Dragon Canyon / Gateway Canyon Loop - 8/23/14

Overlook at Top of Dragon Canyon

Turtlehead Peak from Top of Ash Canyon

Ash Meadows

 It was a beautiful morning at Red Rock Canyon NCA. Sixteen hikers found their way to the dirt parking area in Calico Basin located at the base of Krafft Mountain for a loop hike that included some mild scrambling. We walked out to the end of the dirt parking area and stepped over the rope for the hike to begin. Not far down the road, we turned right down a worn trail that led to Ash Meadows where large ash trees grew among the creek bed. Taking little used trails, we headed toward the entrance to Dragon Canyon.

Finding Trails to Dragon Canyon

Last year, we named this canyon that runs parallel to Ash Canyon on its east side for the rocky peak in which it lies. Although this peak is referred to as New Peak nowadays, the older hikers know it as Dragon Peak - named for its long craggy ridge that looks like a dragon's tail.

During our tough scramble up through the small canyon, one hiker mistakenly used a large rock that turned out to be loose. He got quite a bump on his head. Probably don't need to say it - but y'all be careful out there!

Scrambling up Dragon Canyon toward Dragon Peak

After attending to the hiker, we finished climbing the canyon and connected with Ash Canyon about halfway up. Views at this point were pretty fantastic.

Red Cap from Top of Dragon Canyon

Hiking Upper Ash Canyon

From there, we took the upper trail (one of 3 trails all together) all the way up to the top of Ash Canyon where a few hikers were waiting. We sat for a short break under the gaze of a towering Turtlehead Peak while a couple of hikers were patched up. No, no one wanted to go back ... "they were fine."

Next, we dropped down to the Rattlesnake Trail that connects this area to Gateway Canyon through a wash.

Hiking Down Through Rattlesnake Trail Wash

The Rattlesnake Trail wash seemed to be rearranged. This summer's rains were likely the culprit. We were careful of our steps on the slippery limestone and reached Gateway Canyon junction. Already, we could tell that Gateway (true to its nature) was also quite rearranged. The gravel was very thick here and there were no longer "ruts" to indicate where the water runoff had been. Hmmm. This made the hike down through Lower Gateway Canyon very exciting! Each familiar obstacle was in question before we got to it.

Deepened Dry Fall just down from Rattlesnake Trail in Lower Gateway Canyon

The first "obstacle" was never really an obstacle in the recent past. That first dry fall showed that the gravel had been washed away and the down climb there was a 5 or 6 foot drop.

Jim Sees Polka Dots in Gateway Canyon

Pickle Rock in Gateway Canyon

We hiked down a wide flat gravel wash until things got interesting again. A lot of gravel has been deposited in the "slide" area and that drop had been reduced from 5 feet to a mere 2 feet. Next came the first big dry fall that we usually find our way around on the right. A few of today's hikers braved the drop as the rest of us did the scramble down. The drop appeared to be not too bad when we circled around to take a look.

Using Another Up and Around due to a Wash Out

Next came "Pickle Rock." This obstacle was named when Lettie found herself in a pickle here, one time, while hiking through. Today, there was no way to climb down the usual way, before the rock, so we did the steep walk down on top of the rock. The usual way had been washed out very deep but the gravel below Pickle Rock was pretty high so it all worked out.

From there, the last large scramble was only mildly changed as seen in the photo below. Then, the hike around Krafft Mountain finished off the morning.

The Last Scramble in Gateway Canyon

5 miles; 950 feet elevation gain; 2.5 hours

Hiking Around the Southern End of Krafft Mountain

Cave Springs - 8/21/14

Entrance to Cave Springs Area

Mike Stands at the Spring in the Cave Area

 Six hikers decided that today would be a good day to take a short and sweet hike up to Cave Springs. We drove up Kyle Canyon Road, turned onto Echo Drive and found the Trail Canyon trailhead parking. Our hike up the two miles of the steep Trail Canyon was non-stop. Steady climbing did the trick as we watched puffy clouds come floating over the ridges. The air was cool and damp and didn't change throughout the hike. At the saddle, we cooled our heels for just a couple of minutes then turned left onto the North Loop Trail.

Mt. Charleston from Trail Canyon

 From this section of the trail, we could see Kyle Canyon, the South Loop ridge and Mt. Charleston. The puffy clouds were getting heavy with moisture but they remained over the South Loop and Charlie.

Hikers on the North Loop Trail

 At the Cave Springs area, we climbed up to the cave area and inspected the spring water as it merely dripped down the rock wall. When we returned down to the trail, we saw that the horse trough was completely dry. Our break was short as the six strong hikers were quickly ready for the return trip. The heavy clouds stayed out of our way as we made our descent. Back at the cars, we left to go back to the hot valley below.

5.5 miles; 2000 feet elevation gain; 2.5 hours

Inspecting the Dripping Spring

The Dry Horse Trough

Mummy Mountain East Face - 8/19/14

Rocks and Cracks below Mummy Mountain Summit on the East Face

View up the East Face of Mummy Mountain from Mummy's Knee

 It was definitely a Super Tuesday hike this week as club members tackled another brand new hike for the club. With guidance from Jim Boone's website "Bird and Hike," six hearty men ventured up Mummy Mountain's east face to reach the summit from the opposite side. Until now, the club had only summited from the west side on the traditional route up Trail Canyon and North Loop junctioning at THE SCREE FIELD! Today, they exchanged the famed scree field for rocks and cracks and ledges. (Sounds a lot more fun to me!)

They drove up Deer Creek Road and parked at the turnout across from Wild Horse Canyon and Cougar Ridge Trail, a dirt road leading to cabins and summer homes.

Climbing Up to the Deer Creek Ridge

 On the way up the dirt road, they spied a large mule deer buck. Ten points! Jerry led the group up the mountain and sent some photos and the GPS track. Along with Laszlo's photos, Jerry takes the story from here.

Six intrepid hikers showed up for the author's first hike as coordinator.  Half of the hike was to be exploratory as no one had been to Mummy's knee or beyond on this side of the mountain. 

The Steep Ascent to Mummy's Knee

 We began hiking up Cougar Ridge Road and spotted a mule deer buck with a large rack just above the road on the hillside. 

Mummy's Toe from Mummy's Knee

 The troop followed the familiar route up Cougar Ridge Road to the cabins and then Deer Creek wash up to the ridge above Deer Creek and onto the newly named "Barbell Curve" where the ridge meets Mummy Springs trail. We took a rest stop here and then continued up the switchbacks until we reached the junction of Mummy's Toe trail and trails to Mummy's Knee.

Traverse

  From this point on the hike was entirely exploratory.  We actually found a well used trail that led straight up to Mummy's Knee. From the knee we traversed across various parts of the Mummy's anatomy. We passed a large scree-filled gully and continued to the next slightly smaller scree-filled gully. Here we ascended until we encountered a series of ledges leading along the summit to the north.  We followed a ledge just below the cliffs and went up a small pinch point until we were just below the summit cliffs on the east side of the mountain.  We walked along the wide ledge here and then scrambled up another short scree slope to the summit. 

Ah! There's the Crack!

  The author was relieved that his first hike was so far without incident.

Paul gets a little help from his friends.

 The photo to the left is a shot of the final small scramble to the summit. The GPS track sent to the website indicates that finding their way up and through the rocks, cracks and ledges below this point was no easy task. Dealing with extremely steep terrain at the top of scree fields and sharp limestone crags, the group of six finally made it to the top. Some of the 7.5 mile distance indicated was exploratory as they searched around for the right routes through the rocks.

Statistics indicated by the GPS track are as follows:
7.5 miles; 3500 feet elevation gain; 6 hours

Jerry's story continues below.

Gnarly, man! Right on! How groovy can it get? Neato!

 On the descent we had one wayward hiker who wanted to stay high while the trail went a little lower.  Well, after being cliffed-out the hiker shortly returned to the trail and we continued on down.  The hike ended without further incident.  As it turned out there were cairned trails almost the entire way to the summit.  You had to know the way up the scree-filled gullies otherwise the hike was always on a trail.  It was great weather, a little windy on the summit but not bad.

~ Jerry

Use everything you have, guys!

Descent back to Deer Creek