Mummy’s Chin Summit Ridge Loop | Mt Charleston Wilderness, Nevada

Mummy’s Chin Summit Ridge Loop | Mt Charleston Wilderness, Nevada | Visit lasvegasareatr... | Visit this wild, rock alpine ridge with offering unique, spectacular views. Here, on the ridgeline saddle (10,800ft elevation) you’re standing between Mummy’s Chin (11,040ft elevation) to the East and Mummy’s Forehead (11,043ft elevation) to the West. Both appear so close you can almost touch them! To the Northeast is the Sheep Range, Las Vegas Valley and the Strip. To the Southwest...nearly immediately below, Lee Canyon and the entire Southern stretch of the Spring Mountains. Charleston and Lee Peaks appear to the East. There’s much more on this little-known route! The Adventure Route
This streamlined route begins at the Catch Pen Loop Trailhead on Deer Creek Road. From there, cross Deer Creek Road to ascend the Eastern Ridgeline of Seven-Mile Canyon to 9,400ft elevation. Skirt the Eastern base of the Mummy’s Nose Cliffs on that 9,400ft glide path, arriving in the Mummy’s Forehead Summit Approach Gully still at 9,400ft. Then, ascend the gully to 10,700ft and traverse to your left across an intervening slope to arrive on Mummy’s Chin Summit Ridgeline Saddle (10,800ft). Then descend the summit approach gully to 9,800ft to ascend the steep slope to the West (left) to the Lee Canyon approach saddle (10,300ft). Now descend the steep slope to Lee Canyon Road, finally ascend Deer Creek Road to your starting point at the Catch Pen Loop Trailhead where you began!
Along the way you’ll make a complete loop of Mummy’s Nose as you experience the seldom visited Mummy’s Head area. The route between Deer Creek Road and Mummy’s Chin is well documented in this video. Check out the Mummy’s Nose video for the route down into Lee Canyon: lasvegasareatr...
Mummy’s Chin Summit Ridge
The main adventure up to Mummy’s Chin Summit Ridge is well worth the time and effort. On that ridge you’re in a rocky paradise between Mummy’s Chin and Forehead. Up there, the ancient bristlecone pines, among the oldest living things on the planet, can be up to and beyond 3,000 years old! The rocky heights to the summits on either side are inviting…ready for a future exploration. Most of the slopes are very steep, and you’ll want to have good hiking boots and trekking poles. I find the best weather is when the sky is entirely clear and the temperature in the Las Vegas Valley is in the upper 90s or higher.
The route from Deer Creek Road is faster and more streamlined than the route from Lee Canyon Road. Your gradual ascent at a class 2 walk the entire way will conserve energy and time, leaving more time and energy to explore the wondrous heights of Mummy’s Chin Summit Ridge. A mid-Summer day with its extended daylight hours should give you enough time to see everything. I made the entire loop in daylight the second week of October. You probably will be doing a quicker out-and-back adventure from Deer Creek Road to Mummy’s Chin Summit Ridge and back.
Discovery by Experimentation
Having traversed over 30,000 miles of wilderness terrain over the past years, nearly all without GPS or compass, I’ve reached a point where I can re-adjust course on the fly, opening up new discoveries along the way. In this case, I had planned to return to the Deer Creek Road Catch Pen Loop Trailhead by the same route as the approach. However, at 10,800ft on the way down the Mummy’s Forehead Summit Approach Gully, I forgot to adjust for the fact that my altimeter watch read 400ft higher than the actual elevation! So, I ascended the slope above the gully too soon! About half-way up the slope, I realized my mistake, but at the same time noted that I was approaching the Lee Canyon Saddle. Now, fascinated that I was traversing a slope that crossed the route toward Mummy’s Forehead from Lee Canyon, I decided to play along with this route deviation in order to connect the dots between the Deer Creek Road route and the Lee Canyon Road route.
So, I ascended the steep slope all the way to the Lee Canyon approach saddle, then descended the equally steep slope down to Lee Canyon Road. This turned the adventure into a huge loop completely circling Mummy’s Nose!
Have you ever purposely gotten lost in the streets of a new city in order to really understand the lay of the land? It works the same in the wilderness, as long as you’re well equipped and in physical condition for a longer adventure and have a strategy for navigating an unknown wilderness area. I navigate by feel and by reference points both near and far. It’s important for me to navigate the wilderness during daylight hours on a clear day. It’s a fun act of discovery, always filled with surprising new wonders!

[@JohnnyBushwhacker-yv6bc]

Wow!! Those are some great views!!!!

[@lasvegasareatrails]

I was amazed when I hit that upper ridge. Wish you'd have been there. We would have made both summits!