Charleston Peak

15-Jun-63

By: Abe Siemens

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At 7:30 A.M. Saturday, seven climbers left 8600-foot Kyle Campground in ideal weather and began the nine mile trek to the summit of 11,918-foot Charleston Peak. Our route followed a well maintained trail, the last few miles of which followed a ridge from which we viewed both Lake Mead, 45 miles to the southeast, and desert basins to the west. The two members of our group who carried rucksacks decided to camp at the 11,000-foot level. The rest of us continued on to the peak. Before we reached the summit, however, we stopped to poke among the charred remains of a four engined aircraft which had crashed at the 11,500-foot level years ago.

After enjoying the views from the summit, we began our return to camp via the spectacular North Loop Trail. The northern face of Charleston is truly spectacular and the trail afforded us commanding views almost until we reached camp. The considerable amount of snow on the north wall resulted in occasional waterfalls and patches of snow along the trail. As we returned to camp at twilight, we concluded that someday we would return.


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