Cairn Trails Loop - 11/5/26

Snowy Spring Mountains beyond Upper Cairn Trail Ridge

View down through Black Velvet Canyon from Mountain Springs Peak Trail Ridge

View behind escarpment ridge from Upper Cairn Trail

A dog, a smile and our desert mountain Foliage
What more could you want?

What would a November in Las Vegas be without a trip up to Mountain Springs Peak? So, Susan, Amora and I almost did just that! Still fascinated with the Upper and Lower Cairned Trails, we parked at the Mountain Springs Pass Trailhead and started up the 4x4 road toward the antenna. After climbing the first hill, we turned to the left onto the shortcut trail. This trail ends at another road and we turned left. (Take note of the cairn here.) We followed this road up and around a corner until we came to a trail that crossed the gulley to the left. This led to another trail (right) and ended up at an old dirt road roundabout. (Begin looking for cairns.) The trail continues across the circle. Further up, there is a fork. Go left for the Upper Cairn Trail and continue straight for the Lower Cairn Trail. We forked to the left and began a beautiful climb up a ridge filled with desert foliage and rocky sections. The trail is cairned but if you stay atop the ridge, you're "gold!"As we neared the main ridge above, the trail became steeper. We tried, as we had before, to go right and traverse over to the main ridge where the Mountain Springs Peak Trail resides. It didn't work so well this time. Anyway, we found the trail and began following it to the right. 

Amora

Susan and Mt. Potosi

Here, there are magnificent views of the sandstone bluffs from above. Reaching the trail, we found ourselves not far above Black Velvet Canyon and we could see Windy Peak rising up from the sandstone bluffs to the right. We took our break and continued until we passed the Windy Peak Trail fork to the left.  Not much further, we found the junction to the Lower Cairn Trail on the right. The trail begins with a short zigzag down and heads out to a rock outcrop at a point on the ridge. After passing the outcrop, the trail begins to drop a bit steeper. At the bottom, we crossed the gulley again and hiked on down to the Cairned Trails Fork. 

Reaching Mountain Springs Trail from Upper Cairn Trail

Resting with Susan and Amora

Continuing straight, we retraced our steps back to the car. It was a cool day in the mountains and we saw a few other hikers ... each with dogs! Amora was a great sport and is becoming quite the scrambler! We took our time and enjoyed every minute.

Stats: 3.5 miles; 1100' gain

A cairn on Upper Cairn Trail - Mountain Springs, NV Beyond

Windy Peak as we descend the Lower Cairn Trail

Outcrop on Lower Cairn Trail

Blue Diamond Canyon 5 Loop 2 - 11/2/26

Amora at Blue Diamond Canyon 5

Hiking bike trail above Canyon 5

Amora's introduction to Scrambling

Sponge fossil in a chert Bubble

Susan, Sue, Amora and I parked at the Wheeler Camp Springs Trailhead near Blue Diamond, NV, on SR 159. The trailhead is difficult to see as you come down the road from the Red Rock Scenic Loop area. Suffice it to say, after you pass the old Oliver Ranch gate and a blue info sign, the trailhead turns to the right. There is a yellow and black striped sign at the entrance indicating a cattle grate. Amora, my standard poodle, won't cross the cattle grate but neither would a biker's dogs that started across the road at the same time we did. Amora and I crossed the fence to the right and then crossed the road to enter into Canyon 5. The bike trail leads you in and out of the canyon wash until it climbs up to the left side of the canyon. If you are a scrambler extraordinaire, keep going up the canyon and find a challenging dryfall climb of about 5-6 feet. Instead, we took the trail that continues along the side of the canyon above on the left. After passing the deepest part of the canyon, the trail drops back in and we began scrambling up between the walls. This was Amora's first scramble! And, she was very good at it! We weaved and dodged through the rocks and small drops until we reached the fork where a big boulder sits. Here, we stopped for water, snacks and dog treats. In this area, there were some interesting sponge fossils as seen in the photo to the left and below.

Rest at Big Boulder Fork

Sponge fossil in a chert Bubble

We returned to the big wash junction where the trail came down into the canyon wash. In this area, there is a continuation of the bike trail that climbs out of the wash and up onto the surface above. Finding the Lower Goatroper Trail, we turned to the left and followed the trail as it wiggled its way up the hill. Reaching a small ridge, we found the double cairn marker and turned left onto Flow Job. This trail led us down the small ridge and back over to the trail we started out on. Back through the lower part of Canyon 5, we crossed SR 159 again and found the cars. A short but sweet hike with the super-scrambler poodle.         Stats: 4 miles; and 700' gain.

Scrambling between the Walls

Canyon 5 with the red rock escarpment Beyond

Cottonwoods at Wheeler Camp Spring in Distance