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Hike: Pyramid Peak - Up and back Trailhead: Along Highway 190 - unmarkedDistance: 8 miles (up and back)Elevation gain: 3,750 feetElevation peak: 6,703 feet Time: 7 to 9 hoursDifficulty: 5Danger level: 4 (loose rock, excessive heat)Class: 3How easy to follow: 4Children: NoMap: East of Echo Canyon, CA NV See Page 6Fees: NoneWaypoints: (GPS – WGS 84) See Page 5Best Time to Hike: Early Spring – too hot during summer months

Directions: From Las Vegas Blvd. turn west on State Route 160 (Pahrump Highway). When you pass Rainbow

Boulevard, set your odometer to zero. Drive 53 miles passing through the heart of Pahrump and turn left (west)

on Bell Vista Road. (This is known as the shortcut to Death Valley.) Drive 26 miles on Bell Vista Road. At the

stop sign turn right and make a quick left (west) onto the prominently marked West 190. Drive 11.7 miles and

park along the shoulder. (Waypoint 1.) This is about 100 yards west of the second 3,000 foot elevation sign.

Photo 1 is Pyramid Peak.

Overview: The route heads

north across the desert. It

continues north up a drainage

and onto a ridge. It then climbs

a steep slope to the summit

ridge. It now travels NE to the

summit.

Comments: This is one tough

peak. It has the “Moapa look”

as you hike across the desert.

The route has the classic

twists and turns. From the summit you can see Charleston Peak, Whitney, and Death Valley… awesome! Due

to loose rock, I would limit the number of hikers to four. This is not the standard route. This route shortens

the walk across the desert by almost half. Make sure to bring plenty of water. I went through 100 ounces and

Photo 1

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the temperature never exceeded 50 degrees.

It appears the USGS topo map has errors;

however, the GPS waypoints are correct.

Watch where you place your hands; there are

lots of hidden cacti.

The Hike: From the unmarked trailhead walk

north almost two miles across the desert to

the start of a slope (Waypoint 2) that leads

to the saddle in Photo 2 – Waypoint 3. From

the saddle drop down and head north across

the desert to the drainage shown in Photo 3.

Follow the drainage several hundred yards to

an easy class 3 dry fall. (See Photo 4.)

About 100 yards past the dry fall you’ll

come to a steep headwall. Veer right into a

narrow chute (class 3) and climb to the top

(Waypoint 4) where the chute intersects a

ridge. (Watch for loose

rock.) Hike north (class

1/2) on the ridge to a

small headwall. Veer left

and climb (class 2) the

wall as shown in Photo

5. Continue veering west

(left) to avoid loose scree.

Waypoint 5. A ridge forms

to the east (right). From

here to the summit ridge

you’ll parallel this ridge

gaining over 1200 feet in

Photo 2

Photo 3

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less than a half mile. See Photo 6. (Stay about 100 feet

below Waypoint 6 and make sure to hike around a small

shoulder so you do not top out.) Continue up to the

summit ridge by staying on solid rock (class 3) as much

as you can. Go west (left) of a small wall just below

the summit ridge. See Photo 7. At the summit ridge

(Waypoint 7) drop off the north side and traverse about

75 yards to a big drop-off. A cairn and pink ribbon mark

a class 3 downclimb just before the drop-off. You can

see the rest of the route from the drop-off. (See Photo 8.)

Traverse as show in Photo 8 to the summit ridge. Follow

the ridge 0.25 miles to the summit (Waypoint 8.)

The views from the summit are incredible. You

can see Mt. Charleston to the east and Mt. Whitney

to the west. Over 14,000 feet below Mt. Whitney lies

Death Valley, which is also visible from the summit.

Make sure to sign the register.

To Descend: Retrace your steps. After you descend

the downclimb in Photo 5, you have an option to

descend a scree slope to the saddle in Photo 2. From

the downclimb head east and descend an easy class

1 slope to the scree slope. This makes for a much

faster descent. Otherwise continue retracing your

steps.

Photo 4

Photo 5

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Photo 6

Photo 7

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Photo 8

Waypoints:

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