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John Morrow Member
Joined: 03 Apr 2007 Posts: 1526 | TRs | Pics Location: Roslyn |
Finally home after the long drive.
Next installment of an amazing and diverse desert experience. I hope folks find it interesting enough to plan a trip of their own!
After dropping off my friend Laurie at McCarran Airport, I settled back into the Boulder Campground at Lake Mead national Recreation Area as a basecamp for a few more days. At $10 it is worth leaving the gear set up safe. Rising to a whopping $20 (Capitol Reef, too, FYI) on Jan 1, don't think I'll be staying there much more, unfortunately. That evening I walked the famed "rail-trail" once used to supply the Hoover Dam construction.
Rail trail moonrise Interp Color Interp tunnel tunnel
Nov 23 I did an unknown untested walk to search for rock art, water, and maybe scramble a peak. It is a place called Aztec Wash on the west shore of the Colorado River between Black Canyon and Spirit Mountain Wildernesses in Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
Eagle Aztec overview Eagle Aztec detail
I was delighted to find immense cholla forests, rock art, and a nice scramble of Eagle Peak 3602' (out of Courtney Purcell's book). Eagle was Class 2 up the south ridge out of Aztec Narrows and down the N/NE Ridge.
Cholla everywhere Destination Eagle Peak 3602' forest Eagle Peak down into Aztec Aztec descent Aztec Wash Aztec narrows narrows view south ridge of Eagle along south ridge scramble Aztec below chollas enroute Lake Mead National Recreation Area View to south Ireteba Peaks North Ridge scramble down yet more
Nov 24, today I wanted to stitch together a hike loop of narrow canyons, peaks, and more rock art. I came up with this loop of Goldstrike Canyon, a side canyon to Boyscout divide, Boyscout to North Fork Boyscout Canyon, and back to parking via the powerline jeep trail. This was mostly in Black Canyon Wilderness and included interesting scrambles of Goldstrike Peak 2400+, Windbreak Peak 2583, and Pass BM (Black Cany Wilderness Highpoint) 2695'.
GoldstrikeBoyscoutNF
Down Goldstrike and up a side canyon to Goldstrike Peak:
Goldstrike morning Hoover Dam Peak for another day Side canyon approach fun scramble falls tough move (or easy bypass) pothole beautiful side canyon Black Canyon Wilderness, NV Black Canyon Wilderness, NV Out of canyon Up to saddle Onto ridge Ridge run Black Canyon view Black Canyon Wilderness, NV final scramble (groove on right) from there solid groove through tuff face Colorado River, Black Canyon the route on Goldstrike Pk 2410'
Down off the south side of Goldstrike Peak to Boyscout Canyon ( a small slot along the way) to N. Fk. Boyscout Canyon:
Now to Boyscout Canyon SW Ridge scramble descent flowering Boyscout Canyon, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Black Canyon Wilderness Boyscout Canyon, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, NV Color view back N. Fk. Boyscout N Fork pothole fun in N. Fk. Mo' wate N. Fk. opens Sheep!!! Sheep move
Finally up Windbreak and Pass BM and back to the car:
Looped around that On Windbreak Peak 2583' Finish on Pass BM 2695'
Nov 25th: I left Lake Mead National Recreation Area and headed to the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area and its' North McCullough Wilderness Area for a ridge run. There is rock art here but inaccessible in a day trip with my Honda Civic so I took Trails 404 and 402 to gain the McCullough Crest and finished back on the Black Mountain Trail 404 at the end of the hike.
Started up the trail then went crosscountry up Fracture Ridge. From there followed the ridge south a few miles to the Wilderness Highpoint:
Starting up Sparse terrain Petroglyph Canyon way off Interface Black Mountain Steep east face Over to Wilderness Highpoint Final saddle Railroad Peaks McCullough Range J-Trees. North McCullough Wilderness, NV Distant Red Rocks
Then I turned around and headed back north on the ridge to Black Mountain:
North McCullough Wilderness, NV Fracture Ridge summit View to Boulder City Traverse to Black Mtn Black Mtn summit wind
Finally descended the trail back to the trailhead:
Traverse route stunted chollas back to strange trailhead
Some rock art, more on Flickr:
AZ1 AZ10 AZ12 AZ6 BS9 BS16 BS22 BS1 BS12 BS21 BS23
Final Installments:
A day in Red Rocks, more Mojave National Preserve, and Death Valley National Park discovery.
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”-Mary Oliver
“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”
― MLK Jr.
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”-Mary Oliver
“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”
― MLK Jr.
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ree Member
Joined: 29 Jun 2004 Posts: 4399 | TRs | Pics
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ree
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Sun Dec 06, 2015 10:26 pm
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We did that railroad grade hike earlier this year. Nice historic walk.
I hope you do your Mojave Preserve trip report soon... We need some recommendations.
Love those desert colors. Thanks for posting. You've given me some good ideas!
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