Sandstone Quarry / White Rock Hills Loop - 5/8/14

White Rock Hills in Front of Red Rock Escarpment

Sandstone Quarry Sunrise Behind Creosote Bush

 Today's hike was a 4 mile climb up into the hills at the base of the La Madre mountain range followed by a 3 mile descent in a series of washes. It began and ended at the Sandstone Quarry trailhead parking off of the scenic loop of Red Rock Canyon NCA. Fifteen hikers started the trek on a cool May morning finding the Grand Circle Trail that crossed through the quarry area and led west.

Grand Circle Trail

 A swift pace was established right away and we stayed on the Grand Circle all the way across the upper portion of the park where we crossed the scenic loop twice.

Grand Circle Trail

 This part of the hike had its ups and downs. It wasn't until we reached the White Rock Springs Road that we began to feel the familiar ascent muscles take charge. There would be very little downward hiking between this point and the high point of the morning. We hiked quickly up the dirt road as the conversation continued. At the trailhead parking above, a few hikers took a small break at the restroom. Ready to continue, we started up the White Rock Hills Trail and soon turned right onto the Keystone Thrust Trail.

Starting the Climb to Keystone Thrust

 We were beginning to feel the climb as we passed the old agave roasting pit on the way to the fault area. At the fault turn off, there were rocks lined along the trail suggesting that we not continue up the trail seen in the photo below.

Continuation of Trail after Keystone Thrust

 After a brief break, we stepped over the rocks and continued climbing. Our group got a little separated as we took the hill. Old road tracks turned to a single track trail and we continued climbing. Finally, we reached another agave roasting pit that was considerably less preserved. Here, there is a small trail that drops into a small wash to the right. We gathered for the fifth time so far while taking a deserved rest at the high point.

Gathering Spots on the Climb

 We descended single file into the small wash below. Right away, the wash appeared suspiciously larger than it did on previous trips. It wasn't long before the wash junctioned with a much larger wash and it was extremely apparent that this wash had grown wide and rocky from a recent tumultuous rainstorm. Gone was the small quaint brushy wash that used to be fun to negotiate.

Hiking Down Upper Wash

 Now, we had to contend with a lot of loose boulders and gravel galore. The brush was either swept aside or somewhere downstream broken off at the roots and stuffed full of invasive stones.

Newly Washed Out Wash

 We sat among the flood washed boulders for a snack break while we contemplated the change in scenery. Amazing. After the respite, we continued on our way down. Eventually, the large wash junctioned with a really wide wash. This one was familiar in size even though we could tell that it, also, was recently rearranged. As we hiked, the Calico Hills came into view as Turtlehead Peak watched us from overhead on the left side.

Being Careful on Newly Turned Stones

 After exiting from the boulder filled wash, the downhill hike on the gravel was forgiving on our feet.

Previously a Quaint Small Brushy Wash

 We hiked along heading towards the Red Cap crowned quarry area in the distance trying not to disturb the gremlins residing on the hovering Turtlehead Peak. Staying on the right side of the wide wash brought us to an area where we junctioned with the Turtlehead Trail and finished the hike back to the cars in the still cool air.

7 miles; 1700 feet elevation gain; just over 3 hours

Following the Large Wash to the Turtlehead Trail

A Prickly Bouquet

Fletcher Peak (after a Mummy's Toe attempt) - 5/6/14

Mummy's Toe on a Wicked Day

The Reason the Hike Turned Back

 Last Tuesday, the Super Hikers decided to attempt a Mummy's Toe summit. It is still a little early in the season for those higher elevations and this was made clear when the group of twelve hikers arrived from the North Loop climb at Mummy Springs. To get to Mummy's Toe, Mummy Springs comes first. The trail was snow covered and impassable. All was not lost as a substitute hike to Fletcher Peak ensued. There was no snow cover on the way to this smaller peak, although as the group hiked, it was snowing and giving Fletcher Peak a light dusting. It was also reported that the temperatures were near freezing! With the backtracking included, the hike was 8 miles.

NOTE: There is bike lane construction going on on Kyle Canyon Hwy. Unfortunately, approximately 5 miles of road is blocked for one way traffic with a pilot car. All summer, plan for your trip up Kyle Canyon to last around 15 minutes longer.

A Light Dusting of Snow on Fletcher Peak Descent

Oak Creek - 5/5/14

Puddle in Oak Creek!

Entering Mouth of Oak Creek Canyon

 A wind storm was brewing this morning. "Dust in the wind..." and all that. But fourteen hikers came out anyway for a moderate hike along Oak Creek and into the mouth of Oak Creek Canyon of the Red Rock Canyon NCA. We began at the scenic loop exit gravel parking lot and started hiking across the desert toward Potato Knoll, a hill that stands alone in front of the escarpment.

Lush Oak Creek Terrain

 The route crosses an old road then begins dropping into the Oak Creek wash area that is filled with foliage. It was an early morning start so we enjoyed seeing the sunrise on the face of the peaks in front of us.

One of Oak Creek (dry) Crossings

 We followed along the Oak Creek drainage crossing the dry creek bed three times. It is too late in the spring for there to be much water in the creek but we did see a couple of large puddles. When we got past the base of Potato Knoll, we began a steady but easy climb on a trail heading into Oak Creek Canyon, a large chasm that opened between Rainbow Peak and Wilson Peak of the Red Rock escarpment.

Following Trail on South Side of Oak Creek Canyon

 At the end of the trail, we dropped into the Oak Creek Canyon wash. If we had chosen to go any further, we would have had to begin some large boulder scrambling and this would have knocked the hike up to a more strenuous level.

Snack Break at the Mouth of Oak Creek Canyon

 We took our snack break here finding a pocket out of the worst of the wind. Thankfully, the wind died down a lot for our trip back so we were able to enjoy the flowers blooming around us and, oddly, the dung beetle mating season! We all enjoyed the morning no matter what the wind did ... we just spoke and joked around with each other in a louder voice! (It's amazing how many jokes there are to make about dung beetles.)

5.5 miles; 600 feet elevation gain; less than 3 hours

Heading Back Out of the Canyon Mouth

Wind Storm in Action

Little Zion Loop - 5/1/14

Arriving at Little Zion (aka The Park)

Endless Sandstone of Little Zion

The Approach Road to Rainbow Springs

 Seventeen hikers in four high clearance vehicles drove over Highway 160's Mountain Springs Pass and turned right onto Lovell Canyon Road. Just before the 1 mile marker, we turned right onto the gravel approach road for the trailhead at Rainbow Springs. We found the road to be in good condition for any medium/high clearance vehicle as we motored along behind the Red Rock Canyon NCA escarpment. Near the end of the road, there is space for parking on the right side of the road.

The Trailhead

 We piled out of our cars and began our hike to Little Zion by stepping gingerly up the spring covered wash. We said "hi" to a camper and his dog as we passed.

Being Tested by the Beginning of the Ascent Wash

The Ascent Wash

 The wash curved around to the right while passing two other washes that junctioned on the left. Our wash began with an agave roasting pit up to our right, then a limestone climb up, then we passed a clear trail coming across the wash adorned with cairns that we ignored. Our route, today, would continue up this chosen wash until we were 1.25 miles from the trailhead. At this point, there is a log blocking this wash and cairns that suggest we turn right into another wash. This wash contains the trail that would lead us up to the escarpment rim.

Escarpment Rim Trail Tree

 The rim view arrives suddenly and it is fun to hear the newbies ooh and ahh! Here, we could see the lake down at the bottom that is at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park. Between us and the lake, there was mainly a big gaping hole!

Escarpment Colors from the Rim

Hiking the Escarpment Rim Trail

 The escarpment rim described a U-shape and we were at the bottom of the U. Our trail turned to the right and we began a hike around the rim to the top of the U. We had to ascend and descend steeply along the edge a couple of times before we reached the large limestone cairn that marked the entrance trail and wash to Little Zion. To our left was the Peak-ee-toe peak. Ahead of us was Sandstone Peak and, on the other side of Little Zion rose Monument Peak.

Monkey Flowers on the Escarpment Rim

 Yellow Monkey Flowers were in bloom all around. Laszlo took the time to take the great photo above from the rim trail.

Brian says, "See you next year!"

Descending the Sandstone Slab at Little Zion

 Finally passing the large limestone cairn, we noted the steep wash below and decided on taking the trail down to the sandstone slab. The trail curves around toward the south then drops hikers into a small wash to make the descent a little more pleasant. At the bottom of the sandy wash, the sandstone begins. The newbies were duly impressed! The yellow sandstone stretched far out between peaks of the escarpment.

Little Zion

 Since the wind was blowing annoyingly, we descended down the slab to the left and took our break in a sandstone pocket that blocked the wind.

Laszlo Enjoys Little Zion for the First Time

Four Hikers Take their Break on the Arch

 From our pocket, we could see the arch, the small forest, part of the entrance wash and a very large bird's nest high in a pine tree. Four hikers decided to take an excursion over to the arch for their break. Later, five other hikers explored the south wash that backs up to Monument Peak. There was water in the small tenajas of the wash.

The Arch on the Right; The Entrance Wash on the Left

 We probably spent around 30 minutes enjoying Little Zion. We didn't see any large wildlife except for two bighorns as we returned around the escarpment rim later.

Taking a Break Out of the Wind

Exploring the Wash at the Base of Monument Peak

 After the break, we returned up to the large limestone cairn the same way we had come down. This was, perhaps, the most difficult climb of the morning. We circled around the rim trail then before we reached the ascent wash, we turned left down a different wash. Warned that we would do a little "exploring," everyone seemed to brace themselves! The first wash was very brushy, however, comforting cairns were already marking the way.

Heading Back up the Wash Trail to the Rim Cairn

 At the first wash junction, we turned left. From then on, all the junction turns were to the right. We didn't recognize anything until we were almost all the way down to Rainbow Springs Road. Then we saw that we were in the same wash that we use for the Mountain Spring Peak Loop.

A Look Back from the Rim

The Obstacle Course that is the Descent Wash

A huge sigh of relief could be heard when we found the dirt road and turned again to our right. A half mile on the dirt road and we were in the springs / agave roasting pit area. We toured through the marshy springs area and visited a roasting pit then managed to accidentally on purpose hike right down to the trailhead! No back-tracking required. A nice loop if you enjoy a challenging obstacle course through brushy washes!

Agave Roasting Pit at Rainbow Springs

 Under 6.5 miles; 1900 feet elevation gain; 3.5 hours

Finishing at the Spring Wash