Mountain Springs Peak Loop - 10/04/19

Calico Hills from the Escarpment Rim

Mountain Springs Peak from the Approach

Escarpment Peaks and the Calico Hills (also Turtlehead) from Mountain Springs Peak

The Radio Tower on Heartbreak Hill

 Mountain Springs Peak Loop is one of those tried and true hikes that will live forever. Thirteen hikers arrived at the Mountain Springs Summit Pass Trailhead after a slow drive up the road. The construction has progressed well on SR 160 but there is still more to do before traffic will flow smoothly. We watched carefully for the turn into the trailhead parking lot in the pine grove. A couple of our landmarks to warn us that it is coming are gone! After making sufficient preparations and without further ado, we started up Heartbreak Hill. The overall pace of today's hikers was admirable and the group stayed together throughout the hike.

Climbing Heartbreak Hill

 Climbing Heartbreak Hill was no different than the rest of the hike. We all arrived at the saddle within the same five minutes and, at the top, we welcomed the fourteenth member of today's group!

Climbing Heartbreak Hill

 The morning was very cool with a chilly wind ... especially when we reached the ridge saddle. The temperatures served to perk everyone up and enabled the decent pace.

Mt. Potosi in Morning Sun

Fourteen Hikers on Saddle

 After gathering at the saddle, we continued up the ridge before we got too cold. Our steady pace put us at the fork in no time. A few of us added a piece or two of clothing to protect the ears and chest from the gusty cold wind. Here, the right fork would take us to Windy Peak but, today, we took the left fork heading out on the Mountain Springs Peak Trail. Closing in on the escarpment rim, the wind got colder. However, with the extra pieces of clothing, we were now comfortable. When we reached the rim, we could see Las Vegas beyond the sandstone Black Velvet Peak below. There was a lot of dust in the air hanging over the "valley."

Climbing the Ridge toward the Trail Fork

 The Mountain Springs Peak Trail continued along the limestone ridge and the terrain dropped steeply to our right. The trail is in good condition.

Hollow Rock Peak framed by Tree

One more pretty good climb and around a couple of knobs and we could see Mountain Springs Peak rising roundly ahead and to the right.

Hiking out to Escarpment Rim

Mountain Springs Peak Trail (Windy Peak in Background)

 The only wildlife we saw this morning was an unkindness of ravens. (I kid you not! Look it up!) They were circling something in the brush below and tackling each other in midair. (Maybe that's why it is called an unkindness!)  Sometimes a raven would be in the air and not flying. The wind just held him there at a stand still. Oh, I did see a really fat black girdle lizard later! Anyway, we reached Mountain Springs Peak and proceeded to change out the log book container. The plastic bag that had held the book for a year or so was replaced by a plastic ammo box that Susan M. carried up. Thanks Susan! That should keep the rain out!

Reaching the Escarpment Rim

 We took about five minutes on the peak then proceeded down along the escarpment rim trail. There is a little bit of exposure along this section and the views are fantastic!

Black Velvet Peak below Mountain Springs Peak

 We hiked down along the cliffs until we reached the Snack Break Cliff where we took our break. To the side of this cliff is a small window. If you crouch at just the right angle, you can see the Stratosphere through the small hole.

View toward Pahrump and Death Valley NP

Reaching Mountain Springs Peak

 The wind wasn't too bad here if you sat back behind the cliff area. We had a few laughs then continued along the rim trail until we reached the next trailing ridge falling to the left. There are a couple of small cairns here but it is always best to not count on cairns being there ... or anywhere. We began a steep descent off trail down the ridge on a zigzag course while we tried to avoid brush and old fallen trees. At a deep saddle, we turned down to the left and descended into the small wash below. If you do it right, there will be three sets of cairns marking the junction on the side of the wash. If you don't do it right, you are probably still in the correct wash! (And, even if you do do it right, the cairns may not be there anymore!)

On the Peak

 The small wash has a trail of sorts that hikers have used to get around a few obstacles within the wash. Other than that, a good rule is to just descend the wash.

Hiking along precipitous Escarpment Rim

 When the wash begins to empty of large rocks and becomes more of a gutted ravine, you have a choice of what to do next. Either start looking for a good place to climb out to your left or figure out how to follow the wash down to the trail crossing.

The Stratosphere through the Small Window at Snack Break Cliff

Snack Break Cliff

 Usually, I climb out of the wash to the left and follow the neighboring ridge down until it junctions perpendicularly with the small Mountain Springs Horse Trail. There is a catch to this method. A lot of brush has to be circumvented as you walk down the gentle ridge! Most of the time, I find an elk trail to lead me through a lot of it. (I've never seen the elk!) Anyway, it is important to find the trail and turn left. This trail will take hikers all the way back to Mountain Springs. (Another way to get back to Mountain Springs would be to go all the way down to Rainbow Springs dirt road and follow that back to town. Believe me, the trail is the better way to go!

Descending the Trailing Ridge

The Mountain Springs Horse Trail undulates as it travels over little ridges and down into gulleys. There is only one ridge that is high enough to make a dent on the elevation graphs shown below.

The Small Wash Descent

 The pace picked up as it usually does on this trail back to town. Everyone stayed together quite well. Then, the trail ended at a trailhead above the springs for which Mountain Springs is named.

One of a few Small Scrambles

Another Small Scramble in the Wash

 We passed the springs and dropped down to the agave roasting pit that sits to the side of the throughway trail. Keeping to the right, we connected with the correct trail leading back toward the cars that were still approximately a half mile away. As we passed the old miniature horse yard, we lamented that the horses had moved away. Then, as we neared the cars, we saw a large group of hikers ahead of us. It turned out to be Keith and Beth from Sun City Anthem! Their group had just done the easier version called the Mountain Springs Loop. Great day! Absolutely beautiful! And, a great group of hikers!

6.8 miles; 1600 feet elevation gain; 3.75 hours; average moving speed 1.7 mph

Mountain Springs Horse Trail and Springs

Passing an Agave Roasting Pit

Last Stretch before the Empty Horse Yard

Harris Wash - 10/2/19

A Pinnacle in Harris Wash

An Arch in Harris Wash

Part of Harris Slot

View down to Harris Wash from Visitor Center

Before the Carpenter One Wildfire of 2013, one of our club hikes was named Harris Slot Canyon and wash. Every year, we would park at the Harris Springs Road Trailhead and hike up through the larger-than-life slot. We would continue up through the deep washes until we reached a curve in the wash where many old cars had been dumped over the side of the hill. (Also, refrigerators, washing machines, truck beds, etc.) It was fun to look through this bit of early to mid century junk. Then ... the wildfire happened ... and the flooding. The historic dump was cleaned up and most of the pieces were removed. In addition, this area (being on the south side of Kyle Canyon Road) was closed to hiking until the foliage and fauna could be restored to a degree that made the forest rangers and wilderness people happy. Somewhat reluctantly, us, too. Just this summer, the rangers gave the go ahead for hikers to explore the lower section of Kyle Creek that we refer to as Harris Wash due to this section's proximity to Harris Peak.

A Passing Coyote below Visitor Center

Earlier in the summer, our club did an out and back hike similar to what we did in the past. Today, after the temperatures have come down a bit in the lower elevations of the Spring Mountains, twelve club hikers explored into the point to point, all downhill hike of Harris Wash; from the Stepladder Trailhead to the Spring Mountains Gateway Visitor Center down to the Harris Springs Road Trailhead.

Sea of Rabbitbrush

We had to begin at the Stepladder Trailhead since the visitor center gate does not open until 9:00am; later than we usually begin in the crisp morning air.

Hiking the Path down through Rabbitbrush

One of Two Small Scrambles

We dropped down into the familiar Kyle Creek sea of rabbitbrush below the visitor center then followed the logical route of paths to the small dive into Harris Wash. There are two small scrambles near the beginning that were easily overcome by our moderate hikers. Immediately, we entered walls of eroded Ice Age (Pleistocene) conglomerate stone called calcrete. To return to our favorite reference book of Las Vegas geology the Harris Wash hike gives us this opportunity to learn more.

What we are referring to as Harris wash is part of the active channel of Kyle Creek. Large boulders provide evidence of erosion and transport of coarse alluvial material during flooding. One reason that the creeks in the Spring Mountains flow so infrequently is that the limestone and dolomite that compose most of the range are highly fractured and contain numerous cavities formed due to dissolution (dissolving) of the limestone. Hence, most of the drainage is in the subsurface through these interconnected cavities. *
   

High Walls above Wide Wash

Descending into Kyle Canyon wash, deposits of the Pleistocene Kyle Canyon alluvial fan are evident above the road. The Kyle Canyon alluvial fan - actually composed of six distinct alluvial fan deposits - consists of large aprons of debris that were shed off the high Spring Mountains into stream drainages and deposited near the lower reaches of the range. *

Visitor Center recedes from View

The modern-day drainage system has cut down into these earlier alluvial fan deposits exposing their internal stratigraphy (layering). *

Layers of Sediment forming Walls of the Wash

President John at one of the Arches

The large amount of debris in the Kyle Canyon alluvial fan dwarfs the volume of material that is presently being eroded from the Spring Mountains. This difference in intensity of erosion and the size of the resultant alluvial deposit is probably due to the change in climate from the Ice Age. Analysis of fossil plant material indicates that precipitation in southern Nevada was much greater during the Pleistocene Epoch (Ice Age) than at present. The crudely defined and irregular layering of the boulders, cobbles, pebbles, and sand displayed by this fan deposit is typical of material carried by debris flows or mudflows. These types of deposits involve minor amounts of water relative to the amount of sediment - just enough to move rock, sand, and mud material as a thick, sticky mass. *

Hiking down through Harris Wash

Isolated blocks and spires of gravel that you see in the wash are parts of the ancient fan deposits that have not yet been eroded away by the present-day Kyle Creek. The older deposits are heavily cemented with calcium carbonate derived from the limestone rocks forming the bulk of the range. *

View back at Charleston Peak

The resulting deposit, called calcrete, is similar to caliche but is formed in the presence of more moisture, such as the bottom of stream beds and lakes that cyclically fill and evaporate. These erosional remnants are held up by cemented, gravel-rich layers that are more resistant to erosion than the sediments that underlie them. *
     * Geologic Tours in the Las Vegas Area (Expanded Edition with GPS Coordinates), Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Special Publication 16, University of Nevada, Reno, Mackay School of Earth Sciences, 2008, Bear Printing, Sparks, NV; pages 38-40.

Staying between the Walls

Young equine Jawbone

Hiking down through the wash was easy navigation. We were left to enjoy the new interesting scenery of geology. Other points of interest were caves, arches, balanced rocks, bones from wildlife carcasses, old car parts, many old tires, a possible fossil wall of mud rock, and several other species of live wildlife. Just as we reached the wash below the visitor center, we saw a coyote in retreat. Next, we spied a fast moving gray fox going up the side of the embankment. After that, we flushed out a 4-pointed deer. Then, it was gray squirrel after gray squirrel. We also found where those Kyle Canyon Road burros have been spending the summer. Instead of hanging out above the hot pavement, they have been relaxing in the shade of one of the large walls next to the wash. Very smart.

The Burial Site of the Mare that was Killed by a Car in the Spring '19

Our hike proceeded at a faster pace than the leader would have liked. It is sometimes difficult to keep back excited hikers. (You probably know if this applies to you.) Rule of thumb to mull over: Staying behind the leader shows respect for the person that committed their time to schedule the hike and make sure they were available to lead the hike.

High Wall Narrows - Possible location of Fossils in Wall

That said, the hike was very interesting and pretty. The day was cool and enjoyable. Thanks so much to today's coordinator for putting the hike on the schedule and making sure there was at least one person on the hike that had previously done the hike. Responsible coordinating.

Balanced Rock high above Wash

High Wildlife Condos at Wash Widening

We took our break in the shade of a wall where it was obvious that burros had taken refuge out of the sun and wind. After we passed the 4 mile mark, the wash began to widen. This is the area where, in the past, the wash had deep ruts and confusing directions. Not so anymore. The main wash direction was very clear and their were no navigational problems. We passed two trails leading diagonally up the side of the south side of the wash. Upon later review of the satellite map, I have concluded that the first one is a game trail that leads up to the plateau above. The second trail leads out just above the slot canyon and may lead to old dirt roads above. I am not privy to whatever excitement awaits at the top of these trails!

Paul inspects Old Car Parts

The Harris Slot Canyon appeared about half a mile before the lower trailhead. It was looming large above the wash bottom. We entered the narrow opening between high walls of calcrete.

View back at the South Ridge

The slot itself has three sections. Each section narrows down to approximately ten feet in width. Then, the slot opens back out to around fifty feet across. The slot curves with each section break.

One of few Trees in Harris Wash

Burro Retreat

Any recreational hiker, including families, could easily visit this geologic monstrosity by parking (during the shoulder seasons) at the Harris Springs Road Trailhead and following the dirt road or wash to the slot entrance which is basically visible from the parking lot. We exited the slot and took one of three different ways back to the lower trailhead (dirt road, wash or berm) where one of our cars had been placed to return the drivers back to the upper Stepladder Trailhead and collect the remaining cars. It had been a fantastic day of adventure. This hike is worth repeating every year.

5.3 miles; +57 feet elevation gain; -1233 feet of elevation loss; 3 hours; average moving speed 1.7 mph

Harris Slot Canyon Approach

Entering Harris Slot Canyon

On the Berm above Harris Springs Road Trailhead