Trip Date: March 27, 2024
2024 RED ROCK ADVENTURE VACATION
Mt. Wilson Day Climb
First Creek Canyon
Southwest Wilson Saddle
Mount Wilson (7070 ft)
Trip Report Summary
Region: Nevada
Sub-Region: Spring Mountains
Sub-Sub-Region: Sandstone Bluffs
Areas: Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area & Rainbow Mountain Wilderness
Starting & Ending Point: First Creek Canyon Trailhead on Highway 159 (Elev. 3650 feet)
Way Points: First Creek Spring & First Creek lower crossing & First Creek Canyon fork & pine grotto & trail turn & Southwest Wilson Saddle & pine cleft & false summit & Mt. Wilson summit (trail hike & rock scramble)
Summit: Mt. Wilson (trail hike & rock scramble via Southwest Ridge—South Face)
Approximate Stats: 8.0 miles traveled; 3700 feet gained & lost; 6.5 hours up; 5.2 hours down.
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Full Trip Report
Mt. Wilson is not only the highest peak in the Sandstone Bluffs that tower above Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area but also the most massive when viewed from any point in the basin. These attributes, combined with the fact that it is widely known to be one of the most difficult “hikes” at Red Rock, make it a particularly irresistible summit objective. I use the term “hikes” loosely because the standard approach via First Creek Canyon involves a LOT of scrambling and bouldering. In fact, the most difficult part of the total ascent is, by far, the canyon approach; once you are out of the canyon, the mountain becomes surprisingly benign.
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Eileen and I began our climb at the First Creek Canyon Trailhead on an unexpectedly cold (35°F) morning. Mt. Wilson’s daunting east face was bathed with golden light as we hiked up the wide, gravelly trail past First Creek Spring. Gradually, the formal trail became a primitive trail that undulated and angled rightward into the canyon invert, where we made our first of many creek crossings (1.5 hours + 600 feet from TH). None of the crossings involved more than a short jump or easy rock-hop, and within another month or two, the creek will likely be dry.
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For the next mile, we followed the primitive trail on a tortuous course through the canyon, using footprints, stone ducks, small cairns, and cut limbs as navigation aids. The marked route weaves back and forth, sometimes traveling above the invert and sometimes going straight up the stream bed. Forward progress requires constant vigilance and continual scrambling over large boulders. The scrambling never exceeds Class 3 difficulty, but it does require many strenuous or awkward moves.
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At an elevation of about 4700 feet, we reached a fork in the canyon. We continued up the right-hand branch, traversing across some moderately angled slabs and generally aiming for a series of ponderosa pine trees that were visible ahead.
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Along the way, we got off-route and had to use our 10-meter scramble rope in order to surmount a tricky rock step. This was followed by a short bushwhack through dense vegetation before we were able to regain the trail. Once back on-route, we kept scrambling up the canyon invert past a remarkably large and twisted ponderosa pine that grows in a shady grotto (4.3 hours + 1500 feet from TH).
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After several hours of frustratingly slow progress, we came to a point where the trail climbs steeply rightward out of the canyon invert. A bit farther up, it makes another right-hand turn and begins a rising northeasterly traverse across an open slope of scree and talus. We were very happy to finally leave the canyon behind, as our traverse took us to a 6450-foot saddle on Mt. Wilson’s southwest ridge (5.8 hours + 2850 feet).
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From the Southwest Wilson Saddle, a vague trail heads northeasterly up the rounded crest and then cuts across the southern flank. This trail eventually fades away on rock slabs, but the route is marked with an ample number of ducks and cairns.
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High on the mountain, the route makes a rightward jog through a hidden cleft filled with pine trees before going up another low-angle slab that leads to a false summit. The true summit was visible 150 yards away, across a low gap. We hiked across the gap and finished our ascent with a short scramble to the true summit in early afternoon (6.5 hours + 3550 feet from TH)
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The weather was mild, calm, and clear, so we were able to enjoy a long lunch on the summit. As expected, Mt. Wilson provides a marvelous view of Red Rock Basin, more than 3000 feet below the precipitous east face. The sprawling city of Las Vegas stretched out to our northeast, and the snowy crown of Charleston Peak was visible 17 miles to our northwest.
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The summit register showed that Mt. Wilson gets a few ascent parties per week. Surprisingly, two solo climbers preceded us today via two different routes. One of these soloists was none other than 78-year-old Jim Egan, a legendary Vegas outdoorsman who has racked up more than 100 climbs of Mt. Wilson!
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During our descent, it was much easier to stay on-route down the southwest ridge and back through First Creek Canyon, largely because the trail segments and the various stone markers are far more visible from above. We were happily able to avoid any bushwhacking or ropework. However, the canyon seemed longer and the scrambling felt more tedious than it had during our ascent.
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When finally out of the canyon, we hurried across the desert slope and arrived at the trailhead shortly before sundown (5.2 hours + 150 feet from summit). Mt. Wilson had served us with a fabulous 12-hour adventure that we won’t forget—or repeat—anytime soon!
Route Map & Profile
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Photo Gallery
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