In my world, there is a reason why "Go take a hike" is a mean thing to tell someone and that is because hiking is a nasty thing. This hike was particularly nasty because it tricked me into thinking that a beautiful waterfall was waiting for me as a reward for my journey. In truth, if you hike this during the summer you will be rewarded with some wet rocks with very little water actually falling. There's a cave too.
Vegas.com told me this was an easy hike. That was a lie. I did see small children and people who looked more out of shape than me on the trail, but it was not easy. Two days later and my butt muscles still hurt from a 3-mile round trip, 1,000 feet climb.
The best thing for me was the temperature. Mt Charleston is a good 20 degrees cooler making it a perfect escape from the desert heat and only 30-40 minutes away! So despite my grumbling, I do think it was an acceptable adventure and a nice respite from my typical Vegas day.
Will I be back soon? Probably not for this particular hike, but I will definitely try out Mt Charleston again.