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| Garden |
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| More Gardens |
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| Wilson Cliffs in the Sunrise |
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| Warming up on the Climb |
Located in the North Blue Diamond Hills of Red Rock Canyon NCA, the Conglomerate Gardens Loop was named for the abundance of large dark colored conglomerate boulders and beautiful old growth desert foliage found along the winding wiggly trail created and maintained by bikers of Las Vegas. The loop begins at the Cowboy Trails Trailhead one mile south of the entrance to the Red Rock Scenic Loop. It makes use of 4 named bike trails that include the Bunny Trail, Cat in the Hat, Over the Moon and, the
pièce de résistance, Kibbles 'n' Bits.
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| Be verwy, verwy quiet. |
Twelve hikers set out to climb the first three segments of the trail. This amounts to 2 of the 6.4 miles of the loop.
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| Arriving at the Kibbles 'n' Bits Turnoff |
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| The Wiggles Begin |
It was a beautiful morning; a little chilly to start but much warmer as the sun strengthened. We had chosen the trail that leads to the far right (but not into the wash) after passing under the ranch gate. Views of the Calico Hills and the Wilson Cliffs were outstanding as we climbed higher over the ridges. This trail showed signs of a lot of horse ride usage. With every choice of trail in the form of a fork, we chose the right fork. The first right fork put us on the Cat in the Hat Trail.
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| Fossils on a passing Wall |
The second right fork put us on the Over the Moon Trail. The third right fork led us to the transition onto the Kibble 'n' Bits Trails.
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| Trail through Desert Garden |
This last transition is not real clear. Suffice it to say, you find a trail that turns down to the right before you reach the overturned soil of the mining property. This is where the route began its 4 mile descent and the pace picked up slightly.
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| Conglomerate Field |
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| Pooh |
We kept our eyes peeled to follow the trail in its many wiggles but it is well-marked with bright white gypsum rock cairns and rock-lined paths. There are many times when the trail follows the tops of rock underfoot. These places are marked with the lined rocks sometimes. We passed the multiple seabed fossils in a rock wall just past a corner wiggle. Then the trail made a short climb up to reach a wonderful area of conglomerate and cacti. This is where we had our break.
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| View from the Snack Break Area |
Among the rocks here, someone has placed a "family" of stuffed Winnie the Pooh animals. Recently, a buddha has been added! Hmm. (Pooh - Buddha, Pooh - Buddha) I don't get it.
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| Taking a Break |
Today's hikers were a great group of friends. We tried to stick to the "slower than moderate pace" but it sneaked up to moderate a few times on the way down.
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| More Wiggles with a La Madre Range Backdrop |
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| More Conglomerate |
Regardless of the pace changes, everyone seemed to be happy with a few water stops and points of interests. Conglomerate Gardens Loop is a really pretty section of the North Blue Diamond Hills that backs up to the gypsum mine property. Even though the ugliness of the mine property can be seen for most of the descent, there are plenty of other places to look that are much more pleasant. On a previous hike, we even saw a large mule deer here. But, not today. Only bunnies!
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| Nice Trail Design |
Yes, we saw one lizard. The lizards must be hiding wherever they can find warmth right now.
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| Crossing a busy Wash |
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| Almost down in Elevation |
After most of the wiggles were done, we began the hike back to the cars. This is a beautiful section of trail, too, except for the area where there are a lot of old mining exploratory digs. We finally hiked back into trailhead using that trail that goes into the wash for a short way. On our return, Jackson, the burro, heehawed a long greeting! Great morning!
6.4 miles; 1000 feet elevation gain; 3.25 hours
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| Calico Hills in View Again |
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| Nice Cairn |
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| One last Wiggle before the Finish |
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