Taking the Charleston Peak South Trail to get to Charleston Peak takes you right past the trail to Griffith Peak. As they say, go big or go home! We decided to hike both peaks in the same day. We hit the trail around 6:00 AM with temperatures in the 70-degree range and a slight chilly breeze. We started off wearing jackets, but those quickly came off as the elevation gain starts to pick up quickly ahead of the switchbacks. The sun started to peak over the mountains shortly after beginning our hike which gave us some beautiful views and pictures. The majority of the elevation gain was over roughly the first 4.5 miles. Elevation increased about 3000 feet. Most of this gain was during the switchbacks heading up to the mountain ridge where there is a fork in the trail to go to Griffith or Charleston. We decided to hit Griffith first and finished our ascent about 2 hours and 35 minutes after starting and 5.19 miles in. Form the Summit we had wonderful views of Mummy Mountain, Fletcher, Charleston, the Las Vegas Valley, and Pahrump. We rested about 17 minutes, ate some snacks and continued on to Charleston Peak. More details in Part 2 of this trip.
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Responses
Congratulations! I did those two (Griffith and Charleston) in one hike last year and can relate. That’s a LONG day!