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| Liberty Bell Arch |
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| Colorado River from Overlook |
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| Old Manganese Mine |
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| Starting down to White Rock Canyon |
Ralyn's sister, Krista, was visiting this week so we added one to the fearsome foursome to make the fit five! We met at the White Rock Canyon Trailhead located on SR 93 in Arizona on mile marker 4; 4 miles south of the bridge over Hoover Dam and the Colorado River. This is a very popular trailhead since it also serves Arizona Hot Springs and several other lesser known hikes. Therefore, be aware that sometimes it is plagued by ne'er do wells breaking into cars; as recently as last week. Today, my husband, John, came with us to take a small walk then sit in the car and watch the parking lot while we hiked. (He's the best!) When we returned from the hike, there was also a park ranger standing at the trailhead watching for a short while.
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| Hiking into White Rock Canyon |
The Fit Five walked under the highway bridge and down the wide graveled wash as it funneled into White Rock Canyon.
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| Right turn onto Liberty Bell Arch Trail |
Named for the white granite rocks and boulders that flowed down from the Wilson Range far above dotting the canyon, White Rock Canyon is an awesome sight to behold.
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| Liberty Bell Arch Trail |
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| Liberty Bell Arch Trail |
But that hike is for another day and as we soon found the signed right turn up the embankment, we climbed out. Liberty Bell Arch Trail is a well-marked trail that has recently been maintained. After climbing to the top of the first high point and passing the large mining skiff that is leftover from the manganese mine days, we had a choice of trails. Disregard the trail to the right even though it heads in the direction of the mine below. It also heads to a steep drop! Turn left and follow the trail down until it splits. Take the right fork to detour over to the mine. We always visit the mine and check on its condition. Today, we wanted to show Krista. Everything looked in place so we took our photos and left. The route back to the main trail follows the wash down.
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| Manganese Mine & Miners(!) |
The wash route merges with the main Liberty Bell Trail and continues down the wash. In the spring, this area is absolutely filled with sundrop flowers!
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| Hiking down Wash - Arch seen Sideways |
For some time now, we could see the arch but only its side view. In the morning, there is a hint of daylight shining through the arch from its left side.
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| Approach to Liberty Bell Arch |
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| Today's Fit Five |
The trail begins its climb up to the arch and the hill beyond when it leaves the wash. At the first saddle junction, there is an overlook trail that afforded the view in the photo above. Next, we passed at the base of the arch and took our group photo. There are some amazingly large boulders in this area. The trail continues up past the arch and boulders to provide other great photo opps at a few more points. The trail, then, turns up to the right and heads toward the Colorado River Rim Overlook. This part of the trail requires caution as you climb on sandy stair-stepping rocks. We looked for bighorns but there were none where there have been before. After plateauing out a couple of times, the third time was the charm as we arrived at the overlook.
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| Arch and Bridge from further up Hill |
We climbed on up to the right and sat for a few minutes on the rocks overlooking the river. Unexpectedly, there was no breeze, if only slight. Perfect weather!
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| Climbing up to the Overlook |
Surprisingly, we noticed that someone has installed a log book box on the overlook! It lays next to a group of rocks on the lower corner of the hill by the trail. We signed in. (Most of us have not been here for some time.)
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| Lake Mead NRA at Black Canyon |
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| Red Barrel & Creosote above River |
After the break, we returned down the hill to the arch area. A couple more photos with different light and we began returning the same way we had come. We took the trail up the hill without revisiting the mine. This is a pretty good climb and the whole group did it without stopping. At the top, we took a water pause and continued down past the skiff. The trail led us down and up and down to the junction with White Rock Canyon. What came next was the most difficult, if not just unpleasant part of the hike! We turned left and began the climb back through the gravel to the trailhead. We took every opportunity we could find to get out of the gravel and hike on either solid rock or less travelled gravel.
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| Our Break at the Overlook |
Our pace sped up. With the two steps forward, one step back character of walking in gravel, speed helps.
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| Mike replaces the Log Book Box |
As we neared the bridge, we followed several trails in the wash. None of these were perfect but they helped.
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| Descending off the Overlook |
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| Huge Boulders below Arch |
We hiked under the bridge and started up the hill to the trailhead and passed a large group of COVID oblivious 20ish types. We had our masks pulled up. At the top of the hill, we said "hello" and "thank you" to the park ranger standing watch. It was a beautiful day at the river with the exception of a little haze toward the south. Lake Mead NRA never disappoints.
Stats: 5.5 miles; 1200' gain; 3.25 hours
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| Leaving the Arch Area |
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| Climbing up White Rock Canyon |
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| The Graveled last Mile |
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