Cholla Forest v Seven Falls Canyon - 2/7/26

From Cholla Forest to Arizona's Wilson Range

A Discussion

"Bacon" colors in Many Falls Canyon

Susan climbs into Seven Falls Canyon

And, up through the rabbit Hole

A few years ago, I was doing Cholla Forest v Seven Falls Canyon with the Around the Bend Friends club members and I took a pretty bad fall inside the rabbit hole near the beginning of the hike. My stiff "cowboy style" hat saved my head from hitting the rock-hard ground behind me and I was able to continue. There was also another dry fall that had become more difficult to ascend on up the wash. I ended up climbing up and around that one on the right side. That one is still there and I ended up doing the same go-around this time. Other than that, this hike is the same as it always was with the exception of the more slippery toe holds and hand holds. 

Starting up the Seven Falls Wash

Hiking through the "Bacon" vein of Colors

Continuous climbing up through the Wash

Side-walling It

Adding in the fact that I still don't have the strength that I had three months ago, I was still able to complete one of the most difficult hikes in the Lake Mead NRA. Yes, there are others but this one is a real test of your strength. The Lady Hikers tackled the loop like they had been training for it. All the while, we perused the cliff sides and ridges for the bighorn sheep that live in this area. We didn't see them until we were all the way up at the ridges above and around Cholla Forest, itself. 

We climbed the boulders and helped each other up the hard stuff. Climbing and climbing, We had just about worn ourselves out by the time we reached the saddle ridge at the top of Seven Falls Canyon. Continuing over the ridge on the trail, we dropped into the wide telephone pole wash and turned up to the right. Having not done the figure 8 route in a couple of years, I chose the wrong canyon to hike up into. I thought, no worries, we'll get there. Phew! Yes, we got there and on the way, we felt eyes watching us! There were four bighorns standing up on the top of the ridge to the left looking down at us. 

So far, so good!

Making use of tiny Ledges

Crazy Stuff!

Their eyes are upon Us

Two of them looked like twins! (And, they both parted their "hair" in the middle just like their dad!) They seemed so curious. We continued over the small left ridge and hiked down into the next small canyon where we found the route we were looking for. This is a windy canyon that has a cool scramble that put us an the old road. This road took us up and over another small ridge and down past Cholla Forest where we took our break. At the large grove of chollas, we looked up and there they were again. The bighorns had descended down and back up the next small canyon to arrive on the ridge above the cholla grove. We must have been so fascinating to watch. But, then again, they were fairly fascinating as well!

Susan conquers another big Scramble

Stuff

Group photo within the Chollas

Telephone Pole Road

We finished our break and walked on down the dirt power line road. Staying close to the left side of the wash, we found the exit route that takes you to the top of Bacon Canyon (aka Many Falls Canyon). Here, I started hearing choruses of "Where's the Bacon!" "Not yet!" I kept saying. There is a maze of a route to take you up to the trail near the ridge. (This particular trail can also be accessed by turning left on the trail that runs along the saddle at the top of the Seven Falls Canyon.) But, at the orange rock outcrop, we turned into the small canyon, climbed up to pass straight up through the next small saddle, turned right to go over the next small saddle, crossed over here and followed the trail along the ridge to the right.

Landmark orange outcrop for start of Return

Lake Mead, Fortification Hill and the top of Bacon Canyon

A particularly interesting scramble Down

One of the go-around Trails

Anyway, following this trail took us to the area above the top of Bacon Canyon. We hiked down a gentle ridge to reach the canyon wash below and started scrambling down. There are several dry falls to negotiate. A few of them have go arounds and cairns. We used almost all the go arounds! Finally, I could tell the gang that we had found the bacon! There is quite the vein of colorful rock as the canyon lowers itself into the intersection with the bottom of Seven Falls Canyon. And, ... we were done! An epic hike for us! 

BTW, no one told me there was another Wanderer club name out there and I am not going to use it anymore! Sorry. Back to Lady Hikers.

Stats: 7 miles; 1400' gain; 5.25 hours (due to the wrong turn at the top of the loop)

Hiking down the middle of Bacon Canyon

The "Bacon" has Appeared 

Kay leads down through the bottom of Bacon Canyon

And ... We're done!!

Rainbow Gardens Crest Loop - 2/2/26

Lava Butte from top of exit Ridge

A few of the first spring Flowers

Susan's beautiful photo of Lava Butte from Ridge Crest

Entering the gardens through the Wash

We missed the usual December hike to Rainbow Gardens and here it is February. What a nice surprise it was! We found that many of the early spring flowers were blooming in the washes and low ridges. Right away, we noticed the phacelia, the brittlebushes and the Asian mustard, an invasive plant that isn't that bad looking as it begins to grow. (It becomes more ugly as the year wears on.) A few goldeneyes, young flowering rock nettles, california poppies (evening primroses), purple mat and flourishing beaver tail cacti that are not budding as yet. Susan and I had a great time slowly wandering up the main wash looking for the "super bloom" of Rainbow Gardens!

More of the first spring Flowers

Bedsprings Junction

The Kitchen

View north from the Kitchen

We took a right at Bedsprings Junction and crossed over the ridge to Rainbow Gardens Canyon. The colors of the canyon were dullish. Perhaps because the sky was not a nice color of blue. We passed the ladder and took a right up onto a steep ridge with a trail. This led us up to the crest of the ridge that surrounds the colors of Rainbow Gardens and below Lava Butte, that imposing dark boulder covered butte that rises with a prominence of almost 875' and an elevation of almost 3000'. While sometimes referred to as a lava butte, it is actually an igneous, dacite-based laccolith formed about 13 million years ago, rather than a surface eruption, according to the USGS report. ~ AI

Starting down through the Rainbow Gardens Canyon

Last curve in the Rainbow Gardens Canyon

Colors below the ridge Crest

Arriving at the ridge Crest

There is a marked trail along the ridge crest with a few very large cairns. Be careful because the trail comes very close to the cliff that would not be good to fall over the edge! However, the view from the cliff is one of the best on this hike. We followed the trail all the way over to the saddle in front of Lava Butte after taking a break at a high point cairn. At this saddle, we took our "group" photo and followed the trail over the edge and down to the saddle below the climb to Lava Butte. About halfway up the trail to the base of the butte, there is a faint trail that crossed to the right side of this area. I prefer to take the higher trail to put hikers at a better location. On the other side, we climbed up to a ridge that would take us down to the white hills passing two old cairns on a game trail.  

 

View over the ridge Cliff

Over the Cliff and on to the Lake Las Vegas home Construction

                                                 More spring flowers and one of the large Cairns

This ridge descent is not marked well but, suffice it to say, we followed the vague trail along the left side of the ridge summit. We passed two very old cairns that we would all prefer stay there and descended to the wash that leads between the two white hills in front of us. This wash will take you down to a cross-wash where we continued straight and climbed the hill in front of us. The high point here is a gorgeous view if you turn around and look at Lava Butte!

Through the White Hills

All that remained was a ridge trail, bearing to the right through a couple of shallow saddles. This will take you back to the original main wash that will, in turn, take you back to trailhead. As in the past, I missed the first right fork saddle and ended up back-tracking a little. I'm going to get it right, again, someday!!!

Stats: 6.7 miles (with back-tracking); 900' gain; 5.25 hours (We went slow and enjoyed our hike!)

Kay and Susan in front of Lava Butte