North-South Sister Traverse from Mack's Canyon (NV)

pics by Harlan W.S.
July 07, 2010

Last week I was nearly caught in a fire in Kyle Canyon, so I decided to visit Lee Canyon and troll about for something “different.” I’ve done the Sisters Traverse many times; but in the past I started from the E, and went S to N. I’m always looking at “escape routes” for mondo hikes, so I thought it would be good to reverse the direction of the traverse, and start in Mack’s Canyon on the W. My descent route was similar to the South Sister route recommended in the 1997 edition of “Hiking Las Vegas.”

Well, it was “different.” It was a bit harder to find the break in the cliffs on N Sister when descending, versus ascending. Of course it looked obvious once I was below it. I also wanted to take a more direct route to S Sister, recalling vaguely that I had accompanied Dr Ed F along the ridge in 2004, without the standard traverse on the E side of the peak. I did find a route closer to the crest, but I’m not sure I’d ever find it again.

An unexpected delight of the trip: a nice trail at the lower part of the descent gully, which contained a flowing stream and columbines.

I started at 11:21AM, and was back at the car by 2:55PM. I spent a fair amount of time on each peak (that’s why I do this stuff!), but the route-finding between peaks slowed me down the most.

	View from N Sister, with labels: the mountains to the W. From L to R, McFarland, Bonanza, Willow, Wheeler and Mack’s.	View S from Summit of N Sister. Charleston is at L, S Sister at R. I am attempting a hybrid Silly picture/ toe grab.
		Mummy to E.
A broader view to S, with some route marked.	Macks to W.	Now I’m at the saddle between Sisters, looking N. The rock at L is locally known as “Crazed Sex Poodle.”
Another view back at N. Sister	Now I look S, to what I thought was the top of S Sister.
Oops, actually the ridge was ragged, and there was another top.		Finally on the correct ridge, I look N to N Sister.
Charleston in back; another attempt at toe grab/silly. I later realized that my self-portraits are usually too distant to allow good perception of facial expressions.	Panoramic view from McFarland at L, to N Sister at R.	A view of N Sister, showing descent off cliffs.
	This and next 4 pics show shooting stars and columbines along stream.
	The trail greatly eases travel.