Cave Canyon / Mystery Woman Canyon - 3/22/22

Entrance to Cave Canyon

View back from inside Cave Canyon

Skull Canyon Descent

Hiking to Upper Corral

The wind dissipated slightly from its weekend display and after having a few days off, it was time to get back out there for Rita and I. We hoped to avoid most of the brunt of gusts by using three canyons located within the North Blue Diamond Hill. These canyons ran primarily in a direction other than the wind's source and we would only be exposed to gusts for a minimal part of the route. Getting a late start this morning, we parked at the Cowboy Trails Trailhead at 10:38am and headed up to the Upper Corral. With a dive into the Cave Canyon / Echo Canyon approach, we passed a large hiking group who were coming out. Following the trail to the left, we entered Cave Canyon in the mid-morning sunlight.

Top of 3rd Class Climb

Cave Canyon

Double Trouble in Cave Canyon

Scramble

The first point of interest in Cave Canyon is always the 3rd class dry fall climb. Now, there is a ladder here making it a little less daunting but nonetheless tricky. At the top of the fall, we took on a very relaxed pace up through the wash. We chose a few different scrambles than we usually do. Just having fun. The tent caterpillars are out. The Desert Paintbrush, Mormon Tea and Joshua Trees are blooming. We saw one Mojave Yucca bloom. At the fork, we turned to the left and followed the wash up to the box end of the canyon. Using the right side scramble, we climbed out of the canyon after 2.25 canyon miles then used Tony's shortcut route up to the SARS Trail on the left. Soon, we were standing at the Boneshaker sign. 

Interesting Stuff

Rita climbing out at End of Left Fork

View from top of Cave Canyon

Hiking down Boneshaker Trail

 From there, we headed down Boneshaker Trail to the second trail junction on the right. This is the continuation of the SARS Trail that brings you down into Mystery Woman Canyon. We sat on rocks to take a break from our slow hike! Now in the Mystery Woman Canyon wash, we turned left to descend the seldom used route. There is evidence that hikers sometimes grace their presence but the route is not well worn. There are several scramble drops within the route but none were too large for us. Tiny segments of route finding kept us entertained for 0.4 miles. At this time, we junctioned with Skull Canyon Trail. Another left turn put us on our remaining descent. 

Starting down Mystery Woman Canyon

Mystery Woman Canyon

Scramble in Mystery Woman Canyon

Junction with Skull Canyon

We used the wash for most of the descent until we had to climb out just past the cairn that sits below the hill on the right side. Rounding the corner on the trail, we were met with a colorful view of the Calico Hills. The trail joined the Muffins Trail and continued down switchbacks to the base of Boneshaker Hill. We hiked on over to the horse corral and back to the car. It was a fabulous morning. Only a few gusts tried to push us over but we survived! 😉

Stats: 5.5 miles; 1075' gain; 4.25 hours

Limestone Bed in Skull Canyon

Skull Canyon Trail

Calico Hills from end of Skull Canyon Trail