Trip report
Jan 8, 2023 — Guardian Peak is a tedious summit to reach on Lake Mead’s northern shore. We figured the easiest route would be to approach the peak via Pinto Valley and then through Boulder Wash. You could also get there by boat and ascend through Boulder Wash to cut off a bunch of hiking miles, but that would still leave the 1.5-ish mile ridgeline scramble ascent required to gain the summit. Along the ridgeline you also need to summit Ram Skull Peak and then of course go back over it on the way back. So the hike is a bit of an endeavor, but definitely a fun one. Interestingly, the Hoover Dam was originally supposed to be built beneath Guardian Peak in a narrow section called Boulder Canyon. It’s wild to think about what the Lake Mead region would look like if that had happened.
Whiley and I had just driven from SoCal the night before so the lack of sleep, an absurdly spicy and bad dinner burning my insides, and my wiggly legs the result of the last few hiking days had me hesitant to do 18+ miles today. With predetermined plans to meet up with ever-psyched and super-fast Luke urging me to not bail, I committed to hiking to Guardian Peak with them and just returning the same way while they would later run off and do some nonsensically big loop. We started out from a pull-off on Northshore Road and followed an old wilderness road that enters Pinto Valley. We’d hiked to nearby Booths Pinnacle and The Sentinel a few years ago, a hike that required a similar approach and exit through Pinto Valley, so I was prepared for many miles of boring walking today. Fortunately I had friends to giggle with to make the time pass much more quickly. Plus, I particularly love the colorful desert terrain in this area so I shouldn’t have been too concerned about the slog.
After a couple of miles hiking along the old wilderness road it entered a major wash and became eroded enough that it made sense to stop worrying about following the road and just hike within the wash proper. From here it was a straightforward, low-angle downhill walk until the head of Boulder Wash popped in to the south. This we took to nearly its end. Now over 7 miles into our hike and with nearly zero elevation gain, we all felt pretty warmed up and were ready to start getting some peaks. Before starting up to Guardian Peak, Whiley and I decided we couldn’t orphan brutal-looking Peak 2041, located on the east side of Boulder Wash. It seemed awfully steep and loose on all sides, but with enough prominence to be a ranked peak we decided to go for it. You’ll notice two lines on my attached map: we ascended using the northern line and descended on the more direct, southern line.
We made our way up a minor, dark drainage that gained elevation quickly and ended at a Class 2/2+ slope with some loose rock that can be mostly avoided by sticking to slabbier solid stuff. We chose this option because the northern slopes of Peak 2041 were clearly riddled in cryptobiotic soil and we decided it best to attempt a route that avoids it all. Once above the initial ascent we were awarded with a view toward really colorful badlands and Lake Mead itself. Fortunately there were sheep trails leading all over and we followed one through the cryptobiotic soil in order to reach the northern face of our peak. Class 2 on loose rock (I dislodged a boulder which almost squished Whiley, sorry friend!) took us up to the summit.
I was feeling adventurous and wanted to find another route option for this peak. I proposed we try taking the steep west ridge of Peak 2041 back down into Bouder Wash since we had noted earlier from below that it looked like it might go except for a cliff band toward the top. Whiley acquiesced since if we got cliffed out it wouldn’t be too much of a backtrack. I’m sure she was mostly just excited that she could have her turn trying to squish me with a boulder. The cliff band was an inconvenience, forcing us south a bit before we found a Class 3 weakness that permitted us to make a hairpin turn beneath the cliff in order to get back to the main slope. From here it was loose Class 2 down. I personally liked this route more (Whiley didn’t), but it is steeper and more dangerous so I would recommend ascending this way and going down using our ascent.
We met back up with Luke, who had run off to do some other peak, at the base of Ram Skull Peak and Guardian Peak. We started up the northern ridge together. This ridge is really the only rational way to reach the summits, a unique route since it’s an extended stretch of Class 2 and Class 3 lasting for a bit under two miles. It was heaps of fun. The first few hundred feet are just steep enough to be a solid workout, but low enough angle that the terrain wasn’t loose and annoying. Not long after, we reached the first obstacle, probably the only tricky one on the whole ridge, a rock outcropping preventing easy access along the crest and requiring us to wrap around it on either side. Aside from this small puzzle I won’t describe any more in words and instead just provide some sample photos below of what to expect. It’s just a lot of good scrambling on surprisingly solid rock, and mostly straightforward. The route sticks to the ridge or within about 20 feet below it. Much of the scrambly bits can be avoided by staying just off the ridge, but this results in loose terrain and we never found any of the scramble moves to be sketchy and warranting us to skip.
Eventually we reached Ram Skull Peak, where we got our first exceptional view into Boulder Canyon and Lake Mead below. A Class 2 dip led down from the peak as we made our way to Guardian Peak. A hump separated us from Guardian Peak, adding some extra vertical gain. All Class 2 and a short spurt of Class 2+ up Guardian Peak led us to this more majestic summit. The views were superb, and I was immediately thrilled I’d saved this summit as one of my last peaks I want to hike to in Lake Mead National Recreation Area. It was a good one indeed.