Trip report
Feb 10, 2026 — Spanning north to south between the popular Fortification Hill hike, and the extended Mount Wilson’s ridgeline lies a minor summit called Fortification Ridge. I parked at the wilderness boundary after following the graded Kingman Wash Road, and then Fortification Hill Road.
The hike began by following the upper reaches of Kingman Wash, a sandy walk up to a low saddle that’s roughly the same altitude as the high point of Fortification Ridge. The tip of the peak came into view, and the Muddy Mountains were clear in the distance. From here I continued down toward its southern base, dropping a few hundred feet through another sandy wash that I would need to regain on the way back.
I left this drainage when it dropped me by by the south end of Fortification Ridge, and I headed up and over a couple of bumps and a minor drainage until I felt it made sense to head up the ridgeline proper. What followed was a mellow and less than 2 mile hike to the high point with some light elevation gain. I found it pretty cool how the washes on either side of the ridgeline progressively fell away while I was hiking at a such a gradual and mild ascent grade. There was even a faint animal trail for much of the crest which aided in wrapping around a bunch of unnecessary lumps. There are a couple of steeper and/or rockier sections, but they are short-lived and arguably don’t even qualify as Class 2.
The summit views of Lake Mead are immense, and I could make out all the little peaklets found on Lake Mead’s northern shore.