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Sep 28, 2020 — I've mostly wrapped up the peaks in the Spring Mountains, but Clinton Peak and Mount Reagan eluded me until now, mostly because they're accessed through Pahrump, which felt like such a long drive from Las Vegas for such a short hike. Thanks to Harlan Stockman for finding the route up Clinton, and to Jon Avery for bringing these obscure peaks (and specifically the interesting scramble up to Clinton Peak) to my attention. Wallace Canyon Road is in good shape, though a wash somewhere along the drive may shut down 2WD because of the thick gravel. Additionally, there are a few steep spots that my mid-clearance Subaru had no trouble on, but I was happy to not have a smaller vehicle.
Once at the end of Wallace Canyon Road, I noted the steep start to my chosen ascent ridge directly to the south. I ascended, the ridge quite steep for a while before slowly becoming less so, and more wide. Eventually, the ridge turned into a tree-filled slope (no bushwhacking) and climbed steeply yet again to the south. I recommend trying to stay at the highest point on the ridge as possible, heading for the northern cliffs that guard Clinton Peak. The ridge became unclear after some time, just a steep jumble of scree and trees and unpleasantness right up until meeting the cliff base. I don't know the best option for getting to the cliff base since it all looked like nonsense from above, but I made it there and was happy to be off the scree. I traversed the base of the cliff, heading left. I followed the cliff as far as I could before it turned into Class 5 impossible terrain, and backtracked (marked "bad" in blue on the attached map). Assume it will take you a few minutes to find the least treacherous option. I really don't think there's more than one possibility that's Class 4, so choose wisely.
I eventually found a weakness that seemed scarier from below than it ended up being. Still stiff Class 3/3+, I took my time. The crux included a series of 2-inch ledges in a wide dihedral to slowly ascend before reaching a nice easy Class 4 ledge pull onto a big Class 3 slab. I thought perhaps the slab would lead up to the ridgeline and was scared for a moment when I saw the steep options ahead of me, and safer ground just above them. I though that maybe I'd have to descend and try somewhere else, but a wrap-around at the base of the scary cliffs on the left avoided scary stuff and ascended one more Class 3 move on an exposed rock rib before reaching the Clinton Peak ridgeline. I took a deep breath and continued on easy terrain to the summit.
The descent from Clinton Peak to the saddle with Mount Reagan was steep and the limestone slabs were coated with light scree, barely Class 2. I was tempted briefly to make this saddle my descent route after completing Mount Reagan, but later scouting from below made it clear that this would have been a steep and awful mistake. I continued up the tree-dotted steep ridge to Mount Reagan, where I took in the lovely views of Charleston Peak at this rarely-seen angle. I then continued down Mount Reagan's northeast ridge on very steep terrain, but it was mostly just dirt and I made quick progress. The terrain became more tame as it continued along the ridge crest, swapping from steep dirt to rocky outcroppings, which I avoided on the right. As soon as I found a reasonable option to descend from the ridge on the left, I did so. Going down was easy and fast, just steep dirt. I followed a series of low ridges until I found what I thought was the path of least resistance down into the drainage below. I'm not sure if this drainage is the upper portion of Wallace Canyon or just a tributary of Wallace Canyon, but it started off a little bit brushy and tedious with lots of deadfall to navigate. As the canyon began to open up, the going became easier and eventually really pleasant. There was even a hint of a very old road. The drainage brought me back to the car.
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