Grand Gold Butte Petroglyph Hike (with some club history) - 2/25/18

Newspaper Rock

Valley of Fire and Spring Mountains from Falling Man TH

Old Joshua Tree and Black Butte

Signs along Gold Butte Road

 In the fall of 2007, original members of the Around the Bend Friends who helped UNLV found the club ten years prior to the Blackwells and the Dempseys joining, took a trip up to Gold Butte. Participants included Bob & Patty, Judy G., Cee, Keith M., Guy, Howard and John & Kay Blackwell. At that time, Gold Butte was a far away place that only real adventurers traveled to in their big trucks, jeeps and ... yes, a certain orange Element. The roads were even more bumpy and there were no parking corrals.

First Scramble

 During our tour, which was mostly driving on those crazy roads, we drove right up to the Falling Man entrance hole, right up to the bridge/tunnel that leads to the pond overlook, right up to the Subway entrance, and right up to the clearing below Little Finland. Oh yeah, there was also Devil's Hole!

First Petroglyph Panel

 There was so much that we missed by not hiking but the day was absolutely magical.

Anne emerges from the Birth Canal Tunnel

The Petroglyph Tower

 That day, John and I fell in love with Nevada hiking ... even though ... or maybe because ... our Element got stuck on the hill coming up from the Subway and had to be rescued by Bob's truck. BTW, this is the reason that there is now a parking corral at the top of this hill! We were not the only ones to get stuck. That day, we were introduced to a small part of what the backcountry in Nevada offered. History, mystery, sandstone, beauty, solitude and really fresh air. This trip was what prompted me to start the Around the Bend Friends Hiking Club of Las Vegas blog that you are now reading.

Tony emerges from the Falling Man Window

 This particular blog, the original, has since been removed from public viewing along with all the blogs of 2007 and 2008 due to a certain club member that shall remain nameless here, pitching a fit about his photo being on it. (Ah, the old days.)

It's okay, Rita. Falling Man won't fall on you.

 So, in 2009, the blog was restarted and the archives included in the list on the right side of this page start there. (I still have access to the old blogs written previous to 2009.)

Virgin Peak peeks out from Falling Man Sandstone

Pothole Alley

 From 2008 to 2010, trips to Gold Butte were rare. And, we never hiked beyond the beaten paths of old. It was frustrating for us since John and I knew that there was so much more to see up there. So acting on a suggestion in 2011, John and I began explorations of two areas to create hikes that take in more than the most famous sights. During the following months, we hiked around, explored, searched, camped and repeated. It is somewhat humorous that we "found" the Kohta Circus panel by accident! We didn't know it was there and in such an out of the way place.

The Three Level Panel of Petroglyphs

 After that trip, we came home and looked it up! Then, anxious to share what we knew, we offered our first hike to the club membership. The Grand Gold Butte Petroglyph Hike was born in early 2012.

Using the Trail to Cross the Desert

 During the following year, we explored and created the Little Finland & Subway Hike. This trek was born in early 2013.

Zigzagging down to 21 Sheep Wall

21 Sheep Wall

 Over the years, Bob and Patty got big into ATV off roading, Judy and Cee moved on, and Mike M. became a Boy Scouts OA commissioner. Other original members such as Howard, Marg, Guy, Mac & Cynthia, Judy G., Cee, Mike J. and Keith M. stayed with the club for a while then moved on. The Around the Bend Friends has survived over the years due to people that have fallen in love with Nevada hiking through the club. There are several volunteers who drive the club to continue to be one of the best hiking alternatives in southern Nevada.

Black Butte rises at end of Pond Wash

 So, yet another banner attendance day for the club, twenty-one hikers made the day trip up to Gold Butte for the Grand Gold Butte Petroglyph Hike starting at the Falling Man Trailhead on Black Butte Road. We passed the Bundy Ranch and the new Gold Butte National Monument sign.

Dammed Pond (Shallow Today)

 Finally, five high clearance cars of hikers emptied out after a 2 hour drive (the last 25 miles of which were extremely bumpy) and readied for their adventure.

Exiting Sandstone near Pond (Note: Small Arch Landmark)

Staying on Sandstone as much as Possible

 The first 1.5 miles of the hike covers a popular tourist route from Falling Man to the dammed Pond. There is a large concentration of petroglyphs found among the colorful sandstone here. We enjoyed a little scrambling as we viewed the different panels. Virgin Peak watched from afar as we left the Falling Man petroglyph area and followed the trail. There were no Bundy cows around, however, we did see a lot of cow "evidence" as we passed the 21 Sheep Wall and neared the Pond. The pond had some water in it but it was nowhere near as full as we have previously seen. From the Pond, we headed through the sandstone maze and came out at the Small Arch Landmark.

The Kohta Circus Road

 Next, we followed use trails across the sand and past the "Joshua Tree Nursery." The baby Joshua Trees have grown a lot since we named this landmark.

Trail through Deep Wash

 From here, we reached sandstone and tried to stay on the white rock for as long as possible until we intersected with the Kohta Circus Road, an old sand road that is no longer used for vehicle travel.

Kohta Circus Wall from Trail Above

Newbie Liz enjoys the Spectacle

 A left turn on the road sent us trudging through the sand to a large rock mound where the trail turns off to the right. A more or less straight shot across the sandstone put us on one of about 3 different trails that lead over to the Kohta Circus drop. It is important to find one of these trails so that a particular deep wash crossing is enabled. Following the trail, we kept on a trajectory toward the last "pointy" peak of the sandstone ridge to our right. Openings in the ridge showed views of redstone beyond. This red rock is very near the Little Finland area in the distance.

Panorama of Portion of Kohta Circus

 When we found ourselves above a large deep area, we could look across and see the Kohta Circus wall. Its petroglyphs were still too far away to decipher.

Lettie takes a Break above the Small Slot

 The group followed the trail around and down into the deep wide area. We had our snack break taking in the largest petroglyph panel in Clark County. It is officially 75' x 4'.

Hikers enjoy the Small Slot

Leaving Kohta Circus and Small Slot Area

 While we were in this area, we also took a short trip down to the small slot canyon nearby. It was dry so some of us enjoyed the scramble through its walls. After the break, we followed the trail to the other end of the deep large area, entered a small canyon and climbed up the other end. We came out at a wash that we dropped into, turned right for a few feet, then turned left into an obscured slot. Fun fun slot! The Slot! One by one, we climbed up through the slot using legs and arms for the effort. (Beware: There is one large rock that moves if you use it with a lot of strength.)

Scramble Up

 At the top of the slot, the group continued on in a 1:00 direction until we intersected once again with the Kohta Circus Road. (Same place that we left it before.)

The Slot

 The return route follows the road on around taking in sights of the very old Joshua Trees in the area.

Heading back across Desert

Return to the Pond

 Hitting a wash, we turned to the right and began a bushwhack across the desert at an angle to the left. Soon, we were at the Joshua Tree Nursery. From there, we returned the same way we had come. It is a hard climb back up to the Falling Man Trailhead and we were pushing the pace a little much through the sand. Just wanted to get out of the sand, I guess. It had been a gorgeous day for hiking and, once again, the Grand Gold Butte Petroglyph Hike was very well received.

7.2 miles; 1000 feet elevation gain; 5 hours of hiking; 2 hours of driving one way

Return to 21 Sheep Wall

Return to Pothole Alley

Back way Return to Falling Man Entrance