Hike Petroglyph Canyon, Mount Sutor, Canine Crag, Ecru Peak Loop Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area, NV

Jan 17, 2020 — Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area has a nice trail system, Petroglyph Canyon being one of the more popular spots. This route summits a few little peaks, most just locally named: Mount Sutor (aka Sutor Benchmark), Canine Crag, Feline Fang, Ecru Peak (aka Silvar Dollar Peak), Mystic Mountain, and High Topper Mountain.

The trail heads south from the trailhead through the desert for a bit before entering the wash to the east, Petroglyph Canyon. I continued along this trail/wash, a couple of Class 2/3 dryfall obstacles keeping it interesting. At the top of the biggest dryfall along the trail, I got to check out some of the petroglyphs for which the canyon is named. Along the way I passed two forks, keeping left at each. The second fork left the official trail. On another day, I ran the official trail and it's really pretty. It leads southwest to the west side of Feline Fang and cna serve as a good alternative descent if you're not thrilled about completing the whole loop.

Once the wash I took that departed from the main trail started opening up a bit, I left the drainage and headed southeast to Mount Sutor on a Class 2 volcanic rocky slope. The summit had some nice views toward the rest of my proposed route, so I excitedly continued on without a break, heading down the steep west slope of Mt. Sutor. At the bottom of the progressively mellowing slope, I encountered a small section of some interesting badlands, where fun rock formations served as a tiny maze to get to the base of my next objective, Canine Crag.

I decided to keep to the south side of Canine Crag, where I scrambled a short section of Class 3 to gain the summit, then headed off the north side on more light Class 3 down to the saddle of Canine Crag and Feline Fang. The latter ended up being best approached from the north, another short Class 3 move to gain the summit. I continued west from Feline Fang. I passed over the aforementioned official trail that leads back into Petroglyph Canyon, but I didn't take it, instead continuing to my next peaks. A social trail continued toward Ecru Peak. I left this social trail to stay along the ridge crest, where a short Class 2/3 knife edge led me to a small bump before the peak. Ecru Peak is also called Silver Dollar Peak by some. I continued along the ridge and dropped north into a minor drainage, which brought me to the base of Mystic Mountain.

The biggest bit of vertical gain for the day was the slope up to Mystic Mountain. Within the summit registry was also a geocache with mystic-themed stuff (tarot cards, etc.). I continued east and up to Big Topper Peak, a minor bump that I did to add some more gain in for the day. I headed north down its slope and met back up with the Petroglyph Canyon Trail.