When Dinah and I first visited Lake Mead National Recreation Area, we thought Muddy Peak was the highest mountain in the area and we had our sights set on ascending it. Only later did we realize that an adjacent peak, Muddy Mountain, is actually higher even though it isn't named on the map. Joining us were Shin and his friend Adrienne.

With Shin navigating, I drove up the winding 4x4 roads to the trailhead. A couple of times deep sand threatened to immobilize our Ford Escape rental, but we made it to our starting point. Then the four of us set out for Muddy Mountain. Shin led us up Lovell Wash, along desert flats and then through Lovell Canyon. The latter was especially cold and windy, and seemed to take a long time; we were hampered by the soft gravel underfoot in the canyon. We were thankful to ascend out of the canyon – some enjoyable, easy scrambling here – onto the grassy saddle north of the summit where it was warmer and less windy. Shin had set a fast pace so that we reached the summit in about 3.5 hours.

The vistas from the top of Muddy Mountain surpassed many that I've seen from other desert summits. Even Shin, an avid climber of numerous peaks, was surprised and said it was among the best summit views he's seen. After spending half an hour on the summit, we headed back the same way we came up. The plod back seemed interminable, but Dinah and I were soon talking about returning to ascend Muddy Peak.

Shin's Photos
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