Saturday my buddy and I hiked up 2,000 ft in 4 miles to within 3 miles of Mt. Charleston, outside 'Vegas and camped in the meadows near the trail. It was a dry camp W/ all water hauled in by us. Light gear was the order of the day and my Contrail was in the pack.

Today we climbed Charleston. It's 11,930 ft. and the tallest moutain in S. Nevada, third tallest in the state, a state with 46 mountain ranges!

With the flint-like scree we constantly encountered, both on the trail and on the mountain I found my Danner mid-weight hiking boots were just perfect, giving me the protection I needed. My buddy Jack had light hikers and did have a few problems with rocks punishing him through his shoes but he felt the lighter weight was worth it. To each his own.

Nearing the summit we were forced to put on wind gear. I had a PacLite GTX parka which
worked fine, as well as in the rain the first day.

I'd say the fact that both of us had fully synthetic clothes helped with drying quickly on Saturday and being fairly wind resistant on the mountain Sunday. It was 40 F and windy on the mountain but 108 and calm in Las Vegas today. What a difference.

One item I liked a lot was my REI Flash summit pack/stuffsack. Just big enough for essentials and light enough to use as a stuff sack. I hid my backpack near the campsite and used the Flash for summiting.

I realized was that I REALLY needed to scrutinize my equipment more closely. I had some redundant items that will not go along next time I'm peak bagging. Hauling that stuff up 2,000 ft. and 50+ switchbacks in 4 miles (before even getting to base camp)is a reminder to go over items with a fine tooth comb - and a postal scale.

Eric