Gray Cap Peak - 11/4/10

There were eleven hikers on today's hike to Gray Cap Peak in the Red Rock Canyon NCA. Gray Cap is a small peak with an elevation of 5400 feet above sea level. It is named as such because the "cap" on the mountain consists of limestone around fifty feet deep surrounded by yellow sandstone which makes up the rest of the mountain.

We left from Sandstone Quarry off of the scenic loop when the sun was still very low on the horizon. As we rounded the base of Red Cap, the sun gave a nice glow to the sandstone we hiked beside (2nd photo). Peeking around the corner, we saw the Ash Canyon Overlook backdropped by the morning sky (3rd photo).

Here, we took a small water break at the usual place and started off again (4th photo). We hiked down the wash which lies between Turtlehead and Krafft Mountains and arrived at our lowest point when we entered Gateway Canyon. Below, this photo of Turtlehead shows the view that met us.


We turned left and began our climb up through the Upper Gateway Canyon. This section of the canyon is made of craggy limestone with many boulders strewn about. There are also several dry waterfalls that must be negotiated. The rough limestone provides many foot and hand holds to enable the steep climbs as seen in the photo below.

Upper Gateway Canyon is a fun scramble for which gloves are useful. The rock can be smooth at times but often it is sharp. Water floods the canyon every year and it seems to be one of the most dynamic canyons in the Red Rock hiking area. Boulders move, gravel changes locations and obstacles are presented in a new way annually.

When we reached the top of the canyon, we faced a red sandstone "wall." Taking a break, we turned around to see this small boulder arrangement on the hillside. No one could remember seeing this before. Maybe it was always there. Who knows? Anyway, we turned back to face the red wall which was filled with cracks, crevices, loose rock and eroded shapes. Yep. This is the wall we climb for a good steep 300 feet in elevation. Up we went as the sun peered over the horizon. Usually, we appear as ants climbing all over the hillside. Today, most of us stayed close together and let Chris do the thinking!


Just before we crested the hill among the sandstone which had changed to yellow, we stopped for a breather. The view above appeared majestically over the ridge to the right. Continuing, we hiked above a very large tank. Two months ago, this tank was completely dry. Thankfully, it was now filled with water for the wildlife to drink.

On the other side of the "fin" (photo above) we walked across, there was a small tank that was also filled with water (photo to right). This tank provided a nice reflection as the shadows of the hikers walked past. Moving on, we climbed further up the sandstone to the right. The panorama at the top of this entry was taken during the next portion of the hike. In it, one can see Red Cap, the escarpment and the wash in the foreground of Red Cap in which we had hiked toward Gateway Canyon.

The air was fairly clear in the valley today and we were able to see the Strip from this section of the hike. We continued hiking the yellow sandstone in a lateral way until we reached the final climb. Up we went again. Then, finally, we hit the limestone. A little further and we were on top of Gray Cap Peak. The panorama below and the one at the bottom of the entry were both taken from the peak.


On the way down, we were photo- graphed by one of the two hikers who had chosen to rest at the bottom of the sandstone wall (aka "The Fun Zone"). Carl and Luci lounged in the sun and shade below and watched us negotiate the steep descent as seen in his photo below.

We joined them at the bottom and began our scramble down Gateway Canyon. The hike finished at Sandstone Quarry after taking a few more water breaks. The sun had become hot even though it is already November. Ah, ... we love Las Vegas!

Potato Knoll & Back (& First Creek) - 10/30/10

First things first! Happy Halloween to all of the Around the Bend Friends ... tomorrow.

Interesting fact: In the photo above, we see Potato Knoll rising as a separate hill in front of Wilson Peak of the Red Rock Canyon escarpment. It is believed to have been formed by an ancient landslide which poured off of the top of Wilson Peak. There must have been a large amount of momentum in that slide to have come to rest at such a far distance from the base of the escarpment.

This morning, the 10% chance of rain fell right where both groups were hiking and both hikes were cut short. Twenty- one hikers set out at 8:30am for the First Creek trail but had to turn back after a half mile. While rain drenched the group, a beautiful double rainbow was spotted above. One half hour earlier, a group of seventeen hikers set out to hike up Potato Knoll, the small hill which lies in front of Wilson Peak. This was a change in our scheduled hike of White Rock Hills Loop which was already getting a large dose of the 10% chance of rain.

We parked at the Red Rock Scenic Loop exit and began hiking into the desert towards Oak Creek Canyon and Potato Knoll. The wind whipped up mightily and tried to knock us off the trail. We remained stalwart in our effort and escaped the worst of it when we dipped down into the crossing of Oak Creek. There was no water running at this crossing as seen in the photo above.


When we reached the small canopy of trees on the north side of the knoll, the clouds finally breached the rim of the escarpment and slid over us like a silent cloak. Soon, it began to rain ... sprinkles, at first, then more steady. Wind breakers and ponchos came out of the packs and we persisted. However, when we reached the southeast side of the base of the knoll, we hung a sharp left and abandoned our original plan by circling back around to the tree canopy and back to the loop exit. The rain stopped before we reached the cars and blue skies weren't too far behind. Timing is everything!

Little Zion via Mountain Spring Peak - 10/28/10

Today's 7.6 mile loop hike travelled up and over Mountain Spring Peak, continued along Red Rock's escarpment for another half mile and stopped to turn back at an overlook point of Little Zion which is also known as The Park. The original plan was to continue down into The Park made of acres of sandstone atop the escarpment. However, this would have made the hike around ten miles with an added long downhill and return uphill. Seventeen club members agreed that this would be a bit much for the day. The maps below will show the reader how close we came to our goal.

The day began very chilly with lows around forty degrees. This being the lowest temperature so far this season, we were surprised yet prepared with coats and fleece. Leaving from the parking area off of the pass on Highway 160, we climbed and climbed while gaining 1200 feet of altitude in the first 2.5 miles. On Mountain Spring Peak, we signed the book, took pictures and continued along the escarpment.



On the next stretch, we saw interesting points along the limestone cliffs including a small window and a large arch. Up, down, up and down, we went. Finally, we climbed over the final ridge and took in a full view of Little Zion from Monument Peak to Sandstone Peak. The hike had already been tough and it was a little disappointing to see such a large descent in front of us in order to actually step into The Park. A decision was quickly made to have our snack break right there and settle on reaching a gorgeous view of a clear day in which we could see Little Zion, the Calico Hills and the Las Vegas Strip without any telltale signs of dust, haze or pollution. (This view is seen in the first two photos.)

While we took our break, one of the members of our party did an exploration of possible trails into The Park. He found a couple of viable routes. The easiest one would involve continuing along the escarpment to the point where the traditional route enters The Park. Another route descended to the sandstone on the Monument Peak side of The Park. Soon, it was time to continue our loop by retracing our steps for a short distance and head down a scree-filled ridge.



The second "half" of the loop was longer yet easier. The most difficult part was coming down the slope of the ridge which was steep and slippery at times. During this descent, we almost ran over a large tarantula who was simply minding his own business when ...! At the bottom of the sloping ridge, we dropped into a sandy wash and connected with a dirt road that we hiked for about a mile.

Along the way back to our cars, we visited a cave in the hill above us. We hiked past springs above the little town of Mountain Springs. We visited a large pristine agave roasting pit and another not so pristine one of the same. We passed a few farm houses, saw a beautiful horse who was otherwise occupied, and came perilously close to the house where "the dog from hell" lives. We were all appropriately fatigued when we reached our cars and will probably sleep well tonight.

Calico Tanks - 10/23/10 (Also, La Madre Springs)

Today was the first Saturday of the split hikes. At 8am, a larger group of twenty hikers set out for the La Madre Springs and Cabin from the Willow Springs Picnic Area and at 8:30am, a smaller group of nine hikers set out for the Calico Tanks from the Sandstone Quarry. The writer joined in the hike to Calico Tanks so as not to miss another chance to photograph the beauty of that area. The report on the La Madre Springs hike was that it went well and only experienced a few drops of rain.


Mt. Charleston received a topping of snow early this morning and Red Rock Canyon was covered in a very low hanging cloud of moisture. Once we got onto the scenic loop visibility was fine even though the escarpment was still in the cloud. On our side of the canyon there was blue sky. We hiked up into the calico canyon finding our way around large puddles in the middle of the trail by climbing up onto the sandstone rocks to the side.


With the unusual weather and difference in trail routes, the hike was interestingly different. We made our way to the large tank which had six inches of water in one area. Sitting on top of the overlook rocks, we couldn't see the city nor much of anything else but it was still very pretty. While taking our break there, the clouds rolled in and the cold wind whipped up. We hiked the return portion with half clouds and half sun. The hike was 2.5 miles round trip with about 450 feet of elevation gain.