Distance: 3.3 miles round trip cross country
Summit Elevation: 2865'
Elevation Gain: 1544'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.2
Round trip time: 3 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 64 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Stag Cove turnout off Highway 78
Difficulty: Moderate
Lizard Peak is small mountain above Lizard Canyon East Fork, on the NW side of the North Pinyon Mountains. I started at Stag Cove on Highway 78, walking a few hundred feet up the dirt road before clambering onto the slope. I stayed above and left of the main gully. There were three false summits along the ridge. I had to choose between two ascent gullies. One right of the false summit was lower angle, but looked slightly out of the way. I chose the steeper one on the left. There was a fair bit of scrambling over small, but solid rocks, and a lot of agave and large cactus like ocotillo and barrels. At the top of the gully, I saw the next two false summits, though I didn't know the third one was false at the time. I skirted the right side of the second bump, then stayed on the ridge to the top of the third. Sharp stuff grew more dense. Ocotillo and barrels gave way to cholla and smaller cactus. Finally, I spotted the true summit. I trudged up the final ridge to a pleasant, open summit area with large boulders. The summit block was 10' with a tricky class 3 move through a wide crack that started half way up. It took me a few tries to get my footing right, reach the crack, then press myself to the top. I did not find a benchmark or register, though other people had reported a register. Gravity made the descent easier, but agave and cactus kept my pace in check. Coming off the first false summit, I met a chuckwalla that jammed itself in a crack under some rocks. I tried to get a good photo of it, wondering briefly if it was snake. I left convinced it was a chuckwalla. Near the bottom, I decided to drop into the main gully and follow it all the way out. Lizard Peak was a little more challenging than expected.
