Colorful Twilight - 3/23/26

Snow-Covered Spring Mountains (Charleston Peak)
with Blooming Joshua Trees

Amora near Goodwater Canyon 

Small peak at break Point

Forest Road at Red Rock NCA Boundary

Still looking for a cooler spot to hike, we went up Kyle Canyon Road to the Colorful Twilight Trailhead, a spot on the side of the road that grows a lone juniper tree on the right side. Wading through the grasses that have grown up between the road and the escarpment, we made our way to the burro trail that climbs up the escarpment diagonally to the right. The burros don't seem to have started their residence in Kyle Canyon yet so the trail up was a little hard to pick out. After we reached the top of the escarpment, the trail was clear and we descended to the forest road below. The trail continues across the road and through the desert making its way to the Lucky Strike Canyon Road where we joined the trail leading to Grapevine Springs. This trail crosses the dirt road again and leads up above the springs and around the neighboring peak to the left. For lack of finding a better way yet, we climbed up to our left after reaching a wash. The bike trail continues to the right but our messy trail also goes up through the wash and on up the hill. We chose to bushwhack up the hill to the left.

Pointy Peak Target

Susan finds something Interesting

Trail above Grapevine Springs Valley

Amora above Grapevine Springs

There isn't much of a trail up to the ridge's saddle and it is quite a struggle but we made it up to the ridge with little left to spare. (The altitude needs a little getting used to!) We arrived on the ridge where a burro trail starts down the other side on a long diagonal (to the left) to a trailing ridge and on down to the canyon wash below. We arrived at the burro bone that kinda marks that we were at the right spot. From here, the trail continues up the other side of the canyon in the red dirt on a diagonal to the right. At the top of the red ridge, we turned to the left and climbed the ridge to a rocky place to sit for a break. The trail that we just left, appears again, here, passing by right to left. After the break, we joined the trail again by taking a left turn. This trail leaves the red terrain and goes into the limestone terrain. The view of the canyon to the left is one of the best views of the hike. See the two photos below.

Canyon that flows into Goodwater Canyon

Sheep Mountain Range Beyond

Climbing up to West Saddle

Hiking and Talking

Next, we found ourselves climbing up to a saddle I'll dub the West Saddle. If you look at the maps below, you might figure out why! The best burro trail continues straight down the other side of the small ridge and the following wash. When a good trail leads down to the wash, we followed it. (One time we stayed up on the hillside and missed the trail at the bottom.) This trail finally spit us out into the canyon wash at the bottom. Turning left (if you are in the right place), takes you very shortly to a cairned turn to the right. We followed this trail up to the top of the ridge above. On the ridge, our route (without a trail) ran diagonally down to the left where we eventually junctioned with the trail we had used to get to this area in the beginning. A couple of times here, we had to make our diagonal less sharp to finally find the original trail. Nevertheless, it is there and we used it to return to the car. All three of us were beat after this hike due to a little warmth and new altitude heights. But, it was beautiful and quiet.

Stats: 4.5 miles; 1150' gain; ~4 hours

View to south on West Saddle

Approaching West Saddle

Charleston Peak's south Ridge

Upper Showgirl Loop - 3/21/26

Wooden Sculpture at Spring Mountain Resort Hotel

Starting down the Upper Showgirl Trail (Mummy Mountain)

Starting down from original Showgirl Junction

Two Lady Hikers drove up to the Spring Mountains and reached the Juniper Trailhead where there were about fifteen bicyclists preparing for their ride. We waited for them to take off and started down the trail. Our minimal purpose for today was to get out of the heat and to see how far down the snow line reached. As we hiked, there were small patches of icy snow just off the trail but the trail, itself, was clear. The temperatures were scrumptious! Our route led out the Original Showgirl Trail until we reached the junction near the Trough Trail. We explored part of an old trail (more on that later!) and connected with the Trough Trail to hike up to the Camp Trail crossing the Hike a Bike Trail. Circling around to the Camp /Showgirl Connector, we hiked back down to the Showgirl to turn to the left and returned to the car. There were a lot of bikers politely passing by, but only a few hikers. It was a small hike but we enjoyed the short return to the mountains.

Stats: 4.5 miles; ~700' gain; 2 hours (The maps below do not reflect today's route exactly.)

Harris Peak in Distance

Mummy's Nose on Return

White Domes / Fire Wave Loop (Valley of Fire State Park) - 3/13/26

Wave Wall and Gibraltar formation in Valley of Fire

Fire Wave in Valley of Fire

Tall Slot

Top of sand dune at White Domes TH

An oldie but goodie, this loop in Valley of Fire State Park that begins and ends at the White Domes Trailhead covers several geological attractions that people enjoy experiencing at the park. We drove the White Domes Road and parked near the end of the road at the White Domes Trailhead. Climbing the hill up past the restrooms and over the big sand dune, we found the steep downhill afterwards. The downhill has been constructed with sand covered rock steps. Be careful here. At the bottom of the hill, there is an old movie set for The Professionals. Just past the set, we dropped into the Kaolin wash or slot canyon. Kaolin, or China clay, is a soft, white, earthy industrial mineral primarily composed of the mineral kaolinite, a hydrous aluminum silicate formed through the chemical weathering of aluminum silicate minerals like feldspar, it is used in ceramics, paper coating, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and rubber production. ~AI Overview

Debbie entering Kaolin Wash

Amora eyeing the Kaolin Wash

Small slot in Kaolin Wash

Debbie with the camera at Fire Wave

We turned left in the wash but, keep in mind, the actual White Domes Loop Trail turns to the right. Our left turn takes us through the beautiful pastel-colored small slots of the wash. There was minimal scrambling as we made our way over to where the small canyon crossed the White Domes Road. After the road, the wash continued on the other side with another beautiful slot. The colors in this area, right and left, are worth many photos so bring your camera ... especially in the morning as the sun is rising. Approximately 0.15 miles after crossing the road, the terrain on the left side turns to a darker red. The second cut into the red is a good place to turn up to your left and climb up to view the Fire Wave. There will be other hikers around. Many of them have come down the Fire Wave Trail from above right. This is a good place to sit and take a break, however, try not to sit in the way of other hikers that are trying to take their photos. We took a couple of photos and headed up towards the left. There is a huge white rock wall that has red "waves" on the "canvas." Next, we continued hiking toward the "Wave Wall" and down to the small wash at its base. Turning left in the wash and circling around to the left side of the rock, we turned to climb up to a view point on the left. Our route continued down the other side of the view point and back into the Kaolin Wash where we had been before. We turned to the right and found a shady spot for a break up on the left. (There aren't too many shady spots for sitting on this hike!)

Taking a Break

Climbing up for a place in the Shade

Scenery on the White Domes Loop Trail

Kay and Amora on the Trail

After the break, we returned to the movie set junction through the Kaolin Wash and continued straight to connect with the White Domes Trail. The tall slot is next. (Sometimes these slots have water in them if there has been rain recently.) Just after the slot, there is a trail junction where we turned to the right to continue following the trail. On this section of the White Domes Trail, we saw beautiful desert plants and the back side of the White Domes. Sometimes, there are bighorns up in the rocks but not today. The trail took us to a cut in the big rocks to the right and carried us up to the White Domes Trailhead to complete our hike. Gorgeous day!

Stats: 3 miles; 300' gain; 2.5 hours

P.S. For recent morning photos of Valley of Fire go to:

https://aroundthebendfriends2.blogspot.com/2025/11/little-zebra-loop-valley-of-fire-state.html

Interesting rock formation on the loop Trail

Colorful Sands

Window found on the White Domes Loop Trail

Shoreline Trail / White Owl Canyon (Short) - 3/8/26

Large pillar in Lake Las Vegas Wash

White Owl Canyon

Walk through culvert under Lakeshore Road

Shoreline Trail

White Owl Canyon is a great go-to hike for company in town and for a few weeks, I'll have my sister visiting. We got to the old Las Vegas Marina parking and saw that vehicles with higher clearance than my car were able to go to the left and drive down a bumpy ramp to the old boat ramp that, now, has no pavement. No problem. We parked at the top where the concrete barriers were and walked down to the old Shoreline Trail TH. We were making a loop hike anyway. We started out the trail that is well-marked with boundary rocks and passed a couple of what they call "Pillars." This large area used to be covered with Lake Mead and the "Pillars" were made from lake erosion. You can still see small mollusk shells along the way. Sometimes, on the right side of the second (larger) Pillar, you can view larger birds in the wash marsh. There were none today. From there, we continued to follow the trail until we approached the picnic area above what used to be the waterline. 

Shoreline Trail along Lake Las Vegas Wash

Debbie taking a photo from the base of large Pillar

Entering White Owl Canyon

Sunlight plays inside White Owl Canyon

Here, we turned up to the right and headed into the canyon at the end of a long wide wash. This is White Owl Canyon. There has been rumors that the White Owl is in residence in the parallel canyon. I had never been in the parallel canyon but seeing it, I realized it would not be good to explore it anew with my inexperienced dog in attendance. So, we exited back to the main wash where we could enter the official White Owl Canyon. This canyon is easily navigated by my standard poodle. This canyon is beautiful whether or not there is a white owl perched on one of the ledges above. We walked through quietly, just in case. The sun was coming in from above making the walls shine. No owl. So, we continued to the end and turned left into the first culvert that glides underneath Lakeshore Road. Between this culvert and the next, it is still White Owl Canyon with the same beautifications but wider. After the second culvert, we sat on a rock and ate a snack. Next, our route climbed the old road ramp on the right while ignoring the steep trail that hikers have cut up the hill. We turned left onto the bike path where the road ramp ended. (The bikers appreciate it if you stay on the right side of the path and let them have the asphalt.) We walked down the path and came upon a trail leading to the right along a wash I had not explored. My sister and I took the challenge and followed the path down into the wash there and, before long, we came to a high non-negotiable pour over. I suppose there might have been a scary up and around but not with my dog. We retraced our steps back to the bike path, turned right and continued past the blooming brittlebushes and view of Lava Butte in the distance. The bike path left us up to the left and we continued straight to where we could bushwhack down to the picnic area on the right above the marina ramp. The first canyon wash on the left took us down to our car. Excellent hike but it will be too warm for it soon!

Stats: 4.75 miles; 500' gain; 3 hours

Debbie exits second Culvert

Lava Butte from River Mountain Loop (Bike) Trail

Spur wash with cliff pour over at End