Horse Trough at Telephone Canyon & Robbers' Roost - 5/24/14

Spring Water Flows into Horse Trough above Telephone Canyon

Mummy's Toe Peeks Out from Behind the Ridge as Viewed from the Ascent Trail

 Two groups of hikers separated at the meet point to go to Telephone Canyon, each with a different hike in mind. Fourteen of those hikers chose to do a loop hike that began and ended at the Robbers' Roost parking pull out on Deer Creek Highway in the Spring Mountains NRA. There was no construction going on today, presumably because it is Saturday, so the drive up lasted around 30 to 40 minutes. We started down the trail behind the sign at the parking area and ended up on Telephone Canyon Road, a dirt and gravel road that ultimately descends down to Kyle Canyon Road below the police station.

Starting Up the Steep Trail Ascent

 Enjoying the fresh cool air, we descended the road for 0.9 miles. At this point, there is a camping site on the left side. We turned left here and began a steep and arduous climb up the trail that ascends out of the campsite.

Taking in the View and Fresh Air

 The trail seems to be frequented by horses and bikes because the path is rutted for most of the way up. Although it is a beautiful climb among the junipers and pinion pines, most of the work for today was done in this 0.8 miles. The group of hikers were hiking their first high altitude hike of the season, therefore, our breath became short quickly. We stopped around four times in this short distance.

Bernard Cools Off with a Bath of Spring Water (Do Not Drink!)

 The spring fed horse trough is found about 2/3 of the way up the hill. It is a double trough, however, only one trough was filled since the pipe between the two must have been stopped up. Even though the water is not potable, it does a good job of cooling off your head!

Snack Spot with a View of Angel Peak

 After the water trough, the views of the ridge across Telephone Canyon opened up. At one overlook, we pointed out all the many peaks and hikes that could be seen. Finally finishing the climb, we reached the saddle where there is a trail that takes off along the ridge to the right. We hiked out this ridge on a very easy trail to a place where we could see Angel Peak on the other side of our mountain. We had to sit on the ground but we didn't mind too much!

Trail Gate Marked with Pink Ribbons

 After the break, we returned to the main trail saddle and continued our loop. There are several other trails that junction at this point but we kept turning to our left to find a trail that would loop around beneath Deer Creek Highway.

Starting Down the Beautiful Descent Trail

 This trail made a gradual descent through the trees. To our left, we got a grand view of Telephone Canyon out toward Kyle Canyon. There is a small bridge built to take hikers over a wash gulley. We passed a couple of young bikers lounging on a bike jump. After connecting with the old dirt road, several ... many ... bikers came zooming down the hill and passed us. They were very polite ... careful not to run over us and said, "Thank you!" and "Have a nice day!"

Wide Open Views Toward Kyle Canyon

 There is a business that carries bikers and their bikes up the hill then let's them go! A series of bike trails challenges them on a top speed run. As far as we can see, they are having a blast!

Starting Up into the Robbers' Roost Canyon Crack

 The road led back to the hill that climbed to the parking pull out. Then we crossed the road and tackled Robbers' Roost; a canyon crack filled with caves where men would hide until wagons came by in the 1890's. They continued robbing until cattle rustling became more "profitable." This short hike up the hill can be done on a long switchback or by scrambling up the wash. We opted for the switchback and while we were up there, we watched rock climbers and Don showed us the official Robbers' Cave located around the corner. What fun! And, a perfect day for hiking!

Points of Interest on the Short Robbers' Roost Hike

 4 miles; 1138 feet elevation gain; 3 hours

The Official Hide Out Cave

Echo Canyon / Skull Canyon - 5/22/14

Wilson Peak from the Top of Skull Canyon

Limestone Floor of Skull Canyon

Ten club members and one guest from Virginia woke early for a hike in the North Blue Diamond Hills of Red Rock Canyon NCA. It was an extremely pleasant cool morning for the duration of the hike. We began at the Cowboy Trails parking area and made our way up to the mouth of Echo Canyon located past the upper horse corral and to the right fork. The strong participating hikers of today were ready for a quick but pleasant pace and we hiked up through the easy scramble of Echo Canyon stopping only once.

Top of Echo Canyon

 As we climbed the 2 miles of Echo, the shadows were replaced by sunshine. When we finished the canyon and the following trail, we junctioned with the old mining road at the top.

Crossing Over to Right Fork Canyon

 A quarter mile up the road, the trail turned us to the left. This was the cross trail that leads hikers just above the first and second finger of the canyons and ridges. Next, we dropped into the upper right fork of Cave Canyon and began hiking along its north rim. This is a gentle climb up the mild canyon where our view ahead was of the gypsum mining tailings pile. We were hiking very very close to the boundary of the Red Rock Canyon NCA.

Right Fork of Cave Canyon

 Eventually, the trail turned us back around to our left. We found ourselves facing the Red Rock escarpment that was being decorated by a magnificent display of cloud play.

Crossing Over Ridge to Left Fork of Cave Canyon

 We dipped through the left fork of Cave Canyon then followed the trail down to the old sign that no longer says Boneshaker Hill. We continued down another quarter of a mile where we located a small trail leading off to the right. This trail took us down to cross Mystery Woman Canyon. The climb out of the small brushy canyon was steep but short and, at the top, we found the high point of the hike and a good view for our morning break.

High Point View

 The pace had not slowed by much and the coolness was still present but the previous hill gave us a reason to stop for a snack! The remaining portion of the hike would be downhill.

Mike Enjoys his Break with a View

 After the break, we continued on our little trail over the hill and down to the top of Skull Canyon. This canyon was so named because, many years ago, hikers found the skull of a wild horse or burro within the canyon walls. The name stuck! The bikers use this canyon from time to time so the trail is clear all the way down. However, there are many slippery sections. We were all able to stay on our feet today!

Hiking the Limestone Floor of Skull Canyon

 The bottom half of Skull Canyon is a limestone floor with fossils embedded here and there. We took advantage of the off trail shortcuts on the limestone.

Skull Canyon View of the Red Rock Escarpment

 As is often the case, the strong hikers began dispersing near the end of the hike. (Some have extra energy to burn!) Nevertheless, we finished Skull Canyon with a junction at the Muffins Trail and circled around the base of Boneshaker Hill. Opting for a different cool down, we headed over to the upper corral connecter trail to finish. A great morning of exercise!

7 miles; 1500 feet of elevation gain; 3.25 hours

Horse Ride on Fossil Ridge

Returning to the Cowboy Trails Parking Area

Top End of Route

Boneshaker Hill / Middle Rim Trail / Mystery Woman Canyon / Skull Canyon - 5/19/14

Cairn at High Point Overlook on the North Blue Diamond Hills

Trail Up Boneshaker Hill

Morning Climb up Boneshaker Hill

 For an early morning Red Rock Canyon NCA hike that tries its best to be less structured than the other scheduled hikes, nine hikers came out and decided to follow Kay up Boneshaker Hill and connect with a new trail that we named Middle Rim Trail. Later, we followed Roger down the Mystery Woman Canyon and connected with Skull Canyon. The entire hike rang in at around 6.5 miles which is a little more than what Doug, the early morning coordinator, normally attempts to keep his hikes. Nevertheless, we had a good group of hikers today and we just went for it on this cool late spring morning in the desert.

The Jack Rabbit Group Waiting on Us

 Starting from the Cowboy Trails parking area, we hiked out to the base of Boneshaker Hill and began our steep climb. On the way up the hill, most of us would stop and rest to catch our breath from time to time. However, there was a "jack rabbit" group of three or four hikers that persevered up the hill with very few breaks.

Many Utah Agave are in Bloom

Hiking on the Middle Rim Trail

 When we finally reached the flatter part of the hill, we noticed that there was a huge number of Utah Agaves in bloom. Yellow stalks everywhere! Nearing the old faded Boneshaker sign, we turned off to our left to find a small trail that was new to us. With an inkling of where it led, we took the beautiful trail, dotted with plump red barrel cacti, along the rim of the Mystery Woman Canyon below. At the top end of the canyon, the trail switchbacked up the hill ending above the "New Las Vegas Overlook."

Fat Red Barrel Cacti on the Middle Rim Trail

 As we sat for a break at the tall cairn, we looked out over a smoke filled valley while barely making out the buildings of the Las Vegas Strip and Lake Mead beyond. The smoke had crept in while we were climbing.

Cairn at High Point Overlook on a Smoky Day

The Top of Mystery Woman Canyon

 After a little discussion on how we would return, Roger agreed to lead us down Mystery Woman Canyon which was probably the shortest route available from this point. Instead of taking the bicycle switchbacks on our way down, we opted to bushwhack straight down the slope to the top of the canyon below us. We didn't really find a very good trail in the canyon until we had descended down to where another cross trail junctions. At this point, the trail was decipherable even though the easy scrambling continued.

Scrambling Down Mystery Woman Canyon

 There were three mishaps involving cacti and skin. Not a great combination! After carefully extracting hooked thorns, we continued down to junction with Skull Canyon.

Hiking Down Skull Canyon

Nearing the Mouth of Skull Canyon

 The trail in Skull Canyon is very clear. We continued down the familiar route as the temperatures began to rise. At the bottom of the canyon trail, we junctioned with the Muffins Trail and switchbacked down to the Boneshaker Hill Trail turnoff that we had used three hours earlier. Our cool down was the flat hike back to the cars passing the horses in the corral. Today's hike was fun using a different route and doing a little easy exploring.

6.5 miles; 1500 feet elevation gain; 3.25 hours

Junction with the Muffins Trail

The Water Trough Queue