I've developed a tradition of hiking Mt Charleston on one of the hottest days every year. I try go for a run every other day or so, but when the temperatures start refusing to go below 90F even in the middle of the night, I start taking long streaks of days off. To make up for it, I head for Charleston, figuring a 6 hour hike can make up for the slacking.

The first couple of times I tried to hike Charleston when the temperature in Vegas was over 110F I turned around because of the cold. Roasting down in the Vegas valley, it's hard to imagine needing any sort of jacket, but the unrelenting wind near the summit combines with temperatures that can be in the 50's or 60's to make a jacket mandatory. This time I had two light jackets packed as I started out around 3pm in sweltering 85F heat, although I ended up only briefly wearing the lighter one as this time the air near the summit was surprisingly still and warm.

Summit Post suggests people doing the loop usually go up the South Loop and down the North Loop and Trail Canyon. I wanted to do the opposite since I thought the sun angles would be more photogenic and I prefer going up the (slightly) more gradual grade of Trail Canyon. Summit Post also suggests starting out "very early", but not being a morning person, I ignored that advice as well.

Doing the whole loop also requires going from South Loop trailhead to the Trail Canyon trailhead or vice versa. I wanted to get that out of the way early rather than leave it to the end, so I parked at the South Loop trailhead but followed a different trail that seemed to head towards the Trail Canyon trailhead. It quickly turned the wrong direction, but a short bit of cross country hiking got me to the Trail Canyon trailhead parking lot.

To be honest, Mt Charleston is one of my least favorite Vegas area hikes. The view from the summit is largely blocked by its long, high ridges and nearby mountains yet it's high enough to usually be bitterly cold and super windy. Still, it's a fun challenge and the long stretches of trail along the ridges have great views of Charleston itself.