Moapa Peak, with its knife-edged summit approach, has always
intrigued Kent. He’s known for a long
time, that his fear of heights would make this peak unattainable –
yet it hasn’t stopped him from being curious about this magnificent desert
peak.
When Tom suggested we give it a go, we told him we had no
intentions of doing the knife-edge, but we would watch Lola while he gave it a
shot. Shortly after we began the hike,
we met Candace - another Peakbagger - from Las Vegas, and we all began the
ascent together. About halfway up the
Peak a walled section was reached that had to be negotiated in order to
continue on upwards. Not wanting to
jeopardize Lola (or ourselves!), we decided to descend with her while Tom and
Candace completed the hike.
Our decision allowed us to get more acquainted with Lola,
and Tom and Candace were able to make it to the top. They found the knife-edge too precarious,
with its exposure, and decided to summit another peak to the east. What an interesting day with all its twist
and turns!
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| We left home in the dark . . . Later we witnessed this beautiful sunrise |
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| Here's a nice shot of Moapa Peak (6,471) with a Joshua Tree in the early morning light |
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| Mormon Mountains Wilderness of Nevada . . . it's all new to us! It was only eight miles to the trailhead from the Interstate . . . But took nearly an hour to travel the rocky and dippy road! |
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| There is only a "social" trail, marked by a few cairns, leading up Moapa Peak You will gain 3,300' in just 3.5 miles . . . most of which comes in the last 2 miles! We start by following this wash for the first 1.5 miles . . . it leads to a high saddle |
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| There were more rocks than trees on this hike! |
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| Some of the rocks were growing! |
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| Others had interesting rocks protruding through the surface |
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| We gained quite a bit of elevation giving us nice views of the valley below (We are at the high saddle looking back down the wash where we started) |
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| Colorful California Barrel Cacti (Looking down the other side of the saddle) |
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| What an intricate design! |
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| Things were starting to look "interesting" as we progressed up the saddle . . . Tom and Lola are up ahead looking for a route through the ledges . . . hmmm |
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| We made the decision to turn back with Lola We figured we could get her up the ledges, but coming back down might be problematic! |
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| Tom and Candace continued "picking" their way up the Peak |
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| Soon Tom will disappear from our sight . . . hope we see him again! (Parts of the ledges looked kind of spooky, although no ropes were necessary) |
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| Lola kept looking for Tom . . . After a while we were able to take her off the leash and she lead us back down the Peak |
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| A Mylar balloon! Where did it come from? . . . Probably somewhere in Nevada or possibly California |
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| We are just about back to the Trailhead We made it almost to the left skyline ridge, above the Yucca tree For us the hike was about five miles (r/t) with 1,700' elevation gain . . . not too bad! |
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| Lola still isn't sure what's going on, but she does like car rides! Don't worry, Lola, Tom will pick you up soon! |
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| This is the famed "Knife Edge" In order to complete and bag the summit you must traverse 300' of ridgeline . . . at times it is only a foot or so wide! |
So you think no big deal, right? If you dare, watch this three minute video . . .then tell me Tom & Candace didn't make the right call!
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| Here's a look at where we started the hike . . . What a desolate and lonely place! Moapa Peak is truly a desert classic peak! |
