
Starting along the Mouse's Tank Trail.

One of many petrogylphs within Petroglyph Canyon.

Within Petroglyph Canyon.

Mouse's Tank. Bypass on the left.

Mouse's Tank bypass, leading down into the wash below. Mouse's Tank Peak is visible in the distance, right of center.

View back toward Mouse's Tank.

Within the wash past Mouse's Tank.

Entering some narrows.

Class 3/4 move.

More narrows obstacls.

At the base of Mouse's Tank Peak, bypassing a dryfall on a Class 2 slope. The wash leads around to the peak's northwest side.

Northwest side of Mouse's Tank Peak. We took the ramp on the far right.

Along the ramp.

View back down the ramp.

Higher up on the ramp.

A Class 3 section to switchback on the ramp system.

Higher up on the ramp system.

First crux of Mouse's Tank Peak. We squeezed up the crack, Class 3/4.

Past the crack, a Class 3 move using a massive jug.

View down at the first crux, the massive jug used that we lovingly dubbed "Jon's Jug".

Just past the first crux, we encountered the second. A crack step-across to a Class 4/5 headwall. We actually wrapped around and entered the crack from below because the step-across was too wide for comfort.

A shot toward the Class 4/5 headwall.

View down at the Class 4/5 headwall. Jon seen below within the crack. The climb wouldn't have been been nearly as scary if not for the crack.

Above the second crux, view toward the summit. The route leads to the wave-like feature in the center of this photo.

Scott at the wave-like feature, about to pull the final crux.

Scott on the Class 5 final crux move. It was committing. I wasn't a fan.

Final Class 2 push to Mouse's Tank Peak.

Mouse's Tank Peak summit, Fire Canyon Peak visible on the right, Crimson Staircase center.

Mouse's Tank Peak, view north toward Silica Dome.

Mouse's Tank Peak, view toward Valley of Fire Peak.

We headed back into Fire Canyon and continued onward to Fire Canyon Peak. There are any number of gullies and canyons you can use to access the north side of the peak.

Close-up toward Fire Canyon Peak. You can see the east and west summits from here. The eastern summit looks taller, right? We thought so too at first. We were wrong.

First up is Fire Canyon Peak - East. This is the drainage system we used to reach its base. We thought it was the high point at the time, but would soon learn it was separated by a big chasm. It was such a cool route that I wanted to describe it regardless.

Wrapping up along the east side of Fire Canyon Peak - East. We hugged the cliff face.

I don't normally post photos with lines outlining a route, but this one looked pretty crazy. Scott snagged this shot from below as Jon and I made our way up. This is the route up Fire Canyon Peak - East. The line at the bottom is where we were walking in the previous photo. You can see Jon on the far left.

Hugging the face.

Higher up, just before the first switchback. Class 2/3 leads to higher ground from here.

A ramp descends a bit.

View back up. Jon is seen above, located in the same spot he is visible in the line-route drawing a few photos back. These ramps are Class 2, but take care.

Toward the end of the ramp descent. Even though we had ascended a couple hundred feet, I was now only about 20 feet off the ground where I started because of how much the ramp descended, but there was no other way up to this spot as far as I could tell.

I rounded a corner and headed up this gully.

Above the gully, I dropped into a crack.

View back into the crack.

The crack led to a ledge system.

Toward the end of the ledge, this 6-foot headwall made for a Class 4/5 set of moves.

View back down the headwall.

Past the headwall, another ramp system.

Class 3 section on the ramp system.

Smooth sailing from here, a gorgeous sandstone ramp.

View back down the ramp. Class 2 led to the summit.

Fire Canyon Peak - East summit, view toward the western summit, slightly taller. A chasm separated me. Damn.

Fire Canyon Peak - East summit, view toward Crimson Staircase.

We pick up another day with Sam. To reach Fire Canyon Peak's true summit, we headed up this tight canyon on the northwest side of the peak. Alternatively, you could wrap around the peak's south side.

Class 4 move within the slot.

Class 2 to gain the west face. Class 2 slabs ahead.

Looking back at the Class 2 slabs.

Class 3 move as we navigate ramp switchbacks.

Another ramp. All Class 2/3 so far, nothing crazy.

A final switchback on a ramp next to a crack. We wanted to be on the ramp on the left, but the crack prevented easy access. We descended into the crack on the left at the only spot we thought would work.

Dropping in. We used webbing to ensure we could get back out later.

Within the crack, view of Sam coming down. We were very happy to have webbing.

We descended within the crack, then wrapped around on the right.

View back into the crack as we ascend back out. We were up on the right out of frame just before getting into the crack. Just past here is a Class 2/2+ ramp leading to the summit.

View back down the summit ramp.

Fire Canyon Peak summit, view toward the East peak, slightly lower.

Fire Canyon Peak summit, view toward Valley of Fire Peak.
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