Tony's Wrinkled North Blue Diamond Loop - 1/6/22

Cave Canyon Left Fork

View from Terminus of Second Finger

Hiking down to the Muffins

Passing through the Upper Corral

It was an invitation we couldn't, wouldn't pass up! Tony invited us to join him on a North Blue Diamond Hill extravaganza! After two weather cancellations, we finally found an excellent day for the occasion. So, the Spirited Seven hikers started the conversation ... ahem ... hike at the Cowboy Trails Trailhead and headed up past the upper corral. Our conversation was so fast and furious that we hardly noticed the climb into Cave Canyon. Soon, we were dealing with the 3rd class climb that each one of us knew very well. The ladder was still there but we didn't use it. Bah, humbug! Who needs a stinkin' rickety ladder? After the big production required by the climb, we climbed up past the main cave entrance still covered with graffiti. During the next half mile, we scrambled through and above the canyon wash but, when we came to a large bend, Tony pointed up to the right side and said, " This is the first "Wrinkle!"

Tony leads us into Cave Canyon

3rd Class Scramble in Cave Canyon

View back through Cave Canyon

First Wrinkle Junction

We stopped for a wardrobe adjustment since the weather was warming fast then proceeded to climb the embankment up to the top of the Second Finger. There, we turned to the right and hiked down to the terminus of the finger of terrain. After a few photos, we returned to the SARS Trail on the other side of the finger. A left turn took us down to the right fork of Cave Canyon. We turned left for the next wrinkle. Meeting the left fork, we turned to the right and finished climbing up through the wash to the 3rd class climb at the top end. We each tackled the climb differently but met at the top! Next, we turned to the left and climbed the hill to the SARS Trail, the next wrinkle. We turned left on the SARS then switchbacked at the Boneshaker sign. This put us on the Radio Tower Trail, a long gradual climb up to the Las Vegas Overlook.

Long Shadows at Terminus of Second Finger

Near Junction with SARS Trail

Snow Covered Griffith Peak

Hiking up through Left Fork of Cave Canyon

We took our break at the overlook. Unfortunately, there was a lot of smog over the city and the view was less than clear. There hasn't been much wind for the last few days. Really nice for hiking but not so much for the air quality. We took our group photo then Tony began telling us a lot about his Antarctica trip he recently took. It sounded like the trip of a lifetime. I never knew the difference between seals and sea lions! ... the presence of ears! And, penguins only mate after the female has agreed to a nesting site. And, oh my! He saw three different species of whales ... including a Blue Whale!! This conversation continued as we started around the Rim Trail passing by the high point where the lightning rod stick is now laying on the ground.

Cave Outlet, Shell Fossil, Radio Tower, Benchmark (1953)

Tony and Mark hiking up Radio Tower Trail

Spirited Seven at Las Vegas Overlook

Antarctica Discussion
(Sea Lions, Penguins, & a Blue Whale) 

We followed the Rim Trail around the cliffs as the pace picked up. Carefully, we dropped down to the old Las Vegas Overlook. I guess this used to be how far the trails climbed at one point. Without stopping, we continued down to the wash below and climbed back up to the junction with the upper Muffins Trail. We climbed up and over the small high point then proceeded down along the rim toward the end of the Muffin finger. The views from this part of the hill are filled with color of the Calico Hills. We stopped only for a moment at the grouping of conglomerate rocks we call the Muffins. There were two other hikers enjoying the views as well. Quickly, we continued our four mile descent on the Muffins Trail.

Large Cairn on Rim

Split Rock on Rim

Passing the Old Las Vegas Overlook

Approaching the Muffins from Above

Down, down, down, we went on the familiar Muffins Trail. This trail has gorgeous views of the La Madre Mountains, Red Rock escarpment and the Calico Hills. In the morning, this trail is in the shade but the sun was reaching the path while we neared the end of our hike. We zigzagged down as we junctioned with the Skull Canyon Trail then passed the horses' hitching area. Circling around through the desert, we saw a trail ride train up near Boneshaker Hill. This was a fantastic round-the-world trip on the North Blue Diamond Hill! Thanks Tony. Let's do it again sometime!

Stats: 8 miles; 1650' gain; 4.5 hours

Descending the Muffins Trail

Rita leads us Down

Trail Ride a'comin' Through - "Howdy Boys & Girls"

Anniversary Narrows & Peak Loop CCW - 1/2/22

Anniversary Narrows

Lovell Ridge & South Bowl of Fire from Anniversary Narrows Peak

Anniversary Narrows Peak from South Bowl Cliffs

Crossing the desert to Murphy Valley

Brrr! It was a cold morning! ... Until we got to the Anniversary Narrows Trailhead at MM 16 on Northshore Road out at Lake Mead NRA. By 9am, the temps had almost reached 40 degrees. In a Rav4, we opted out of the downhill car torture that leads from the trailhead to Calville Wash Road. This adds only 1/2 mile to the whole hike. Later, we watched as 4 other cars bounced their way up the hill, the last one hitting bottom pretty loud. The hill road is filled with deep ruts and big holes. Use at your own risk. We hiked down to the junction with the Anniversary Mine Road and turned left. At the first wash on the right, we turned and beelined toward Murphy Peak and its valley in the distance. Every once in a while, we were following somewhat of a trail that led parallel to the main wash that comes out of the valley. At a particularly long tributary wash, we found our way down to join the main wash and turned left. We missed the odd turn to the right and ended up back up on the terrain above the wash on the left side. Again, there was somewhat of a trail.

Dropping into Main Wash of Murphy Valley

Main Wash in Murphy Valley

Murphy Valley

Climbing the Ascent Crack

We stayed up there until we came to the many arroyos that lead into the main wash just before the Ascent Crack. This crack can be seen all the way at the beginning of the geographically interesting Murphy Valley so we zeroed in on it as we found the most efficient way to get there. At the bottom of the crack, up we went. It's steep but "sticky." Though care must be taken on some of the loose rocks. This region had received a lot of rain in the past week so we accidentally dislodged a couple of the sandstone rocks that had softened from the wetness. It was quite the climb ... still ... and, just past the overhanging rock at the top of the chute, we turned right to climb into the upper South Bowl of Fire, or the South Bowl Cliffs. Since it was just the four of us, we explored a little more than usual finding new views and a couple of interesting anomalies. For instance, three small windows in one shot, the Thumb and a large palette of colors in the South Bowl. The light was perfect for photos of the colorful rock below. 

Rita nears top of Ascent Crack

Shadowplay entering the South Bowl Cliffs

Three Windows

View over South Bowl Cliffs

As we left to find our way up to the limestone ascent wash, we found the beginning of the trail that we usually join midstream. Cool! In front of us loomed the Anniversary Narrows Peak with 1/3 of its east side adorned with cliffs. The other side of the limestone covered peak wasn't much better. The peak is really just a high point on a very narrow Lovell (fault) Ridge. We followed the trail past the "funnel" to the large cairn that has been a beacon on this spot for many years. The trail drops into the wash and a climb to the peak ensues. Also since we are only four, we tend to take a few more chances (it's one way to learn stuff!) and when the wash forked, we took the wrong fork, not intentionally! It led to some exciting class 3 scrambling! Regardless, we found our way up to the peak afterwards, hiking over the many limestone slabs on the way. On this amazingly clear and mostly windless day, we could see everything, including the lake, the Desert Coliseum and the snow covered Spring Mountains far in the distance. As I joined the trail near the peak, I captured the panoramic photo to the southwest of Lovell Ridge, five photos below.

 

The Thumb

Mike crosses the Sandstone

One last view of the South Bowl Colors

Climbing the Wash to the Peak

We took our break on the peak then requested that Mike lead us down the other side of the sort of knife edge very slowly! Ralyn and Rita were both newbies to this section of the hike since the Narrows have been blocked off for about six years previous. The route is cairned but it is still very important to take extreme care as you descend the "sticky" limestone and "not so sticky" trails. Don't laugh but it took us over an hour to descend from the peak to the saddle below! (Yeah. We bad.) At the saddle, there was one last look at the beautiful South Bowl, then we turned left to follow the trailing ridge down. Some care has to be taken here as well since the trail is steep and slippery in places. Following the trail all the way down to its last saddle, the trail turned down to the left leading straight to a small tributary wash that drops in to join a main small wash. I've named this wash Many Cairn Wash and it is still filled with quite a few cairns as it winds its way back and forth and back and forth to the main Muddy Mountains gravel wash that leads directly into the Narrows.

Lovell Ridge southwest of the Peak

Reaching the Summit

Descending the Narrow Ridge northwest of the Peak

The Trailing Ridge Descent

Anniversary Narrows is an amazingly beautiful slot canyon that is finally accessible again to the public. Don't quote me on that! (See www.birdandhike.com for official news on the narrows.) The mining operation had shut down access six years ago due to someone that sued for damage to their car. Let's not do that again. Mind your manners and park outside the mining equipments' boundaries. That said, we had also heard that there are a couple of new scrambles inside the ever changing slot. We took our group photo and entered with overhead afternoon light shining in. The top part of the slot was pretty much as it was before with a couple of rocks being slightly more exposed. As we hiked down, we started having to scramble a little more over the small obstacles. However, nearing the bottom end of the slot, there are two or three scrambles that are more challenging. The most challenging is seen five photos below. It is an ~ 6' to 7' drop with a mid rock that is slippery and nothing really to hold onto. Someone tried to build a rock step but the rain must have washed it out. Now there is a heavy pipe wedged in that is of no use. Unfortunately, for the time being, the slot is no longer family friendly.

Dropping into Many Cairn Wash

Winding Many Cairn Wash

Fearsome Foursome entering top end of Anniversary Narrows

Graceful Curves

As we exited the slot, we found it odd that we had not seen a single hiker all day, a Sunday. Soon, we turned to the left into a small canyon that leads up. It winds and requires interesting hiking maneuvers to climb to a saddle. On the other side, we dropped down through a grassy limestone wash to a large graded area used by the mining company. A straight shot across this and down to a small main wash on the right of the arroyo filled field brings hikers to the wash that twists around to the right. The left embankment eventually becomes a gentle hill that has an obscure trail that climbs up onto the ridge above. On top of the ridge, turn right and follow the ridge as far as it will take you. The easiest way to go from here is to target a red wash in the distance. When you get there, follow the wash out to the mine road and turn left. The rest is obvious as you follow the road back to the trailhead. Our little group isn't used to the longer distance hikes and we were ready to be done! That said, we all agreed that it was a fantastic hike that we were all happy to have done at least once more!

Stats: 8 miles; 1900' gain; 5.75 hours

A new difficult Scramble

Ralyn climbs the Exit Wash

Hiking Home on the Ridge paralleling the Dirt Road