Hidden Forest - 4/7/16

Death Camas Flowers in Deadman Canyon (... hmmm)

The Old Ranger Outpost (built 1931)

Fields of Flowers (approx. 13 miles from Visitor Center)

Entrance to Deadman Canyon

 What the day lacked in sunshine, five hikers made up for with enthusiasm. Bringing two vehicles for safety, we traveled out to the Desert National Wildlife Refuge's Corn Creek Visitor Center and turned left onto Alamo Road. The road is well graded but is still rough in some places. The bumpy ride out to the Hidden Forest Road turnoff is around 16 miles. As we got further and further away from civilization, fields of colorful flowers surprised our senses. It appears that the DNWR is having its own "superbloom!"

The Fearless Five

 After driving up the Hidden Forest Road and parking at the trailhead, we began our hike by dropping down the old road to the entrance of Deadman Canyon. We had the only two cars at the trailhead.

Gravel, Gravel and More Gravel

 The weather was cool but not cold. There were leftover snow patches on the surrounding mountains but the warmer weather promised to take care of that soon.

Halfway Campsite - Gravel has disappeared.

The Fearless Five - Again

 The hike up the canyon is around 5.5 miles. It is a gentle slope that gains almost 2000 feet in elevation. However, the first half of the climb is in gravel. The slogging ensued. Eventually, the gravel was relieved intermittently with a side trail usually found on the left side of the wash. When we came upon the halfway campsite, a large fire pit and sitting logs all around, we knew we were out of most of the gravel. Thank goodness!

Canyon Walls patched with Snow

 It was around this area that the snow patches started appearing down near the canyon bottom. They were found on the sides on the canyon and not on our trail.

Vertical Window Formation (4.25 miles in)

 At around 4.25 miles in, we noticed an interesting rock formation on the right side of the canyon. A vertical window in the rock. There was snow reaching up to the arch and a campsite spread out below.

Snow along the Walls Increases

Hiking Past the Downed Tree

 Passing the landmark fallen tree, we knew we were close to the cabin and soon, in the distance, we saw the old wooden structure. To our left, we passed the remnants of the old stable / corral. As we approached the cabin, a man stood up from a table. We were very surprised to see him! After some conversation, we learned that he had been at the cabin for about five days and had hiked there from the visitor center. (That's a long hike!) He was running out of provisions so his stay there was ending. He was surprised that we were not going all the way up to Hayford Peak!

Corral & Stable Remnants

 The cabin and grounds are looking really good this year. The park service volunteers have brought in 2 new picnic tables. The old ones are still there. One is just outside the cabin and the other now sits over near the old buried car.

The Cabin Outside; The Cabin Inside; The Spring in Front; New Picnic Tables

 The spring in front of the cabin has been cleaned up but the water still needs to be boiled and purified.

Starting back down the Trail

Making Sure we all made the Turn this Year!

 We sat at one of the new picnic tables for our break enjoying the fresh temperatures. One hiker showed off his fire-making skills. Another hiker went up the hill to look for Wiregrass Spring. After around twenty minutes, we were ready to go back down the trail. We bade the man "happy trails." The descent promised to be very pleasant and we started off at a simple moderate pace while we enjoyed the snowy scenery in our short sleeves.

Thor's Hammer?

 Last year, there was one hiker that missed a turn onto a side trail at one point. So this year, we laughingly made sure he was behind us at the junction!

Inspecting a Cave

 As we neared the mouth of the canyon, our pace got stronger marching down the gravel.

The Mouth of the Canyon in Distance

Back at the Gate

Finally, we passed through the gate and hiked back up to our cars. It was an extremely pleasant hike and a good workout.

Last time we were in the DNWR, one of our cars got a flat tire. Yep. It happened again to us on the way out. Those roads are mean and really require all terrain tires unless you are extra careful all the time. We changed the tire and went on our way.

11 miles; 2000 feet elevation gain; 5 hours

2 for 2

Globemallow

Purple Mat Flowers

Little Zion - 4/2/16

Little Zion (aka The Park)

Sandstone & Pines

Drainage Lines

Trailhead Parking for Seven Vehicles Plus

 Thirty hikers in seven high clearance vehicles drove to Rainbow Springs located behind the Red Rock Canyon NCA escarpment this morning. Directions from Las Vegas: drive over the Mountain Springs Summit Pass on Highway 160 and take the first right turn after passing the little town of Mountain Springs; this is Lovell Canyon Road. Next, drive one mile and turn right onto a one lane gravel road. This road has never been really "bad", however, high clearance is recommended due to some rutting and a few rocks. This road is three miles long and the end of the road is the trailhead.

New Fencing to Protect Rainbow Springs

 We piled out of the cars and parked as tight as we could off the road. At the end of the road, we noticed that there is a brand new fence constructed to keep out all motorized vehicles that might destroy the sensitive area of Rainbow Springs.

Starting with a Scramble

 Passing two ancient agave roasting pits, we found a trail that led down into the first wash. If you find yourself in the immediate vicinity of an eight foot dry fall scramble, you have found the correct wash!

Winding Up Wash

Ascent Wash

 This wash leads gently up by winding around to the left. A trail leads you around obstacles. Eventually, the route takes a turn to the right where a log belligerently crosses your path. The trail up continues and the ascent slope becomes a little steeper as you finally reach the escarpment rim from the back side. As you come over the lip of the rim, a surprise awaits! You have arrived at the top of Sandstone Canyon which is the canyon located behind Spring Mountain Ranch State Park.

Topping Out on Escarpment Rim

 Red Rock Rondezvous has begun and we could see its Tent City on the grounds of the ranch below.

Sandstone Canyon - Red Rock Rondezvous Tent City at Spring Mtn. Ranch

 To our left, we could see Peak-ee-Toe and Indecision Peak. To our right, our rim trail circled around at the top of limestone cliffs.

Starting Up Trail Around Rim

Colors and City Beyond

 After a small break, our long line of hikers continued around the rim on the trail. First, we climbed. Then, we dropped a little. Then, we repeated this until we arrived at the Big Cairn landmark. This is an important cairn that marks the spot where everyone needs to pass going to and coming from Little Zion which we could now see far below us. The scenery around the rim trail had been outstanding. But the scenery below us at this point was a whole different ballgame!

Rim Trail

 The white and yellow sandstone laid out in the distance promising beauty in every direction.

The Big Cairn Landmark

 The trail dropped down to the right then today's leader quickly took a left turn into the steep wash to finish the descent.

Dropping Down on Trail to Little Zion

Hitting the Sandstone

 At the bottom of the wash, a little bit of sandstone scrambling was required before we made our grand entrance onto the slab. A few pines surrounded us until we broke through into the open. At this point, the large group of hikers divided into two groups. One group headed over to the closed arch to do a little scramble up to the top. The other group hiked the length of the valley and stopped for a view at the overlook cliff. Next, they crossed over to the waterfall slot.

Thirty Hikers Invade Little Zion

 The slot had a large puddle of water in the first part of it and a few hikers managed to get by it and take a look down into the abyss.

Descending Straight to the Valley

 Hikers dispersed somewhat to visit the different points of interest or to take their snack break up on the sandstone above.

End of the Valley Overlook

Hikers enter Waterfall Slot Below

 The Park (Little Zion) is such a fun place to visit that it is customary for the group to explore the area as they see fit during an extended snack break. After several minutes, the group that explored the arch scrambled back to the main sandstone plateau and a few of the slower hikers expressed interest in getting a head start on climbing back up to the Big Cairn landmark. Yes, this is the most difficult part of the morning. So, a hiker volunteered to lead them up slowly and, eventually, the entire group was following in the distance.

Waterfall Slot

 The volunteer decided to return to the rim the easiest way she knew how which was to catch the trail at a lower point.

Exploring the Closed Arch

 A low fat dry fall on the left side of the ascent starts this route. A couple of very small washes follow then a short steep climb up brings you to the trail.

Some Hikers taking a Break High on the Sandstone

Climbing Back up the Wide Open Sandstone

 From there, it is a matter of slowly and steadily climbing the trail until you reach the Big Cairn. As instructed, the hikers waited here for the last to arrive. One by one, we all made it back up to enjoy the rim view once again. When the leader swept the tail end of the line, he took over and we began retracing our steps around the rim trail. Clouds hung low over the Spring Mountains nearby and the cool light wind made the day perfect.

Almost back to the Big Cairn Landmark on the Trail

 When we reached the descent wash junction, we picked up the one hiker that had decided to stay behind and started down.

Following the Trail Around the Rim

 Leaving any hiker behind is never something we want to do. It worries us to separate from anyone especially when we cannot see them for any distance.

Clouds over the Spring Mountains

Starting Down the Wash Trail

 We descended through the wash, wash junction, and other wash then took a left turn onto the Mountain Springs Trail. A short part of this trail took us back over to the Rainbow Springs area and we dropped back down to the cars. Extricating our cars from the dead ended road was expertly accomplished with a lot of help! Then, we were on our way again. Little Zion is a great hike and will remain in our repertoire for years to come.

6 miles; 1600 feet elevation gain; 4 hours

Artistic Display

Descending through the Wash

The Trail at Rainbow Springs Area

Today's Route in the Park

Today's Route in the Park