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| No Name Saddle Approach |
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| South Sister from the Upper Bristlecone Trail |
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| Upper Bristlecone Trailhead (South & North Sister) |
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| Hiking through a Mt. Charleston Blue Butterfly Habitat |
Three of the six hikers in this AtBF pod arrived at the Upper Bristlecone Trailhead located at the very end of Lee Canyon Road early in the morning. It was still cool but would get increasingly warm as the morning grew. The saving grace was the pleasant breeze that blew throughout the day. We started up the trail. It was new to our eyes for this season and appeared more beautiful than ever. The fencing that was built to protect the Mt. Charleston Blue Butterfly habitat was in disrepair but this didn't upstage the limestone / bristlecone environment.
We started out slow but found our legs by the time we reached the No Name Trail junction one mile up. Here, we met up with a couple of hikers from a sister Las Vegas hiking Club and talked for a minute.
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| Shaded Upper Bristlecone Trail |
The next phase of the hike is the climb up to the No Name Saddle. It begins with a gentle crossover to the bottom of a wash.
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| View Back from Climb to Saddle |
When we reached the wash, we began following the trail up. The trail is found sometimes in the wash, sometimes on the right side of the wash and sometimes on the left side of the wash.
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| No Name Trail |
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View Back along No Name Trail
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Feeling fairly strong, we found a nice pace and tried to make the entire climb without stopping. Mike managed the feat! Ralyn probably would have but I needed a couple of breathers! We reached the saddle and rested for a couple of minutes on the little knob to the right of the peak. Clark Canyon was laying out on the other side of the saddle. Up to the left is the long undulating ridge that ends at Pahrump Overlook Peak. After a little rest, we continued out No Name Trail. It traverses the side of a ridge leading through an old bristlecone forest. Some of the trees along this stretch of the hike appear comparable to some of those at the Ancient Bristlecone Forest in California. I stayed behind taking several photos in the forest ... as usual!
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| Old Bristlecone Tree on No Name Trail |
When we rounded the corner that ends with the junction to the Bonanza Trail, we were surprised to see another five AtBF hikers ... aka Mark Z.'s "pod."
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| No Name Trail |
So, once again, we have met up with another of our little social distancing groups of AtBF hikers that are roaming the Spring Mountains. So good to see everyone!
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| Two Pods of AtBF Hikers meet at the Bonanza / No Name Junction |
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| Back of North Ridge from Bonanza Switchbacks |
After joining Mark's group for a snack break, we went our separate ways. They were headed to the base of McFarland Peak. ... Or, the peak!! We were headed in the opposite direction and started down the Bonanza switchbacks that ended at the junction of the Bristlecone Trail's midpoint. This area is in the sun so we didn't stay long after noting the information sign that was placed here last year. We turned to the right and continued up the old forest road in the sun. The road changed into a single track trail and worked its way into the trees. The small amount of shade was welcome. Also, it is right here that I believe the Bristlecone Trail is at its best. See the third photo below. I take this photo a lot! Yep! It looks familiar, doesn't it?
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| A Long Leg of the Bonanza Switchbacks |
We followed the trail as it winded its way on a traverse in latitude on the opposite side of the ridge we had traversed earlier on the No Name Trail.
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| Bonanza / Bristlecone Junction - Mike reads Blue Butterfly Information |
We were partially shaded through this area so we moved along comfortably only passing a handful of other hikers.
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| Ralyn leads up the Bristlecone Trail |
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| Ralyn with Mummy Mountain in the Distance |
We passed the trail's only large switchback and headed into the aspen forest. As we neared the tiny switchback in the aspens, we came upon two more AtBF hikers, Marg and Barb P. They were happy to see us, too, and had a lot of questions about stuff. They are pretty good at navigating the easier hiking opportunities in the Spring Mountains but wanted to know more! We talked for a few minutes then headed in opposite directions. I believe that the club is alive and well after seeing so many of us going to the effort of making it work even under the constrictions of the COVID-19 rules. It appears that everyone is social distancing and staying in small groups. If you aren't in a group ... make one!
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| South Sister from the Bristlecone Switchback Overlook |
All that remained was the end of the aspen forest and the Blue Butterfly habitat. The trailhead parking was full but not packed.
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| Bristlecone Trail (foreground) & Lee Peak (background L) |
The hike seemed short and easy compared to recent adventures but its natural beauty is right up there with the others.
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| Hiking through the Aspen Forest |
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| Meeting up with Barb & Marg (AtBF Hikers) |
We didn't see any wild horses near the trail but we did see horses in Lee Meadows both going up and coming down. Across from the meadow, there are a lot of trees that were felled by the fire crews recently. Another point of interest was the Mahogany Fire burn area. You can see much of the burn area from Lee Canyon Road in the area of elevation 5000' to 5500' by looking up to your left in a 10:00 to 11:00 direction as you are driving up. (See the last two photos.) I opted not to drive around Deer Creek Road to see if there is a "better" view of the destruction. I'm sure there is but the fewer cars on Deer Creek Road, the safer for the residual fire workers. Great day!
5.7 miles; 1200' elevation gain; 3 hours
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| The Sisters Ridge |
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| New Burn Area from Lee Canyon Road at elev. 5500' |
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| Close-Up of Angel Peak and Burn Area |
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