Fern Canyon - 4/9/11

Sometimes a hike ... even when you've done it before ... will just blow you away. Today, Fern Canyon did just that to the thirteen hikers who were there to see it be all it could be. We started out from the Pine Creek parking area off of the scenic loop in Red Rock Canyon NCA on a cold morning. The sky was partially clear, however, some clouds hung low over the escarpment and there were snow flurries in the forecast. As it turned out, that was the last time we thought about the impending bad weather until we emerged from our trip through the beautiful canyon.


Water was flowing heavily through the narrow canyon and there were waterfalls and pools galore. Every thirty feet or so there was a photographic moment. The word "gawking" was thrown around as we slowly scrambled up the boulders, over the water, through the brush and, yes, sometimes in the water! Our coordinator of the morning, Jane, patiently waited for us to take our pictures or just simply stand and stare as we took it all in.


The scrambling was intense at times as we had to jump here and there to avoid the water which was around four feet deep in some pools. There were at least a couple of places that were made even more difficult with the surrounding wet stuff threatening a splash. We counted at least five different hikers that slipped into the cold water to different degrees. One hiker got wet up to her knees but enjoyed the hike just the same.


If you are familiar with this hike, then you probably remember the huge boulder that presents a "ladder" up to the top of it. It's quite fun! And, when you get to the top of the ladder, you get out of the brush for a minute and can see down the canyon to the Blue Diamond Hills. Up canyon, the fun continues.


Up until this point, we were hugging the left wall. Now, we crossed over to the right wall where there is a slanted sandstone slab offering a trail past the water and brush. In the photo to the left, Jane turned around right as the shutter clicked but the sandstone slab with the line of hikers gives you a good idea of this part of the "trail."

About seventy- five feet further and the hikers came to the base of a thirty- foot waterfall coming from the left fork of where the canyon splits at this point. We tip- toed over the rocks placed strategically in the water next to the right wall and climbed steeply up to the top of the falls. Circling a rock outcropping, we arrived at a wide sandstone approach to the precipice. This was, indeed, an outstanding theatre for resting and taking our morning snack break as seen below.


The photo to the left shows one hiker as she made her way back from the top and the photo below shows three hikers returning around the rock outcropping above the waterfall. It was time to retrace our steps. Fortunately, the challenges were not over. The return trip presented all new predicaments as we attempted to jump from rock to rock as we had on the trip up.


Jane led us back almost exactly as we had come and when we reached the mouth of Fern Canyon on the floor of Pine Creek Canyon, we didn't get the expected shot of warm sunny air. No, instead, the air was cooler with a stiff wind whipping up. We even saw a few snow flurries as we passed the old Wilson homestead.

Looking out past the Blue Diamond Hills, the clouds appeared as if it was raining across the Las Vegas valley. On the way home, we saw light snow falling at parts of the escarpment. Getting closer to home, we saw that the rain was falling east and south of Las Vegas. Personally, this blogger just wanted to go back to Fern Canyon!

Ice Box Canyon - 4/7/11

Last Friday, the Around the Bend Friends and the Over the Hill Hikers combined to do a hike in Ice Box Canyon. Today, due to a high wind warning, three Around the Bend Friends hikers decided to forgo the regularly scheduled hike to Hollow Rock Peak and attempt to hide from the wind in a canyon. The Ice Box Canyon trailhead is found on the Red Rock Canyon scenic loop. We took off from there and didn't see any other hikers until we were half way back out of the canyon.

There were two very interesting things about the canyon at this point in time. First, there is a lot of water flowing down the wash changing the course of the hike here and there. Second, that huge tall tree that stood in the middle of the canyon for so long finally fell.


The tree is now incorporated into the hike. The hiker is now obliged to walk the length of the tree to easily get to the next point. Perhaps there was another way around the tree for the particularly squeamish, however, this will be a welcome point of interest for many people.

The waterfall at the end of the canyon has a steady stream of water that pools at the bottom. One hiker of this group went to the top to check out the pools up there. Sliding back down on the seat of her pants solved the age old problem of, "Now, how do I get down?" Worked like a charm!

Below note the pinion pine showing that Ice Box Canyon indeed lies within the Pinion- Juniper Woodland life zone.

Cave Canyon / Fossil Ridge - 4/4/11

The hike up Cave Canyon on Monday had sixteen hikers partici- pating. We began at the Cowboy Trails parking area on Highway 159 across from the scenic loop area of Red Rock Canyon NCA. The weather was a little nippy, however, a little bit of scrambling fun warmed us up quickly. The photo to the left shows the entrance to Cave Canyon.

The hike into the canyon requires a steep climb while hugging the right wall. In the middle of the mouth of the canyon are very large boulders strewn about like giant children's building blocks. We all scrambled up a fourteen foot dry waterfall made easier by a build-up of large rocks below the first step. Then we made our way to the second cave up the hill on the left.

Chris oversees the climb up the fourteen foot waterfall.

The entrance to the second cave. Inside the cave was very warm and after crawling through the entrance, you could stand inside only slightly bent over.

Continuing up the canyon for around two miles, we were struck by how green the canyon appeared. Flowers had yet to bloom but the grass and shrubs painted the brown /black canyon with many shades and textures of green. The only wildlife we saw (besides the rabbit seen crossing the road as we arrived at the trailhead) were some very large sized chuckers waddling up the wall of the canyon.

Near the top, we took the left fork and ended at one more large dry waterfall with several options to climb. We took a break here then continued up a little farther to meet the bike trail that travels around the top of the Blue Diamond Hills. The hard part was over so we settled into a nice hike down the upper Fossil Ridge Trail with views of the Escarpment and the Calico Hills across the way. A beautiful hike on a beautiful day logged in six miles with an elevation gain of 1000 feet.

Trail and view of the Red Rock Canyon NCA Escarpment.

Trail and view of the Red Rock Canyon NCA Calico Hills.

Waterfall Canyon - 4/2/11

Although the weather started out windy and a little chilly, today's hike ended with blue sky, warm and still windy. Fifteen hikers stayed secured to the ground with a little effort as they began their hike out of Willow Springs up Rocky Gap Road. The hike would be only around 4 miles but it would last around 3.5 hours as we found that scrambling takes time!


About a mile and a quarter up the road, Waterfall Canyon empties out its precious water cargo that flows across the road and on down to Red Rock Wash below. Here we turned right and started climbing the narrow canyon along the stream. Soon we began seeing the waterfalls for which the canyon is named. They flow among the gray limestone with an orange / red / yellow stream bed underneath the water.

After passing several smaller falls, we reached the big kahuna thirty footer as seen in the top photo. We climbed up and over this one, too, and went as far as we could before the canyon closed in. There were springs above us to the left which trickled down over the side of the canyon. Long grass filled this area around the limestone. See photo below.


On the return of the hike, we retraced our steps down Waterfall Canyon and part of the road then turned off to our right and made our way down to Red Rock Wash. This wash doesn't get a lot of attention from hikers but it is a beautifully colorful wash with large smooth boulders. We leapt from rock to rock enjoying the easy scramble downhill. At the bottom, we took a side trip over to the petroglyphs near the Willow Springs Picnic Area. We found that the area was essentially closed off and we never got close enough to see the ancient drawings.

Windy Peak - 3/31/11

Oh Happy Day! Our weather here in Las Vegas is GORGEOUS! And, today's hike to Windy Peak was the icing on the cake as seventeen members of the Around the Bend Friends Hiking Club made their way up, up, and up behind the escarpment of Red Rock Canyon NCA to find the second peak from the southern end. We started the hike at a roadside parking area at the Mountain Spring Pass on Highway 160.


"The first mile will get your attention," said Jane, today's Grand Poobah. ... And, it did! ... Up past the contro- versial new radio tower; up the road which has recently been made a trail; up to the junction of the Hollow Rock Peak Trail. We were still hiking among the limestone, agave and junipers as we continued up more and around to the right on a ridge which led to the sandstone of Windy Peak.

We reached the sandstone at a low saddle and began a precarious climb onto the rock as seen in the photo above to the left. All one needs is a pair of "sticky" shoes and the small climb with minimal exposure is in your rear view mirror in no time. Next, it is a tame scramble up, down, across and up over the sandstone to the peak.


Mt. Potosi watched from across Highway 160 as we enjoyed its view and surrounding views of the valley. The air was somewhat clear today and the Las Vegas Strip was visible in the distance. Neighboring peaks of the escarpment (Black Velvet to the north and Hollow Rock to the south) stood their ground with deep canyons guarding their prowess.


The highest point of Windy Peak sits about 50 yards back from the precipice at Cottonwood Valley. Here, we sat for a break and wrote our name in the well-used book. Wandering over to the edge, this writer found a well-sculpted cairn marking the end of the hike. The next step would be a big one!



We enjoyed the views and the weather then it was time to mosey back. Jane led us down, up and over the sandstone. We passed one large patch of snow hidden in a shady corner. No snow ball fights broke out, however, this writer believes she saw one hiker looking it over for possibilities.

The climb down that one precarious scramble seemed somehow easier to stomach and we moved onto the limestone once again. From here, the trail goes up steeply and, as always, ups are more difficult in the second half of the hike. Feeling the burn, we huffed and puffed until all we could see ahead of us was downhill.


We returned to that trail junction then continued straight for about a quarter mile. We turned right onto a burned out ridge and followed the ridge back down the mountain. At the bottom of the mountain, we hit a service road which led us back to our cars. It was a 5 mile hike with temperatures in the 70's.