Gray Cap Scramble Loop - 12/8/22 - Mike O'Connor as Guest Blogger and Photos by the Whole Gang

Climbing the Red Wall (Turtlehead Peak in background)

View of Brownstone Canyon from Gray Cap Peak

An interesting Scramble in the Cairned Route Descent

Resting on Kraft Saddle

Thursday's hike was one of the best scrambles at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Not too much and not too little. Not too hard and not too easy. Mike describes the hike below as only Mike can do it. Mike, Cheryl, Ralyn and Ralph all joined in to document the occasion with colorful photos as they climbed to a limestone covered peak found on top of a sandstone ridge between Gateway Canyon and Brownstone Canyon. According to Mike's report, the descent route was diverted slightly over the route indicated on the maps below but there are actually many different routes that can be used to descend from Gray Cap back into Gateway Canyon. Some are more difficult than others. Mike's brief report is as follows:

Descending from Kraft Saddle

Climbing up through Gateway Canyon

Scrambles in Upper Gateway Canyon

Upper Gateway

There were no fox sightings in Gray Fox Canyon. Year after year, we scale Gray Cap (5443’), but the elusive vulpine has only been spotted a single time. The name stuck, but the fox disappeared. We did however, see lots of long shadows as the winter solstice was just around the corner. Those shadows were cast by Jerry, Cheryl, Ralyn, Chuck and Ralph, in addition to mine.

To add a little spice to our adventure, we decided on a classic, lollipop loop. After exorcising the demons on Five-Stop Hill, we ascended the Class 2 Upper Gateway Canyon. At the top end of Gateway, we focused on the lone tree at the crest of the sandstone scramble. Up we went to the huge tinaja, which was as dry as a powder house. Another short up-and-over and we were staring at our destination, some 400 vertical feet away. 

Crossing Fin above Deep Tinaja

Flat before Final Climb

The Picnic Table - Midway Up

Crossing over to Gray Cap

The Class 3 descent of the eponymous Gray Fox Canyon is always a blast. Lots of fun scrambling here, with many different routes down to the canyon floor, including a couple dicey spots which deterred no one. We thought we had been on every possible descent route, but Chuck Stinnett managed to find a new one. It was a keeper. Upon reaching Lower Gateway, we scampered back up to Five-Stop, then finished the day with an easy, downhill cruise to the Kraft Mountain dirt lot. 

Red Cap and the Escarpment from Final Climb

Gray Cap summit Photo

Starting down into the Yellow Sandstone

Getting Steeper by the Cairn

Vitals: 6 hikers, 5.3 miles, 2300’ vertical, 5 1/4 hours.

MOC

From Yellow to Red Sandstone

An interesting Sramble

Just above Gateway Canyon

Hidden Canyon - 12/3/22 - Ralyn Conner as Guest Blogger

Bruce & Skeleton at the Old VW

Peering up into Hidden Canyon

View up toward Gottlieb Peak beyond the Summerlin Peak Range

Starting out from the Buckskin Cliff Shadows TH

Saturday, Ralyn, Mike, Bruce and Ralph hiked to Hidden Canyon. This is a canyon that is popular with a few rock climbers and is difficult as you climb into it. As hikers, we only hike TO it! Ralyn took the reins to give us this blog. Photos were taken by her, Mike and Bruce. Ralyn writes:

Four and a half hikers met at the Buckskin Cliff Shadows trailhead on Saturday, December 3rd. Our goal was to have fun and find Hidden Canyon. Two of us had tracks, two had their memories of this hike and one used his nose ... (This was not Odie‘s first time on this hike).

Across the desert we hiked in the general direction of the canyon.  Coming up on a small cave we called out to make sure no one was home. No one answered so we stopped a spell. 

Following the Trail toward Summerlin Peak Range

Formerly Occupied Large Cave

Wash leading up to Hidden Canyon

Taking a break at the Hidden Canyon Wash

We had our break at the entrance to the canyon. Some of us were feeling older than our age today. Better to be safe and to hike another day. 

After paying our respects to the skeletal remains in the wrecked car one hiked out via the wash. The rest of us hiked the Big Horn trail, sans actual Big Horns, joined the Black Friday trail and then the wash back to the vehicles. It was a terrific morning. 

Ralyn

Stats: 5.7 miles; 800' gain; 2.5 hours

Leaving the Canyon Wash

                                                                       Following Trails

View back toward Hidden Canyon

Little Finland (Gold Butte National Monument) - 11/28/22 - David Morrow as Guest Blogger

David and Brenda Morrow sent in this guest blog after the recently visited Gold Butte National Monument with a couple of club members. Specifically, they wanted to visit Little Finland. Little Finland (also known as Hobgoblin’s Playground and Devil’s Fire) is a scenic red rock area, located in a remote section of Clark County, Nevada, south of Mesquite, known for its red rock scenery and strangely-shaped, delicate rock formations. The rock formations are composed of red Aztec Sandstone, fossil sand dunes. Many of the features are small erosional fins, hence the name. ~ Wikipedia

The Morrow's blog is as follows:

A few club members went to check out little Finland yesterday. We took a Subaru and found the paved part of Gold Butte road is rougher than it was 3 years ago. The dirt part before the mud wash turn off was hard with protruding rocks. It kept our speed to around 10mph. Mud wash was smoother. We did drive all the way to little Finland and the only tricky part was a dry falls near the end of the road they you had to go around on the left side. I do have All terrain tires and ran them at 25psi. All road junctions have new signs and milage.

First stop was at the usual trailhead for the little Finland hike. (This trailhead is a wide area of the road where there is a wall with petroglyphs. A trail leads through the wall up to the right.) After looking at the petroglyphs, we drove the spur road north to the Eastside dunes. 

Second stop was the large flat area at the bottom of little Finland escarpment.

There is a rumor that the roads will be graded this spring!

We made it back home in 2hours 45 minutes. Safer to assume a 3 hour drive.