Whew. Yesterday me and a couple of friends hiked to the top of Mount Charleston (a little ways outside of Vegas, it's the tallest nearby mountain). It's a trail hike of around 18 miles round-trip; it took us a little less than 6 hours to make it to the peak, and another 5 hours to make it back down. The elevation at the peak is a little bit less than 12,000 feet above sea level. According to GPS our total ascent was over 1 mile, but I think that includes all the ups+downs. I think our actual total climb from the bottom of the trailer was more like 4000-4500 feet. This was my first hike at high elevation and while it was strenuous, it didn't affect me like some of the others in my group who became lightheaded and nearly passed out. So, today, I can barely walk. My legs are so freaking sore my knees won't bend on their own. To get in and out of cars, I have to use my arms to lift my legs in and out. Mission accomplished We got some AMAZING photos. As soon as we get them combined from all different cameras, I'll post some of them up here. Anyone else made it to the peaks of any mountains? I have to admit it was a pretty good feeling to sign the summit log at the top; this may not be the last mountain that I conquer.
sounds fun! where I live there is only beach to walk on.. wish we had some cool hiking trails. im going to vegas in Febuary for the CHAMPS glass show and small vacation.. maybe ill go hiking then.. If im not smokin the whole time
That's awesome, man. I love to hike and though it's relatively flat around here we've got a lot of sweet trails and national parks through gorges and past waterfalls. Hiking is addictive, especially with a couple close pals! Check out rock climbing for a real challenge.
Ive climbed 13 high peaks in the adirondack moutains. I went to jackson hole wyoming an climbed mount rendevous and avalanche peak. In new mexico i xlimbed mount baldy.
Summitted quite a few over in rocky mountain national park. It's an incredible feeling being above the clouds. Nothing compares to standing up there and seeing for MILES in every direction. Makes you just realize how beautiful nature really is.
I climbed the 2nd highest mountain in the contiguous states, Mt Elbert (14,440ft) in April. 4 of us set out, but only me and a buddy made it to the summit. There was also a steady snowstorm above the treeline (no dangerous winds). The last 800 feet or so were spent hiking 20 yards, then stopping for a breather, and then proceeded. It was really really tough. Not to mention it was the very first mountain I had ever climbed. EDIT: Just posted my own thread on this sub-forum. Go check it out! I got some sweet pics up.
Haha yeah it is easy in Vegas to never make it off the Strip, but if you do make it hiking I would recommend Red Rock Canyon. By February, Mount Charleston will probably be too snow-covered for the trails to be very safe. There were already a couple of places that were covered in ice/snow/slush that were a little sketchy. Haha I don't have nearly the upper body strength for rock climbing. One day, though, for sure. I've been doing lots of pushups and a bit of weight lifting so progress is being made. Haha well my ankles would still move, it was my knees that were unable to lift up my feet. Nice!! I've been outdone. I don't even have the damn pictures from my friends yet haha Yeah that was not too different from our last leg of the climb. It got very steep, and very windy up near the peak. We had to take a lot of breaks and my friend thought he wouldn't make it. Luckily he is stubborn and won't let me go farther than him, so he didn't quit.
I did my first mountain this past summer, a 4000 footer I did on a whim solo. I had an absolute blast. When I got to the summit, I drank 3 beers and vaped a trench, and hung out for about an hour just enjoying the view and fresh air. The walk back down was so much more strenuous on my quads, oh the burning... Congrats on your first summit. I'm hoping to do one or two more before winter arrives.
i've never hiked any true mountains.. it's all bluffs around here.. no where could you climb 1000'+ that I'm aware of.. I'd love to say that I have though
Finally got the pics! Unfortunately Photobucket shrinks them so the panoramic shots lose their impact. This one was an hour or two into the hike, right in the center of the picture you can see the "Old Town" in the bottom of the valley These next three pictures are from the peak: This picture is of a 50+ year-old plane crash. A secret plane was on the way to Area 51, got blown off course, and crashed into the side of the mountain. It's actually the CIA's most deadly incident ever.
Haha nahhh. Not my style. I don't collect. I don't have clutter or nick nacks or memorabilia. If I picked it up cause it seemed cool, in 6 months i would think, "Why the hell am I holding onto this old piece of trash" and throw it away
The CIA's 'most deadly incident ever?' How many people could have died? Were a few billion people holed up in that plane when it went down? Aids killed 2.3 million in 2005 alone. I'm 90% certain that they were the culprit behind aids. That, and introducing cocaine and heroin to the blacks since, you know, white people think black people like me totally suck. And I'm not even black... Conspiracy-man, AWAY!
In terms of the most CIA agents killed in a single incident. It's actually only 4 CIA agents (14 dead total in the crash). But it sounded much cooler the way I put it
I've hiked Charleston a bunch. Awesome place, even dropped acid for the first time up there. Just recently moved outta Vegas though, living in Colorado now.