Blue Diamond Canyons 2&3 - 3/12/20

Blue Diamond Canyon #2

Crossover at Top

Starting down Blue Diamond Canyon #3

Slippery First Scramble

On the south side of the North Blue Diamond Hill, just across SR 159 from the small community of Blue Diamond, NV, there are 5 deep canyons that cut into the terrain below the gypsum mine. They generally run north/south, have high walls and contain fantastic dry fall obstacles. The oldest hike for the club among these canyons is called Blue Diamond Canyons 2&3. One of the almost original members of the club, Guy Galante, used to lead this one as his favorite. He loved to scramble! He would always bring his strapping to help with a couple of the dry falls and we would have loads of fun! Today's hike brought back a lot of memories even though I continue to lead this hike every year.

Pools along the Way

With all the recent rain, rain to come and cancelled hikes, this normally overlooked hike attracted fourteen hikers. Several of the advanced hikers on today's hike were newbies. What? How did that happen?

Hiking Stick in the Pool below Rope Scramble - Oops

So, the trailhead is located at the small utility building across from Blue Diamond. We parked at the gate being careful not to block the gate where workers sometimes have to drive in.

Climbing Canyon #2

Climbing Canyon #2

The fencing is there to prevent burros from entering the area. We easily climbed through a wide barbed wire space to the right of the gate. A lock was put on the gate a few years ago because some hikers couldn't seem to remember to close the gate behind them. We hiked across the desert terrain to drop into the canyon to the right. This is Blue Diamond Canyon #2. The canyons are numbered from right to left. (Yeah, I don't know why either.) After dealing with the rocks and brush for a few minutes, we entered into the high walls and came to the first dry fall obstacle. Normally, this dry fall was fast and easy. Today, it was slippery due to the dampness.

Stair-Stepping Obstacle

The beauty of the canyon hit the newbies like a ton of bricks! It really is surprising that this beautiful canyon lies here in the desert all unassuming-like.

Another Pool

There were several pools of water during the first half of the canyon. We easily avoided them and tried not to get our feet wet. The wetter your feet, the more difficult the limestone scrambles.

Last Dry Fall Up - A Tricky One

A Pause in the Sun

Slowly, we made our way up the canyon taking each dry fall and each scramble one at a time. We were pressed to get the hike done before noon since a rainstorm was approaching from the south. We had a good view of the south so we were constantly up to date on its progress. We had to go up and around one dry fall in Canyon #2 due to the dampness. (To be fair, one hiker made it up!) The last dry fall scramble of Canyon #2 is the trickiest. Both the right side and the left side are climbable but they are still difficult and there is no "up and around." After a little bit of instruction, I clamored up and the rest of the group followed. Only one hiker got delayed here but there were plenty of helping hands for everyone.

Crossing over at the Top

After this, the canyon begins to level out. When you look up to the right and see tailings from the gypsum mine, and you see a few big white rocks in the wash, there is a trailing ridge to the left that we climb up.

Snack Break at top of Canyon #3

This intersects a vague trail near the top. We turned left on the trail and headed over and down to the top of the next canyon, Canyon #3. We took our break at the top of this canyon with somewhat of an overlook of Canyon #3 and Mt. Potosi beyond.

Getting into the Nitty Gritty of Canyon #3

Drop or Go Around

As we dropped into the main part of the canyon, we were met with more brush than usual. Both of these canyons (especially #3) could use a little bit of clipping. Once we began the drop scrambles, we lost elevation steadily. About half way down the canyon, we came to the Big Drop. This is where Guy used to pull out his strapping! Nowadays, some hikers scramble down on the left side and some hikers use the up and around trail high up on the right. Today, because of the slipperiness, all of us took the trail and chose to live for another hike! Afterwards, the canyon continued to drop fast and steady. There were some more good obstacles that were easily met.

The Big Drop appears too Slippery

The back of the line continued to slow so we had to wait several times so that we stayed together. With a long line of hikers and a narrow snaky canyon, I can't always see the back of the line.

Storm beginning to show its Forerunners from South

As the canyon begins leveling out, the heavy brush and rocky pathway returns. We ducked and weaved and weaved and ducked!

Going Up and Around the Big Drop

Waiting for the End of the Line

The only signs of life we saw in the canyons were lizards. However, in the past, we have seen a rattlesnake, two owls, and three mule deer. As we neared Blue Diamond seen across the highway, we came to the trail that climbs up to the left and out of the canyon. This trail vaguely leads hikers back across the terrain between the two canyons and back to the cars. I probably do this different every time until I get to the dip just before the gate. Here, there is a trail to the right of a low tree on the west side of the dip. A great day and great fun group! This hike has stood the test of time!

4 miles; 900 feet elevation gain; 3.5 hours

Easy Large Drop

Fun Large Drop

Blue Diamond, NV being swallowed by Approaching Storm