Harris Wash Ridge / Slot Loop - 6/15/23

Within Harris Slot Canyon

Waterslide Canyon

Harris Wash from Gulley Drop

Ercie Road to Harris Wash Ridge

Still cooler than normal for a June in Las Vegas, three of us went out to explore a well-known slot canyon in the lower elevations of Kyle Canyon. About 14 miles up Kyle Canyon Road from SR 95 lies the Lower Showgirl Trailhead on the south side of the road. It is a gravel road that almost invisibly turns just less than a mile up from the large Harris Springs Road parking lot ... in burro country! The Lower Showgirl Trail begins by dropping into the wash past the small parking area at the trailhead, going through the road tunnel and on up the hill. Today, Ralyn, Mike and I dropped into the wash and continued up the gravel road (Ercie Rd.) to the left. This road brought us up a gentle slope to the top of Harris Wash Ridge with beautiful views of Charleston Peak seen up canyon. There were tire tracks and fire rings indicating that some HCVs have used the road to travel up to the ridge by vehicle to camp.

Following Ercie Road on Ridge

Hiking out to Harris Wash Overlook

Cloudy Morning over Charleston Peak

Reaching top of Gulley Drop

On the ridge, we began hearing a lot of burros braying! We think they were located in a favorite spot within the Harris Wash Canyon. As we toured around on the maze of old dirt roads atop the ridge, we visited an overlook above the deep wide canyon to look for the wildlife. While we were there, we also scouted Plan B for a descent into the canyon. The burros were still braying but we didn't see them. On our way over to yet another gulley among the roads, to our surprise, we saw another hiker with a dog. When the dog barked, the braying stopped! We dipped into the largest gulley on the ridge and hoped this would lead us to a decent descent. It was brushy but there was a pathway through.Wading through the bushes, we finally found ourselves at a seemingly dead end, a high dry fall into the canyon. Au contraire! The burros had it figured out! To our right, there appeared a burro trail around and down the trailing steep ridge. Those burros, with their four on the floor, didn't seem to have a fear of heights as the path wound around a questionable scree slide. However, most burro trails don't require scrambling or jumping so we knew we were good!

Taking Burro Trail around Gulley Drop

June Flowers of the Morning

Archaic Junk in Harris Wash

Steep climb up Burro Trail to opposite Ridge

The burro trail took us all the way down where we saw the tall dry fall we had avoided. Yep. That was not an option! As we got into the wide wash and crossed toward the exiting burro trail on the other side, we hiked through a lot of "antique" cans, car parts, a hot water heater, and other debris that is older than 50 years, and therefore, not eligible to be removed by hikers. Soon, we were at the burro trail on the south side of the canyon that I have often wondered about. It was a long diagonal climb but very doable. The burros know! We took a couple of breathers on the way. Finally, at the top, we were on an intermediate plateau that lies between the climbing Harris Springs Road and the Harris Wash Canyon. Totally unexpected, the burro trail continued before us ... and in the direction we wished to go! We followed it more or less straight across the plateau to the wash gulley at the base of the opposite ridge that holds Harris Springs Road. This gulley was another question mark in our exploratory.

Burro Trail reaches Waterslide Wash in Distance

Burro Tracks in Waterslide Wash

Picturesque Waterslide Wash

Mike returns from excursion up Top

The burro trail dipped into the wash and continued up the other side. But, there were also burro tracks in the dirt lining the bottom of the wash. This was a good sign. Ralyn and I turned left to descend the wash and see what we could see. Mike explored the burro trail that climbed up on the other side. He ended up having to bushwhack back down into the wash since the trail seemed to continue up to the top of that ridge. The wash was a little scrambly and very photogenic. There was one drop that we used a burro trail to get around but it looked like hikers before us had placed a log at the bottom that likely helped more on an ascent instead of a descent. On down the wash, we turned the corner seen in the photo below and got a huge surprise! Omg! I was not expecting the huge steep waterslide that awaited us! The question quickly became, "Is there a way to get down the last drop if we go ahead and descend the bumpy but slippery rock layer in front of us?" Well, there was only one way to find out! Down we went! Ralyn arrived first and, in her usual brave attack, she smoothly dropped down the 7 feet of scramble. Mike and I followed. It really wasn't bad. Quite fun, actually!

Arriving at the top of the Waterslide

Fun Waterslide Descent

Mike takes a break in the Slot Canyon

Exiting Harris Slot

It was a "walkout" from what will now be known as the Waterslide Wash into the Harris Wash Canyon just before the wide canyon narrowed into the slot. For all of us, it was strange to be in the slot without a large group of hikers! I tried to get the photos that I never could before. But, Ralyn's photo to the left, of the exit on the other side, is excellent! We took a short break and continued through the slot area. Around the corner to the left, we came to the dreaded steep hill called Wash Road! Well, the hike is only 4.5 miles so two steep climbs within the 3 hours is, in my opinion, acceptable. Hmm. Anyway, up we went! At the top of the ridge, I turned to the left to hike out to an overlook of the slot. After returning to Wash Road, we continued climbing along the ridge. The burros returned to braying. I thought the gentle but definite ascent would never end! Finally, we came to the junction with Ercie Road and started back down to the trailhead. The beautiful view of Charleston Peak completed the hike! Fun day. Learned new stuff!

Stats: 4.5 miles; 840' gain; 2.75 hours

View from steep climb up Wash Road

Wash Road Ascent

Ercie Road Descent to Cars