The Third Time Was a Charm

    
  ( This is the final posting on this subject. You may want to view the three earlier post;
     Climbing Turtlehead Peak,Climbing Down Turtlehead Peak, and Reaching Turtlehead Peak.)

  The third hike to the top of Turtlehead Peak went very well and was uneventful. I had learned from my first two treks to the peak. The only thing new on this occasion was that  I had to hike in several inches of snow on the north slope for the final hundred feet or so. The snow helped me a great deal  in two ways. The snow gave me better traction on the slope to the top than the loose rocks and soil did in the past. During those climbs I slipped more than once because of the loose footing. I just needed  to be careful not to step into a hole hidden by the snow.

                                                                  
 The snow also helped me find my way off the peak and back onto the trail for the descent. On my previous two hikes up Turtlehead Peak I had problems finding this trail. This time I just followed my foot tracks or the tracks of others back to the trail. Near the top the trail disappears and you must just make your own to the peak. If you are not careful it is easy to miss the trail when you climb down off the peak. This is more a nuance than a serious problem, but it can make the climb down more troublesome.
 This was my third trip to the top in about a years time. Being 64 years old I feel I may have pressed my luck far enough. This final hike to the top was physically much easier than the first two because I was in my best condition and the weather was much better. But still I think that is the end of such difficult climbs.  I need to be realistic, I am not a young man any more. Yet during my weekly hikes on the easier trails, I can see the peak staring down on me and I think I hear it calling my name.

                                           
    This is my sketch of Turtlehead Peak done from about 2 3/4 miles away on the Grand Circle Trail. At this point I would be in about the middle of Red Rock Canyon.    

                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Reaching Turtlehead Peak

  ( This is the third post on this subject. To make more sense of this post  you may want to read the post Climbing Turtlehead Peak and the post Climbing Down Turtlehead Peak which were posted in March, 2011.)

  

  What started out to be a hike to test my ability to climb to the the top, turned into a full-fledged assault on the peak. I suspected from the start that it might turn out that way. The weather was cool and sunny, with a little breeze. I was also feeling exceptionally well. The peak was calling my name.

  My intentions were to hike partway up the trail that leads to the peak. I wanted to check if I was in good enough condition to make the full climb to the peak on a future date. I also wanted to check out my hiking boots. For on my first attempt to reach the peak (see Climbing Turtlehead Peak ) I had a great deal of trouble with my shoes hurting my feet during the steep descent. 

                                                                        

   So this time I hiked from the parking lot up the trail for a distance of about one and a half miles. Normally this is as far as I go on this trail before I turn around. Beyond this point the trail becomes much steeper for about another half mile. Then the real climb begins up the very steep side of the peak for about a eight hundred foot ascent to reach the saddle of the mountain. From there about another half mile to reach the very top and end of the peak. From the parking lot to the peak is a two thousand foot climb over the distance of two and a half miles.

   I knew that for me to safely climb to the top, I would need the discipline to stop occasionally to rest and catch my breath. This next half a mile was more than steep enough to both test my condition as well as practice my strategy of resting. It was also steep enough for me test out how well my hiking boots would protect my feet and toes during steep descents. I intended to go only about a half a mile and then turn around.

   Well, I did hike the half a mile up the slope. But once I got to the point where the real serious climbing started, I continued on up the mountainside. I did have to stop several times during this half mile stretch to rest. I found that it was taking about three minutes for my heart to stop pounding and my breathing return to normal. But it didn't seem all that bad and I felt great. Since I was already this far along I might as well try pushing on.

   But this is where the hike became like climbing a flight of stairs. During this eight hundred foot climb, I had to stop often to rest. At times my heart was beating so hard I could hear it. Still it only took about three minutes or so for me to recover. I was very much encouraged by this because it showed I was in much better condition than I anticipated. Several times during this portion of the climb I stopped to take photos of the scene and wild flowers. These stops also served as opportunities to rest as well. The slow pace up the side of the mountain added up to about a hour and a half climb to the saddle of the mountain. But unlike the first time I made this climb, I was not all beat up or exhausted. 

                                                                       

   Once I got to the top of the mountain, I still needed to hike nearly a half mile up the saddle to reach the uppermost point of Turtlehead Peak. The closer I got to the peak the more difficult it became to find and stay on the trail. Finally it vanished altogether. Up to this point the trail from the parking lot to the peak was fairly easy to follow. But it appeared that I was now going to have to blaze my own trail. This was not that great of a problem because the top was within sight. I had to work my way up a steep slope of loose rocks for about a fifty foot climb to the top. But I did, and at last I was on top of the world! Or it felt that way to me anyway.

                                                

   The first time I climbed to the peak I stopped short of reaching the very top by about fifty feet. On that hike I had a very difficult climb (see Climbing Turtlehead post) and felt I didn't have the strength to even do fifty feet more. But this time I reached as high as possible and even signed the log book they keep in a watertight army ammo box on top of the peak. 

                                                                         

   After enjoying the view from the top of the mountain for a couple of hours I started down. Just as my first climb to this mountaintop, I had trouble finding the trail that leads to the descent trail. I knew enough to wander down and in the correct direction until I came across the trail. But in the process I slipped and fell several times on the steep and loose ground under my feet. Also just as the first time, I tore a large hole in the seat of my pants by falling on my butt and sliding down the slope a ways. But I always carry an apron for such emergencies. So I covered my half naked butt and continued down and off the mountain without too much trouble.

   I still found that having to constantly step down during the long descent became very painful to my legs and still bruised my big toes on both feet. However it was nowhere as bad as my first experience with hiking down this steep slope.

   But overall my hike up and and down Turtlehead Peak turned out to be very enjoyable and rewarding. However I don't think this sixty-four year old man can do it again. But as they say; “never say never.” 

                

                                     Here is some video of the scenery from the top of Turtlehead Peak  

                                       

         This is my sketch of Turtlehead Peak done from the base of it. About one mile from the peak. Beyond this point the difficulty of the hike increases.

                                                                        

Climbing Down Turtlehead Peak

( This is the continuation of the post Climbing Turtlehead Peak .
You may want to read that post before reading this one)




There were two reasons my hike to the peak of Turtlehead Peak was difficult. I wasn't in top condition and I really had not yet learned how to find the correct paths on the Red Rock Canyon hiking circuit.
Since I was already beat up and exhausted from the climb, I stayed in my nice overlook near the peak for over two hours. I rested, took photos and ate a small lunch I had packed.




My legs were very sore by the time I had reached this overlook. The long rest didn't help, but made the legs more sore. It also came to my attention that the hiking shoes I were wearing were very bad and had added to my problems by making my feet hurt very badly. Especially my toes. The big toes hurt the most.

During the time I sit on a large rock taking in the view, I would occasionally look up at the uppermost part of the peak, still about thirty or fifty feet above me. I still wanted to reach the final point, but I knew I didn't have it in me this time. As soon as I started down the slope to try and find the path back to the decent path, I knew I was in for a very hard downhill trip.
My feet hurt so bad, as well as my legs. Each step downward jarred my very sore legs and my feet would slide forward in my poor fitting shoes; jamming my big toes into the front end of the shoe. This trip back off the mountain was going to be a non-ending mile and half trip in which every single step would be a downward step.
At one point my hurting legs gave way and I began to quickly stumble down the steep incline toward the edge of the mountain. To stop myself I just fell to the ground. Right on top of a thorny cactus. I had to pick the thorns out of my hands and chest before I could continue.
The path back toward the decent was not clear. I wandered in the general direction never finding the actual path until I noticed a young woman hiker about twenty feet below me. She noticed me and asked directions to the peak. In return I asked her if she was on the path.
It turned out she was and I worked my way down until I found it. She continued toward the
area of the peak where I had just come from and I continued to walk back toward the area where I hoped to find the trail to the bottom.




My going was very slow because my legs and feet were hurting me so badly. I was still unsure of the best way back to the decent path. After a few minutes the young woman caught back up with me. She had decided she didn't want to hike all the way to the peak. With her help I found the correct path back down the mountain.
She soon disappeared down the trail because I was not able to keep up her pace. The 800 plus foot decent to the bottom of the peak was very steep. Each step down felt like someone was banging on my toes with a sledgehammer. Every downward step caused my legs to beg me to stop. I got to the point where I could not take the pain any more. So I would sit down on the rocks and ground to slide down the trail as if it was a sliding board. By the time I reached the end of the worst part of the decent, the seat of my pants were gone. I adjusted my long shirt tails and fanny-pack to try and hide the gaping holes.
But reaching the end of the decent off the peak didn't end my misery. I still had over a mile of downhill hiking before me before I reached the parking lot. On a normal day I would welcome a walk downhill. But because of my sore legs and bad shoes, each downward step just caused more pain. It took me about two hours to cover the distance back to my truck. Normally it would take an hour.
Needless to say, I was overjoyed to reach my truck and head home. As a result of my injuries from the hike I lost both big toe toenails. I wasn't able to hike for over a month. I still have the scares on my legs and arms from five months ago.
Yet believe it or not, I really enjoyed the hike. At the time I said there will be no rematch. But that now brings me to the present. I have plans to again climb to the top of Turtlehead Peak.
Over the last five months I have been exercising and working out and I am now in much better condition than I was five months ago. I plan next week to made some test hikes to the foot of the mountain and over a period of time test myself by hiking up the difficult part a short distance.
If all goes well and I feel well after doing this a few times, I plan make the climb again. Only this time I plan to reach the very top.
So please check back later over the next few weeks to see what happens.

(Read the post Reaching Turtlehead Peak posted in April to see what happened.)

Climbing Turtlehead Peak

Turtlehead Peak is a mountain peak in the Red Rock National Conservation area near Las Vegas, Nevada. Its overall elevation above sea-level is about 6,323 feet. The Las Vegas area is about 2,000 feet above sea-level and the Red Rock Canyon base is about 4,000 feet above sea-level. So that equals out to be about a 2,000 foot climb from the canyon base to the peak of Turtlehead. That puts the peak about 4,000 feet above the Las Vegas valley, which can be seen in its entirety from the peak.


Five months ago I climbed to the peak for the first time. At that time I was sixty-three years old and not really in good enough condition to make such a difficult hike. I hiked about a mile to the foot of the mountain peak. My intention was to go no further. But the temptation was too much for me to resist. The next thing I knew I was beginning that very steep last 800 plus foot climb to the top of the mountain.



However not only was I not in condition for this hike, but I also didn't know what I was doing as far as which path to use to make the ascent. To make a long story short, I ended up scrambling up and over rocks for the first few hundred feet of the climb before I noticed there was a more
hiker friendly path across the hollow from where I was climbing.
During this period I really beat up my body by cutting up my legs and arms as I scrambled up the rocks on the mountain side. Not to mention tiring myself out to near exhaustion. I finally worked my way across the hollow to a recognizable path. Doing that turned out at this point to be another ordeal. To make things worse, after I got to the top of the mountain I found I was still about a half mile from the peak
By this time it had occurred to me that this was a bad idea. However since I was on the mountain's saddle already, I decided to push on till I reached the peak. The path was not not clear from this point. But it was obvious which direction to travel. I continued until I finally came to within about fifty feet of reaching the actual peak. Here I found a very good spot to enjoy the view of the Las Vegas Valley as well as the view of the Red Rock Canyon. It was also at this point I begin to have chest pains . I wanted to reach the very highest part of the peak, but decided I had already over done it and it was now time to enjoy the view and go into survival mode. I took some aspirin for the pain, set down to rest and enjoyed the view.

For the rest of this story please read the next post Climbing Down Turtlehead Peak