It's 4:15pm I'm sitting in bumper to bumper traffic on the I-15 leaving work from the Las Vegas strip. I've just spent a day in 112 degree heat dealing with intoxicated patrons which come to Vegas to partake in any type of debauchery that they can possibly render up in the short time they will spend here. Somehow despite all of the above I find myself sporting a smile that resembles that of a child that just opened his Red Ryder BB gun on Christmas, knowing that in an hour I will have left all of this behind and escaped to the mountains that I am staring at in the distance....

I arrive at home, find my wife Jenni loading up the Rogue rigs and we meet up with Nick and Vicki. As we drive up the mountain the temperatures begin to drop, the scent of pine and firewood takes over the cabin of the vehicle and you begin to feel the daily stresses of life slip away. As overlanders being on the road exploring new places together is obviously what would we prefer to be doing all the time, but work and life can sometimes hinder that. Having this escape at our disposal after a day of work is amazing and helps us deal with the downtime in between our trips. The Spring Mountains know more commonly as Mt. Charleston to Las Vegans is the area that we so often visit. There are multiple well known hiking trails to choose from however the Trail Canyon hike up along the North Loop is one of my personal favorites. You find yourself on a steep ascent for the first 2 miles which will then level out and take you on the portion of the North Loop trail leading to Raintree, the famed 3000 year old tree. Along this portion of the trail it levels out and gives you breathtaking views of the spring mountains as well as the Charleston summit coming in at a boasting 11,914 feet. After a day at work watching the sunset from the trail amidst the tall overhead pines in near perfect weather is something that is hard to describe with words. Once you reach Raintree you can relax and enjoy a pack dinner with friends, or continue slightly further up to Mummy Springs where a year round mountain spring runs. You can hike back down the route you came almost completely under the guidance of the moon and begin to see the night skies fill with stars not being drown out the city lights...this is bliss.

I hope that if you do live in the Las Vegas area and have never been up to this area you will make and effort to get up and experience it. If you are visiting the Vegas area please feel free to contact us and we would be excited to show you our backyard. The goal if this blog was not to only show you a way to escape the Vegas heat, but to also remind you that no matter what curve ball's your day to day life throw at you make an effort to get out and explore this beautiful world we live in and experience the bliss that follows. Be. Live. Explore. -Rogue Overland

-Andrew

Summer in Vegas : Escaping the Scorch