[John Morrow]

Caught a nasty cold on my last day in Zion. Found a home in a walk-in campsite at VofF State Park. An awesome place of collision between sandstone and limestone. Great for desert scrambling with short trips and little vertical, yet a surprising sense of fulfillment. Perfect for recuperating from a cold. Courtney Purcell Rambles and Scrambles as my guide. Nov 13: Rest, then shower and a shave in the campground. By noon I could do something. The Pinnacles Trail is a nice open Mojave Desert walk to some pretty pink sandstone pinnacles and gargoyles. The remains of a limestone scarp overthrust onto the sandstone rests as an eroded face looming above the hoodoos. A summit named Gregg Peak tops the thrust. Sheared conglomerate and limestone face sat in between sloping sandstone and the summit. Just right for my energy level. West Face to the top, downsloping east slope back to the campground to complete a suitable loop.

Pinnacles Trail To the notch

missing horn

aztec formation color

pinks

The Pinnacles appear

Into the Pinnacles

Gregg Peak above

crest of trail loop

Up to Gregg Peak

West Face conglomerate scramble

Down at the Pinnacles

tortured earth

random bouts of color

Gregg Peak; Valley of Fire State Park, NV

hmm

Enough time left to walk across the campground toward a sandstone blob with fun routefinding up its' NE side for a second summit, named by CP as Weekapaug. Great to get your scramblin' groove on. Leave the petrified wood trail and head to the northeast base of the peak. A long rising diagonal gets up the east side of the mountain. First, I took a nice low angle sandstone rib climbers left of an obvious vegetated ramp from the northeast base. That led to a beautiful 35 degree slab of solid sandstone (looks steeply improbable from the visitor center). A few solid boulders then lead to a key groove that takes one into a hidden meadow basin below the top. Three peaks vie for the highest from the meadow area view. I believe the highest is the SE. A logical solid sandstone ramp leads up, then finish on south. I climbed all three. Of the two summits that lie to the SW of the meadow, the southeastern of the two is short (20 feet) class 5 layback crack followed by an exposed and chickenheaddy little low angle face. Scary and unnecessary as it is not the highest. Foolishly risky downclimb for me.

Petrified wood trail

Limestone Muddy Mtns

Weekapaug Summit from false one

GreggWeekapaug

Nov 14: Still feeling weak and sick, I took my time about a nice canyon loop to a very aesthetic little sandstone peak scramble called the Crimson Staircase. Another great solid little scramble. I took CP's route downclimbing the boulder chokes in Fire Canyon (Mouses Tank), fun. Then up a side drainaige until I could see the southside.

Mouses Tank Crimson Staircase

parting art

morning art

Mouse Tank Trail

Descent below dryfall tank

A slot section

Fun downclimbing

More canyon

Side canyon climb

Hidden meadow

Wrong turn, slot will correct

It is all there like in his description although what is the actual staircase? Anyway, get up the south broad gully/trough/basin. The only route that continues as a scramble leads right to the key blind corner ledge mentioned in the route beta. Then up more steep sandstone ribs/slopes to a short Class 4 chimney (why he doesn't mention this I don't know). Beyond, easy routefinding on more Class 3 rock leads to the summit.

Crimson staircase start

On top of Crimson Staircase

View to campground

Valley of Fire overview

The south route on descent

Up at route

Key ledge to blind corner

Whole route

I returned by paralleling Fire Wash back to the Mouses Tank on a high traverse on the southside of the wash.

X-country traverse back

more traversing

Missed this before

Art near Mouse Tank

More art

In the late afternoon I explored a couple colorful canyon washes that connect to form a mostly trailless 3 or 4 mile loop. Forks of a wash called Kaolin on the map.

Kaolin Wash Loop

Afternoon in side fork Kaolin Wash

Up side fork with arch

Came up right turn down left

From where I came

Descending Kaolin Wash

Kaolin leads to a slot

short slot

textures of rock and sky

Down Kaolin

Looking back

Sunset by VoF road

Valley of Fire State Park, NV

[ree]

Nice to know there are other slots to see in Vegas. Nyuk, nyuk. Thanks for posting. Nice

[Rainie Too!]

That is the only blue sky I have seen this week John, thanks! Jealous!

[Kim Brown]

Down at the Pinnacles and Random Bouts of Color are spectacular photos! Interesting geology/morphology. Now I gotta read up more on that. My brother loves that kind of topography and I will ask if he's been there; if not, he will once I show him these photos!

[Gimpilator]

John, thanks for another fantastic report. Your documentation is artful and useful. I have explored Fire Wash and a little of the mouse tank area before, looking for petroglyphs, but didn't find any. You must be really good at finding them. Looking forward to spending more time in VOF. I'll be based out of Vegas Nov-May from now on. Just arrived here late last night (did Charleston/Lee/Mummy today). I don't know if you're still in the area, but I'll be free from business again after December 8th. It would be great to connect.

[John Morrow]

Just got out of a few days at Mojave National Preserve. Now Death Valley. Thanks all, I appreciate the interest.

[silence]

VOF is a blast ... though they are making it harder for hikers with curfews. Still because you're so fast on your feet you managed to get out there! Great pix!

[ree]

[puzzlr]

Really spectacular landscape, and photos of it. Thanks for the post. It looks like a place that is really fun to explore, as you did.