
Lovell Canyon Road. Again, avoid the pain and suffering you will experience if you decide to descend by way of the Northern approach ridge, nearly completely populated with a thick brush barrier.
Partial Ridgeline Exploration
Another option, if you have additional time, energy, water and food, would be to begin
ascending The Wilson Ridge toward Harris Mountain, then at some mid-point, descend into
Lovell Canyon and return to your start/end point by way of
The Lovell Canyon Trail.
It helps to learn the wilderness to such an extent that wherever you explore you are always aware of multiple alternate early escape routes back to your start point.
At any rate, once on
The Wilson Ridge South High Point, congratulate yourself in having achieved a remarkable, little-known wilderness summit as high in elevation (8,500ft) as
La Madre Mountain!
