Fletcher Peak (Up Deer Creek & Down Wild Horse Ridge) - 8/7/14

View Down Deer Creek Canyon

Fletcher Peak from North Loop Trail

From Wild Horse Ridge to Mummy Mountain

 It was a deliciously cool August morning when thirteen hikers parked at the large Deer Creek Road turnout across from the exit of Wild Horse Canyon in the Spring Mountains NRA. (This would be the first turnout on the right side of the road after the North Loop Trailhead as you drive up from Kyle Canyon.) We crossed the road and started hiking up the dirt road which is a little further down. This is named Cougar Ridge Trail. As we climbed the summer homes' road, our hands became chilled. Knowing this wouldn't last long, we just marveled at the phenomena. Our warm up continued when we junctioned with the trail that continued straight when the dirt road turned to the right. A trickle of water came down through the small canyon along the trail. Recent rains have made the trail difficult to decipher in a few places but we knew the way.

Climbing up from Deer Creek to Ridge

 Our hands had warmed up by the time we reached the trail that leads up to the ridge on the right side of the canyon. This is a very steep climb to surmount a ridge that would take us all the way up to Mummy Springs.

Still Climbing to Ridge

 The climb levels a tad when the hiker reaches the ridge, but thirteen hikers could swear that the rate of ascent was not reduced noticeably!

Enjoying Mummy Springs after the Big Climb

 We followed the ridge until it junctioned with the Mummy's Toe Trail. Here, we turned to our left to hike toward Mummy Springs. Since there has been a lot of rain recently, we hiked up the hill to take note of the spring's water flow. It was a mere trickle, however, even a trickle was more than we saw a few weeks ago on another hike. After our visit, we continued up the trail to Raintree. Our pace was pleasant. Steady. It was a good group of hikers.

Raintree Junction

 Curious, we decided to check out the small trail that led from Raintree to the Fletcher Peak Trail on the opposite side of the hill in front of us than the North Loop Trail.

Exploring Small Trail from Raintree to Fletcher Peak Trail

 We had visions in our head of the new trail leading us across the contour and ending at the saddle far below. Nope. It led us straight to the Fletcher Peak Trail junction with North Loop! Our little adventure ended up being a lot shorter than we thought it would.

Fletcher Peak Trail descent to Saddle

 So, we started out the Fletcher Peak Trail and did the regular descent down to the saddle. The trail, that we are getting to know very well this summer, continues over a few small false peaks and finally ends on top of Fletcher Peak. The views and landscape on this part of the hike are gorgeous. Lots of bristlecones and limestone with distant views of Mt. Charleston and Mummy's Toe. Weirdly, we were staying so much together that one hiker described it as a rare AtBF conga line! Yes. We were well matched today.

Fletcher Peak Trail

 Once on the peak, we took in the wide view of Kyle Canyon noting, again, the unfortunate fire ravaged landscape.

Kyle Canyon from Fletcher Peak

 Sign the log book. Eat a snack. Drink some water. And, take photos. (Not sure what Richard and Sylvie saw when the photo below was taken!)

Atop Fletcher Peak

 On our way down, we met up with another club member taking a solo hike and stopped for a short chat. Then, it was back up from the saddle to the North Loop Trail. Turn right. Then we gathered again at the North Loop high point corner. Woo hoo! It's all downhill from here! So, down the North Loop switchbacks, we went ... all together! Conversations never stopped. So, given the jumbled word with letters "f-s-c-a-i-o," what is the word? Janet figured it out!

Switchbacking on the North Loop Trail

 The day had warmed up but it was still very cool and pleasant. We were loving the lower humidity!

Approaching the North Loop Meadow

 At the top end of the North Loop meadow, we turned left onto a small wooded trail that crosses over to Wild Horse Canyon and Wild Horse Ridge.

Hiking the Wooded Crossover Trail

 We followed the ever disappearing trail all the way over to the end of the earth. There, we turned right and started down the ridge on a very feint trail. We arrived at the top end of Wild Horse Ridge and started down the long rock ridge that lies parallel and above Deer Creek. We hiked down the rock with enjoyment and finally, at the end, did a small scramble off of it. From there, we dropped to the dirt road off to the left and returned to our cars. Fabulous hike! Good workout!

The word is "fiasco."

Enjoying Wild Horse Ridge

 6.6 miles; 2500 feet elevation gain; 4 hours

Nearing the End of Wild Horse Ridge

Small Scramble off of Wild Horse Ridge

McFarland Approach - 8/5/14

McFarland Peak from the Bonanza Trail

Bonanza Trail

 McFarland Peak is located about half way between the Upper Bristlecone Trailhead and the northern Bonanza Trailhead on the Spring Mountain Divide. Although the approach hike is lengthy, it offers beautiful views near and far. Fourteen hikers arrived this morning for that beauty on the kind of fantastic day that can only be created by previous rain, and lots of it! On the way to the Upper Bristlecone trailhead, we saw for ourselves the aftermath of the flood that happened on I-95 near the Lee Canyon Road turn off yesterday. The road had been cleaned up and we zipped right through.

Hiking the Upper Bristlecone Trail

 We started up the trail with conversation centering around what a great day it was! Blue skies, crisp cool air and lower humidity. Not to mention, a soft palette of damp earth to walk on.

Nearing the Saddle on No Name Trail

 About a mile up the trail, we gathered at the No Name Trail junction. The climb would start here. So, we stepped over the logs and began our trek up to the No Name Saddle. At the top, we sat for a short rest. We were not in a hurry. The day was too nice to rush through a hike. Next, we hiked through the old bristlecone forest and junctioned with the Bonanza Trail ... where we again stepped over a bunch of logs. Another short rest.

Bonanza Trail

 The Bonanza Trail "steps" were next. We turned to our left and began climbing a series of terraced steps. The morning light plays on this section of the trail creating long shadows.

Bonanza Trail

The first familiar spot we passed was the junction with the route up Pine Cone Canyon from below. Next, we met with the small switchbacks that lead up to the local high point of the Bonanza Trail. Looking back, we saw Mt. Charleston rising above everything around it. It's backside appearing daunting and unforgiving. We stayed together for the most part as we hiked out.

Bonanza Trail

 The next small section of trail is filled with limestone and bare bristlecone trees. We were traveling near the ridge up to our right. McFarland was in clear view ahead of us.

View West from Bonanza Trail

 To our left, we had intermittent views of the Pahrump Valley in the distance. The old twisted bristlecones kept coming and the trail climbed and fell several times. We passed the trail junction for the ridge that drops down to South Sister Saddle. Then, at this point, the trail was falling more than climbing and as we neared McFarland, we began a long descent that was only shortly interrupted by small ascents. This last mile of the trek to the McFarland Peak Trail lost almost 500 feet in elevation. (Something to remember about the return hike.)

Bonanza Trail

 For five hikers, today, our plan was simple. Cut our losses and stop at the clearing where the trail starts to circumvent McFarland.

Approaching McFarland

 The clearing was one half mile and around 250 feet above the McFarland Peak Trail junction. The remaining hikers took on the extra half mile with enthusiasm. The only disadvantage of stopping at the clearing, that we saw, was that the chilly wind blowing across the saddle made it uncomfortable for us to stay there very long. The five of us had to take our break then start the return hike before the remaining nine hikers got back up the hill from their pilgrimage to the peak trail. Before we left, we checked out the large camp shelter nearby.

Large Camp Shelter near Clearing Saddle

 We hiked back to the Bonanza / No Name Trail junction in four groups. Although the groups were spread out along the trail, we've hiked together long enough to know what's probably ... most likely ... going on with everyone else. We are also sure to take care of the newbies any time circumstances warrant it.

Returning on the Bonanza Trail

 At the junction, we gathered again. Turns out, we weren't separated by much. Another rest and we started down the Bonanza Trail switchbacks toward the Bristlecone Trail junction. There, we turned right and did the last 2 miles back to the cars on the Upper Bristlecone Trail. Great day! Great people! Great hike!

10.5 to 11.5 miles (depending on stopping point at McFarland); 2500 to 2800 feet elevation gain; 5 hours

Gathering at the Bonanza / No Name Junction

Hiking Back on the Bristlecone Trail

Turtlehead Peak - 8/2/14

Stormy Weather to the South from Turtlehead Peak

Sunrise on the Sandstone with Storms in Background

 Today's route to Turtlehead Peak was not your everyday, run of the mill, route to the patriarch of the Red Rock Canyon NCA scenic loop. That said, five hikers had bunches of fun climbing to the peak following one of our most adventurous hikers, Steve Allen.

Each one of us drove to the meeting spot very early this morning while watching a lightening display across the southern edge of Las Vegas. Cancel? Well, no.

A Quick Look Back to the Sandstone Quarry Parking Lot

 We could clearly see that the skies over Turtlehead Peak were light. The rain was not moving in that direction and we could always turn around if the weather started getting bad.

Gaining Elevation and Looking Back to the Escarpment

 So, we drove to the Sandstone Quarry parking area on the Red Rock scenic loop and started out the Turtlehead Trail. We saw several hikers besides us throughout the morning. But, no one did the peak quite like we did! After we climbed up the approaching ridge, we took a right fork trail that crossed the wash. This trail faded out pretty quick and up we went, straight toward the base of the Turtlehead cliff.

Well, USUALLY we are over there!

 The funny thing was that the plan was to climb this thing "the easiest way possible!" ... Someone didn't listen and, next thing we know, we are following Steve straight up.

There's the saddle ... way over there!

 It was all in fun and everyone just got a big laugh out of it. Elevation was gained quickly and the photo opportunities were really nice. Before we knew it, we were almost to the base of the cliff where the bighorns roam. In this area, we could see the saddle over to our left and there was a lot of rough terrain between us and the regular ascent ridge that we were trying to get to.

Jim at the base of the Turtlehead cliff.

 We did a bit of maneuvering around the sharp limestone and found the wash that served as a "portal" to the regular trails above.

Climbing the Portal Wash

 The weather was still behaving when we connected with the regular trail that climbs along the edge of the ridge. In fact, we were very thankful that the sun was not making an appearance. A few minutes more of climbing and we were signing into the log book on the peak. The views were fantastic! Two out of the five of us were newbies and Turtlehead did the rest of us proud.

Taking in the View from Turtlehead Peak

 Steve promised to take us down on one of the regular trails. Question is, which one of the regular trails is the least slippery?

Las Vegas from Turtlehead Peak

 Well, coming off of the peak, we reached the first saddle and, perhaps, the trail here is the best. But, we went on to the next saddle and started down. As soon as we could, we worked our way over to the before mentioned trail. The closer to the wash trails you are, the less slippery the terrain. It was a fun outing today at Red Rock!

4.5 miles; 2000 feet elevation gain; 4 hours

Descending on the More Familiar Trails

Our Basic Route Today

 Regular Route for Turtlehead Peak Below: