Hike Highland Peak and Central Highland Range Highland Range BLM, NV

Dec 03, 2020 — The Highland Range is a small range south of Las Vegas that is more known for its Castle Tower summit, a scarier endeavor which I did a few months later with a friend. For this route, I wanted to check out some of the peaks in the central part of the range to get a sense of the area for a quick trip out of Vegas. The road was surprisngly good, 2WD likely able to get within a couple of miles to where I parked. Mid-clearance can make it to my start point. Turn off here: 35.65449, -115.00494 and follow that dirt road to where I parked. Better vehicles can go farther, but the road gets tight and rough, so I was content to walk. I headed southwest to the mouth of a canyon that looked interesting on a map and was actually what inspired this route. Once within the canyon, I stuck to the dry watercourse to avoid brush and only found myself having to duck to avoid desert unpleasantness. The canyon was a little less interesting than anticipated, but there were some nice rock formations high up.

Once near the head of this canyon, I encountered some very loose terrain to avoid a dryfall, and soon found myself at a saddle. Here there was an artificial water catchment for wildlife with an old dirt road leading to it, unexpected human stuff way out here. I could see Highland Peak to the southeast, and the ridgeline that would lead to Highland Juniper Peak to the south west. First I'd head up to Sleeping Indian Peak, which was protected by cliffs on my right. I dropped a few feet down and around the cliffs on pleasant terrain and located a brushy gully that I ascended to gain the south ridge of Sleeping Indian Peak. The ridge had some rock outroppings that can pretty much all be avoided on the right, though a cliff exists directly along the ridgeline that prevents easy access to the summit. I wrapped around the right side until I could locate a Class 2 option to get to the north side of the peak and then reach the summit.

I backtracked and headed south along the ridge, Highland Juniper Peak next on my list. Getting to it required some minor side-hilling just to the right of the ridge crest on burro trails to avoid staying directly along the ridge and its unnecessary high points. The southeast slope leading to the summit had a bit of brush, but wasn't too unpleasant. However, the summit of Highland Juniper Peak was significantly more work than I thought it woud be. I started by wrapping around the entirety of the peak in search of a Class 2 route, but found none. I sampled the loose Class 3/4/5 options and gave up on all attempts. I returned to the east face where I had come up to its base and located a Class 3 30-foot weakness. It was fine, though still a bit loose and blocky.

I backtracked along the side-hill I approached from between Sleeping Indian and Highland Juniper, and dropped off the east side onto the loose slope, descending to the base of Highland Peak. I crossed the dirt road that led to the previously mentioned artificial water catchment to the north, then continued up a Class 2 drainage to the north ridge of Highland Peak. Once here I got concerned about the severe-looking cliff band that seemed to block access to the summit. I approached the cliff band with the hopes of finding a weakness. I couldn't see one until I was pretty much directly next to the cliff: a hidden Class 3 ramp. This lovely feature brought me up to a Class 2 slope and then to the summit. I then backtracked to the dirt road and followed it to the artificial water catchment, taking my approach canyon back to my car.