Griffith Peak via South Loop - 6/19/12

                   Mt. Charleston from the Third Overlook of the South Loop

 Today's hike was an adventure to the summit of Griffith Peak via the South Loop Trail in the Mt. Charleston Wilderness and the Spring Mountain NRA. Fifteen hikers parked at the Cathedral Rock trailhead to begin the hike. Because of construction and/or an attempt to preserve the natural habitat of the Mt. Charleston Blue Butterfly, the original South Loop trailhead which began in the picnic area at the end of Kyle Canyon Highway, is blocked off. It is posted that there is a fine of $275 per person if anyone dares to cross the plastic orange construction fence.

 We hiked up the Cathedral Rock trail and ignored the new trail that soon headed off to the left. We learned later that we should have taken the left which is a new trail made just for our situation. Instead, we hiked up and connected with the South Loop in the usual way. (Coming back, the new detour was taken and it saved about two tenths of a mile.) There is no signage so, at first, we were worried that we would encroach upon the fine area. However, it appears that the detour is okay to use.

                                Switchback on the South Loop Trail

 The group of hikers quickly got separated into various speeds. The original plan was to regroup at the first overlook but the jack rabbits were given the okay to jump ahead before the stragglers had caught up. Our fearless coordinator, Steve, knew where everyone was and did a great job sweeping the rear of the line with Don. As we ascended the first set of switchbacks, the wildflowers filled the hillside with color.

 The first hikers to bail from the hike stopped at the third overlook. This was four miles into the hike where a switchback took the explorer out to a point where there were great views of Mt. Charleston and Mummy's Toe. We could also see the residential community of Mt. Charleston and the brand new parking lot for Mary Jane Falls. Two hikers stayed here for their break and then hiked back down arriving at the cars only thirty minutes before the first summiters.

                                Las Vegas from Griffith Peak Summit (2011)

 (Because the writer was one of those hikers that stopped at the overlook, the photos from the peak seen here are from last year's hike.) So, after the overlook, the remaining thirteen hikers became even more spread out since it is quite a formidable climb. Not sure where hikers stopped after that point, however, they picked up one hiker at the beginning of the final climb. He had begun his climb two hours earlier, determined to summit the Big G Peak!

 Out of the fifteen hikers, plus one, that began the climb, only nine achieved the peak where many of the rocks contained seabed fossils from many millions of years ago. Views of Kyle Canyon, Mt. Charleston and the Las Vegas Valley welcomed the group. It was a warm day so the hike down would be a scorcher.

                          Mt. Charleston from Griffith Peak Summit (2011)

 The photo to the left shows the trail leading from the bottom of the summit area to the junction of the South Loop Trail. At the junction, the hikers would turn right to head downhill. Hikers who continue straight from there on the South Loop would eventually end up on Mt. Charleston Peak. This ridge area is usually referred to as the "meadow." Most hikers who have experienced the reasonably flat meadow describe it as beautiful and tranquil.

 The junction sign is seen in the photo to the right. From here, it is approximately five miles back down to the cars at the Cathedral Rock trailhead. When the first summiters arrived at the cars, they said that the last hikers were "way back there." Nevertheless, it was a great day for a hike in the mountains.

                                Wildflowers on the South Loop Trail

Kayaking the Colorado - 6/17/12

A few of our club members enjoy a trip on the Colorado River by kayaking occasionally. John B. even enjoys staying overnight at the Arizona Hot Springs campground once in a while. When he does, he meets very interesting people, sees bighorns and eagles, and gets out early in the morning for the best mirrored views of the placid water.

No Name Trail - 6/14/12

                                Mt. Charleston from the No Name Trail

 There were sixteen hikers on today's moderately strenuous hike on the No Name Trail. We began hiking at the Upper Bristlecone trailhead at the end of Lee Canyon Highway. After a mile, we turned left onto a trail that forest rangers have half heartedly tried to block with limbs. They probably want to deter casual hikers from thinking that the small trail was part of the popular Bristlecone hike. Nevertheless, we confidently turned onto the trail and began a steep climb up through the forest.

                                The winter brought a large tree obstacle.

                      Three of the five ladies who made an appearance today.

 Today's group was a mixed bag of strong healthy hikers and strong hikers who were nursing themselves back to health. Therefore, we tended to become divided into two speeds. Several times, the lead group would stop to wait on the following group and the hike progressed as such. When we reached the No Name Saddle, the toughest work for the day was done.

                             The old bristlecone that must be climbed!

We treaded into the old bristlecone forest at the top of the climb and began enjoying the familiar wood sculptures by climbing the old tree pictured above.

                                     Another Old Bristlecone

 As we made our way to the Bonanza Trail junction, the hikers in the front of the line heard the unmistakable noise a horse makes when he blows through his lips. After a short exploration, no horses were seen, however, as we took our break at the junction, a distinctive "whinny" was heard in the distance.

Picking ourselves up off of the scattered logs, we turned to the right on the Bonanza Trail and switchbacked our way down to the Bristlecone trail junction. From this section of the hike, we could see Mack's Peak and South Sister (two of our recent hikes).

We continued to look for the horses but to no avail.

                    Mack's Peak (L) and South Sister (R) from the Bonanza Trail

                                Switchback on the Bonanza Trail

We gathered one last time at the junction then began hiking to the right down the trail. On our way back to the cars, we passed a very large group of girls from a local girls' summer camp. (We assured them that the bear we saw was quite small and probably ran away soon after we saw him.) Of course we were just kidding! There are no bears in the Spring Mountains. :-)

                                Lettie hikes through the aspens.

                                Field of wildflowers near the Bristlecone trailhead.

Mack's Peak - 6/12/12

                                View of Mack's Peak while climbing.

                               Mack's Peak from trail.

 Eleven hikers drove up Lee Canyon Hwy toward the Spring Mountain NRA and turned right onto Mack's Canyon Road. After driving 4.2 miles, the dirt road ended and we got out of the cars, ready for a climb which would be short in distance but long on elevation gain; a recipe for a very strenuous hike up to Mack's Peak and back.

 We hiked about a quarter of a mile up the canyon then hung a right into a wash marked by cairns. At first, the wash was cluttered as in the photo above, however, soon it transformed into a scree covered steep slope as seen in the photo to the left. The hikers chose their own route as we attacked the steep slope which would take us up to the ridge on the right side of the wash.

                                Mack's Peak from steep slope.

The steepness was relentless as we chose our steps to make each one count the most. One by one, we reached the ridge and gathered while giving out encouragement to remaining hikers who were, by then, climbing twenty feet then catching their breath, then repeat and repeat and repeat. When we had the energy to look around, a view of Mt. Charleston could be seen to our "8 o'clock." The North and South Sisters were to our "6."

                               Saddle below final climb.

As a group, we followed the ridge to a small saddle below the rock mountain in front of us. We found the trail and continued our relentlessly steep climb. Our target destination was the bottom right end of a sloping chute which would provide us with a route to the peak. Even though the steep climbs up to this point were extremely challenging, the chute (going up and coming down) that we were about to tackle would be the most challenging part of the hike.

                             View looking up the chute.

(Oh yeah, I finally got a photo of the Mt. Charleston butterfly. They move really fast and rarely light on a twig for photos.) Anyway, back to the chute. Not only does it require strength but it also requires an experienced hiker's knowledge of how to consider the safety of him or herself and the others around them. The rocks in the chute are extremely loose. The slope is extremely steep. And, the left side of the chute is extremely high. Rocks WILL be dislodged as the hiker ascends and descends.

                   "Corner" where the chute arrives from below on right.
                                Trail continues up on left to the peak.

We climbed the chute with sufficient distance between each hiker then turned the "corner" to our right at the top. Here, the trail continues up with quite a bit of exposure until the hiker arrives on the peak. Party time! ... And, today's party involved the Three Stooges and the Little Rascals complete with sound effects. Yep! Showing our age! Never mind the gorgeous views of McFarland Peak, Cold Creek, the Sisters and Mt. Charleston.

                                View from Mack's Peak.

After our rest and snack, we filed down to the chute. Keeping a large distance between us, we negotiated the loose descent any way we felt safe. The photo to the left does not show the steepness but, if you can imagine, the photographer is hanging across a fallen tree to take this shot! At the bottom of the chute, more photos were taken as seen below. We continued down to the saddle to get out of the way of falling rock as the last of the hikers made their way down.

Together one last time, we began our scree slope descent. As we became separated, different routes were taken. The object was to get down to a wash and follow that wash out to Mack's Canyon. Sounds easier than it was as we carefully found our footing with every step. Nevertheless, all eleven hikers made it back to the cars in one piece within the same five to ten minutes. Distance: 3.5 miles. Elevation gain: 1800 feet.

                            Route back down to Mack's Canyon.

                             Descending wash to Mack's Canyon.

Jerry writes a good suggestion and adds this image below:

The next time we do Macks Peak (or Max Peak according to Garmin), we should try going up the next wash or gully.  I took a screen shot of our hikes last year and this year shown below.  The yellow track is from our hike in June 2011, the green is from Tuesday.  The far left yellow track is the route down that I took last year.  You can see that the slope in this wash is much less severe than the way we went up the last two times.  We tend to go up to the small peak labeled "9300" and then traverse across to the saddle.  I assume by pointing out this new route that I will be obliged to lead it next year. ;-)