Historic Railroad Tunnels - 12/19/09

The Around the Bend Friends Hiking Club had thirty-one members on a hike through the Historic Railroad Tunnels and down to Hoover Dam today. The hike had a distance of around 7 miles with an elevation change of around 500 feet in the section from the fifth (and last) tunnel to the dam.

The hike begins at the Alan Bible Visitor Center located off of Hwy 93 in Boulder City just above the Lake Mead marina. From there, the trail leads through a gate which is closed after dark. Five tunnels which range from around 200 to 500 feet in length are arranged along the lake. There are beautiful views of the lake and benches have been placed there to accommodate those who wish to just sit and enjoy.

The tunnels were made for a short train ride from Boulder City to the Hoover Dam during the time the dam was being built. Dam workers who lived in Boulder City would take the train down into the canyon area to begin their work day.

The hikers spread out leaving those with cameras behind. It was a beautiful day and the photo ops were abundant. All we needed were a few big horn sheep to appear on the hillside! But, ... not today.


When we arrived at the dam, we realized that there were several members of the club hiking today that had never visited the dam. In fact, this was what brought many members to the hike. So, the hike coordinator decided to allow an hour break at the dam so that hikers could "visit Arizona," and the dam snack bar and gift shop.

The new bridge was hanging in its magnifi- cence up to the right. The concrete arch is finished and the highway is now being built along its support. Just as the Hoover Dam was a pioneer in civil engineering, so is its new bridge which should open by 2011.

Club members gathered at the outdoor tables to drink in the atmosphere of excited tourists. Some hikers joined in the revelry and walked across the dam to set foot in Arizona where, for a brief time, they were an hour ahead of the rest of us!

When hikers were finished with their dam visit, they climbed the dam steps or took the dam elevator to arrive back at the top floor of the dam parking garage where they began their hike up the hill and back through the tunnels to the cars. The weather had warmed up considerably and the slight wind was welcomed.

Lone Palm - 12/17/09

Finally ... sorry for the delay. Computer challenges.

Today, 18 hikers hiked the 4.5 mile trail to the Lone Palm on the Colorado River which is not far downstream from Hoover Dam. The trailhead is located in Arizona within all of the construction being done for the Hoover Dam by-pass bridge and approaching highway. However, once you hike out to the left and around the initial cliffs ledges and drop-offs, you are alone with the beautiful nature of the Black Canyon desert.

A new member of the hiking group spotted a small herd of big horn sheep up on the cliffs which we had just climbed around. We had begun dropping into the canyon when she shouted for our attention. We watched as about seven or eight big horns leapt up the wall giving us a near profile of themselves on the top of the cliff as each one reached level ground.

Each of the big horns had to leap across a small but high crevice near the top. If you look closely in the pictures, you can see one making this leap. The muscles in the legs and stomach are incredible. As you see in one picture, the leap required a bit of forethought .... Either that, or he/she was checking us out before he/she took off up the mountainside.





The climb down to the canyon was mostly done in a wash which had many dry waterfalls and boulders to climb over. The line of hikers began to spread out but the hike coordinator would often stop and do a head count to make sure we had not lost anyone. The scrambling was a full body workout for around a mile or two in length. At that time, we were almost to the river and the warm springs that came up in this area were apparent by the many tamarix or tamarisk trees and other scrub which were now yellow with the fall temperatures.

The hike today descended then ascended around 1200 feet in elevation.



At the river, we were presented with a gorgeous view of the lone palm, river and yellow colored vegetation as seen in the picture at the top. A few of the hikers went on down to see the famous waterfall that comes from the warm springs we had passed. On the way down, we saw these stalactites that were forming on the river wall from the mineral-filled water coming from the springs.

Also, down by the "Mighty Colorado" was the original "Lone Palm" which is, yes, dead. But, the lone palm did leave his legacy as there are at least eleven palms now growing in the area. Perhaps we should rename this hike "Eleven Palms!"

When we arrived at the river, one hiker had gone immediately down to the waterfall and was able to cross over to it on dry ground. During the next 10 minutes, water was let out of the dam and the pathway began getting covered with about 6 inches of water. When the blogger arrived at the pathway, she had to step over strategically placed rocks to get to the other side.

At the other side of the rising water, there was a small shore where the 15-foot waterfall flowed strong. To the left, I reluctantly show this horrible picture just to give an idea of how the waterfall relates to the river and shoreline. To return, we walked through the water seen next to the rock wall.

To begin the return to the cars, we crossed the warm springs and headed up the mountain- side towards the dam side. We climbed quite a bit and then dropped down quite a bit into the next big wash. During this traverse to the wash, we were met with a very interesting ladder-like dry waterfall which we ascended out of a box canyon.




At several high-points of the trail, we were able to look back in the downstream direction to see Liberty Bell Arch in the distance.



Near the end of the hike, the group split into two. One group chose to return via the old road that serviced the area long ago. It led up to Hwy 93 by way of a boulder climb then they were left with a 1/2 mile hike up the road. The other group, seen above, continued up the wash, climbed out of the ending box canyon and arrived close to the car park.

Snow at the Grand Canyon - 12/12/09

On a visit to the Grand Canyon last weekend, these pictures were taken. The visibility was low to non-existent during this time but the scenery was still awesome.

The temperatures were ranging from 40's down to the teens and there were several snow squalls. On the morning that we left, a blizzard attacked. But, thanks to the former UPS driver among us, it was not a problem for the 4WD and a loaded car!

It is a unique experience to see the Grand Canyon in snow. There were a lot less people and a lot more parking spaces! The service was excellent and the roads were kept passable. 4WD helped!

Above, you can see that the fog parted just long enough to present Indian Gardens and Plateau Point. One of my favorite experiences was drinking hot chocolate at the Desert View snack bar! Here, the visibility was so bad that we even had a difficult time finding the parking lot where five cars were parked!

This visit to the Grand Canyon will never be forgotten.

Ash Canyon & Oak Creek - 12/(10 & 12)/09

This week, the Around the Bend Friends will be hiking Ash Canyon on Thursday and Oak Creek on Saturday. For anyone who does one or both of these hikes, feel free to comment below on how they went. We would love to hear from you!

Badger Pass & Bird Spring Range - 12/05/09

Okay. (You must do this without a calculator.) You meet with a group of 29 hikers and on your way out to Cottonwood Valley, you pick up 8 more hikers from the nearby AFB. You hike with the whole group on the Badger Pass Trail until you reach Badger Pass, then 17 hikers of the group split off to return to the cars via the Dead Horse Loop. The remaining group of hikers begin a climb up to the top of the Bird Spring Range. What's the name of the hike leader? ... Oh, you've heard this one.

Today's hike was a very chilly one that began with the temp- eratures in the low 40's. The climb to Badger Pass went quickly. After the two groups separated, the group of hikers that explored the Bird Spring Range were rewarded with seeing many fossils in the darker rock found on top of the ridge. The total climb was around 1000 feet in elevation gain.



On top of the range, we saw a nice view of the Las Vegas Strip in one direction, Mt. Potosi in another direction, the Red Rock Canyon escarpment and the small town of Good Springs in other directions. The cloud cover made all the views somewhat hazy. However, the sun did finally come out by the last 2 miles of the 7 mile hike.

Along the rugged, steep cliffs of the ridge, we revisited the wrecked car that someone shoved off the edge a couple of years ago. In the right side of the picture to the right, you will find the car between rocks. The car is now burned and completely demolished unlike how we found it two years ago.



After viewing the car and having a quick windy break, we climbed one more summit on the range then turned right for a long descent to the valley. This section of the hike was the coldest and windiest. It is safe to say that there were more than a few hikers who felt somewhat miserable. But, I think it is also probably safe to say that most of them would not have wanted to be anywhere else.

Reaching the valley, we turned right again and began our return on the Dead Horse Loop Trail about a mile and a half further south than where the first group of hikers entered the trail. This is a fairly flat trail with beautiful views which leads the hiker through the boundary of the 2005 fire which burned much of the vegetation that we saw today.

Juniper Canyon - 12/03/09

Nine hearty hikers were absolutely "WOW-ed" by a chilly hike into Juniper Canyon today!

We began the hike at the Pine Creek Trailhead off of the Red Rock Canyon Scenic Loop. Passing the old Wilson house foundation, we caught the Arnight Trail which led over to the lead-off for Juniper Canyon. On the way over, we spied an elk carousing among the chollas on the canyon floor between us and the Oak Creek parking area. We were amazed to see an elk this far down in elevation as they usually reside in the higher altitudes of the Spring Mountains.

After 1.75 miles, we, finally, dropped down into the Juniper Canyon wash where we immediately began some really tough scrambling over large boulders up a steep incline. There were a few spots where some of the hikers needed a helping hand. The challenge was enjoyed by everyone as the wash got steeper and steeper.

Soon, we had to climb a large rock fall up to a level made of sandstone slab which was inclined at about 30 to 60 degrees. The exposure created by the sandstone was exhilarating as our hiking boots held on well to the rock.

Our climb ended near the rock face on the right side of the wash in an area where it was obvious that big horn sheep frequented. There were many prickly pear and agaves growing on the steep slope in the sun.

Another point of interest loomed large on the left side of the wash. Rainbow Wall, a popular and challenging rock climbing destination rose about 1000 feet above the wash. If you looked closely, you could see different colors in the rock. Beyond our view and higher into the canyon wash, is Gunsight Notch. A little further is where Juniper Peak is located. (Definitely a hike for another day!)

We sat, contentedly, on the sandstone slab eating our lunch and enjoying a spectacular view of the Red Rock Canyon floor and beyond. The hike down was strenuous and we took a slightly different route back to the Pine Creek parking area. The hike today was almost five miles with an elevation gain of around 1300 feet.