An Exploratory in the Pale Washes Area (Valley of Fire State Park) - 3/5/21

Cotton Barrel among Yellow Rock in Fairyland Canyon

Yellow Spire at a place called Heaven

Tiny Hoodoos 

Rita and Mike entering Pastel Territory

The Tenacious Trio went up to the Valley of Fire State Park for an exploratory in the Yellow Spire area. During the process of this mission, I learned quite a bit. The first thing that comes to mind is that everything ... I mean everything ... has a name ... already. Therefore, I am going to try to be consistent with the given names of canyons, peaks, mesas, washes and features in the future. We all know that naming these natural occurrences is important when trying to explain routes to hikers. That is why I name things in this blog. I try to be consistent with names that I have heard in the past by the old timers and, sometimes, I name stuff just so that my blog will make a little more sense. I also try not to fall into the new names that other groups have created without really knowing any history.

Turret Rock, I think

Top of Heaven Wash

Heaven Wash above Confluence

Taking in the View

So, this blog will give the reader a little insight to what it takes to create a hike. For instance, there is a lot of trial and error. I love the Yellow Spire hike that Brian D. has created. But, I wanted to see more of the area in which it lies. This large area from Color Castles to Painted Pinnacles has been named Pale Washes. And, interestingly enough, the immediate area of the Yellow Spire and Hoodoo Alley is really named "Heaven!" I'll be using some of the names that I have learned in the blog, following. On this exploration, the three of us descended down through the tortoise burrows, ... carefully, and arrived at the top of Heaven Wash, one wash over from Brian's normal descent wash. This is the wash that flows right by Heaven. It is very colorful. I couldn't stop taking a lot of photos!

Entering a Gold Section

Gold Wall in Heaven Wash

Heaven Wash below Confluence

Approaching Heaven

We took our group photo in Heaven 😁, then hiked down past the smaller hoodoos to connect with Fairyland Canyon. Fairyland Canyon is a small wash that flows to the right after the hoodoos. We turned to the right and followed the canyon wash until we came to where Brian's hike re-enters from some other fun. From there, we climbed up into the orange stuff and found the up and over spot that we remembered. Down the other side, we continued down the main wash which is called Castle Wash. This wash begins in flattish terrain. Next, the walls become a little higher creating a few interesting scrambles. After almost a mile, we finally came to the rabbit hole intersection where we took a break in the shade.

Rita crosses away from Tiny Hoodoos

The Tenacious Trio at Yellow Spire

Snoopy Hoodoo in Fairyland Canyon

Fairyland Canyon

(This is where the general route deviates.) We still call it the rabbit hole but the hole was filled in by a flood a few years ago. What is left is a very difficult climb that usually requires butt-pushing and hand-pulling. Wishing to eliminate the difficult non-rabbit hole rabbit hole, we went left instead of right at the intersection. Around the corner, the wash flattened out into the desert where old roads had been built to serve the silica mining in the area. These old roads are difficult to find but once you are on them, they are easy to follow. We climbed out of the wash to the left and went searching for the road that was made up on the mesa that runs along the Castle Wash to the northwest. Faced with a large bowl of desert terrain, we found the road. It took us up to the top of the mesa with views on either side. To the right, we saw Color Castles and, to the left, we saw Pale Washes. Somewhere along the road, we saw a trail coming up from Fairyland. I intend to use this trail to shorten the hike in the future if I can find it at the bottom. So, we followed the road until the mesa ran out and curved down to the left balancing on a thin ridge of land. I wondered how a car or cart could balance here without falling off. It must have been exciting!

More Hoodoos

Color Castles heading to Over-the-Top

Other Side of Over-the-Top

Starting down Castle Wash to Rabbit Hole

The road dropped into a wash, came to a cliff, then crossed the wash to the next ridge. From there, it dropped into the next wash and flowed down to Fairyland Canyon. We turned to the right and hiked back to Heaven. I have decided to call the road up on the mesa "Highway to Heaven." 😁

Passing the Yellow Spire, it was tempting to head back up the road that we usually use to return to the cars but I had one more canyon I wanted to explore. We dropped back into Heaven Wash and turned left. The wash is very wide at this point where it flows shortly down to join a fork. We took a sharp right turn at the fork and continued up the wash until we came to another fork.

Castle Wash and Scrambles

Last Scramble before Rabbit Hole

Mike returns from Rabbit Hole Check

Taking a Break below Rabbit Hole in Shade

The wash to the right continues up beside the last mentioned road. Our canyon turned to the left. This is White Wash, a beautiful find! I would have taken more photos but our pace picked up due to the warmth. I will return to this canyon soon. However, for now, there is a photo collage seven photos below. We entered the wide wash and curved to the right where we saw a cairn. The wash slowly began narrowing as the walls got taller and the curves got sharper. Finally, we came to a slot where it was necessary to climb over a couple of large boulders to continue. The slot is why I need to return. We didn't persevere not knowing what was behind the second boulder so we climbed out a side crack.

                                                 Connecting with an old plateau Scenic Road

View toward Trailhead from Plateau Road

Road Descent back into Fairyland Canyon

Following Fairyland Canyon back to Heaven

I would like to try hiking down from the top of the canyon to see what the slot does on the other side. If everything is hunky dory, it will be a wonderful addition to the hike I am creating. So, on this endeavor, we had climbed up a precarious crack with loose rock and arrived among a lot of pale washes! We saw the canyon below us but realistically needed to be on the other side. Not wanting to do the big drop and climb to get to the other side, we decided to circumnavigate the canyon which added a little bit of mileage. Nevertheless, we managed to do just that and cross over to meet the road that we have used to return from Painted Pinnacles in the past. We turned right on this road and began the 3/4 mile ascent back to the cars.

Return through Heaven

Last look at Heaven

White Wash Canyon on Return

Climb out of White Wash Canyon

Although this hike was quite the adventure, I hope to finalize a better hike in the future. If all goes as planned, it will be a <6 mile hike whereas, this hike was a >7 miler. Every mile in Valley of Fire is like, ... well, how does it go, Brian? ... two miles anywhere else? An excellent fun and beautiful day!

Stats: >7 miles; ~1000' gain; 4.75 hours

Circumnavigating in the Pale Washes

Connecting with Road (Silica Dome in Background)

Shortcut Trail back to Cars