May 26, 2008: Las Vegas (What happens here should stay here)
Taking a raft trip down the Colorado River, through the Grand Canyon, had been on our “Life List” for several years and now the time had come to make it a reality. We first flew to Las Vegas, NV, where we took a day or two to visit our daughter, Harmony and do a few day hikes in the surrounding area. Las Vegas was also where Grand Canyon Expeditions would pick us up and drive us, by bus, to Lake Powell; the genesis of our adventure. Soon after we arrived and checked in at our hotel, we drove to see Harmony and the apartment she shares with her friend, Jarrod. Unfortunately, Jarrod was at work but we had a nice dinner of Mediterranean food, Harmony’s favorite, and had a nice visit.
May 27, 2008: Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (Total miles – 7.96)
We arose early, which was rather easy with the time difference between Maryland and Nevada and went downstairs to grab a quick continental breakfast before heading out for a hike. We suspected that there were probably some people from our rafting trip group in the dining room but, at this point, we did not know who they might be. We had purchased some protein bars and some powdered drinks for the trail but knowing we would need more than just this to make it through the day, we grabbed a few extra bagels, peanut butter and jelly and some honey from the buffet table to take with us. (we already had our trusty Zip-Loc bags to put them in.) Now it was time to hit the road; our destination, the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area; 197,000 acres (130 square miles) in the Mojave Desert. The closer we got to Red Rock Canyon, the more spectacular the scenery became and it was hard to believe that such natural beauty existed only 17 miles from the electric glitz and grandiose and self-indulgent, man-made edifices of Las Vegas. We were definitely more at home in the canyon. So that we did not waster any time wandering aimlessly through the canyon, our first stop was at the visitor center where we picked up a visitor’s guide and a map showing all the trails. We decided to first drive the 13-mile long road through the canyon to get a taste of what was in store for us and to locate the trailheads where we would later park. The views were so unbelievable—towering red sandstone mountains, sculpted by millenniums of wind and rain, glowing in the late morning sun. The tones of red were ever-changing as the sun moved across the cloudless sky and creating dancing shadows that roamed in and out of every nook and cranny and weathered crevasse. It was almost too difficult to drive and still take everything in. More than once, we had to simply stop and stare in awe at what laid around us. Add to this the fact that it was uncharacteristically cool, with a slight but persistent breeze, and we could not wait to put boot to trail.
Since there
were quite a few shorter loop trails available for our quest, we chose to
connect a number of them in order to make more of a day of it. We parked the car
at the Willow Springs picnic area and hiked the 1.65 mile trail up to the
LaMadre Spring, where we had lunch and hoped to see some of the big horn sheep
that frequent the spring to drink and graze. As much as I hate doubling back on
any trail, there was no other way for us to get to the next leg of our trip, the
White Rock Loop Trail, so back we came, not quite 1.65 miles, until we came to
the intersection of the two trails. Taking a quick left, we began our journey
through some of the most mind-boggling scenery we had ever hiked through. The
trail went up through stands of Pinyon-Juniper trees, Curl-leaf
mountain mahogany, and then down into sandy valleys, filled with smooth
rocks of every size that had been washed there during flash floods. We scrambled
up through sandstone passes, and down into areas covered with acres of
Blackbrush, creosote bush, oak brush, Mormon
tea, burrobrush and Manzanita; a perfect place for rattlesnakes and Chuckwalla
lizards to get out of the intense afternoon sun. With as steep, lush and diverse
as this landscape was, it was hard to believe that we were in the Mojave Desert.
We did not see any rattlesnakes or Chuckwallas, but the myriad of other lizards
that scooted across the trail in front of us was a constant reminder of just
where we were and that we were strangers here.
The
beautiful scenery that enveloped us belied the fact that we were experiencing
880 ft of elevation gain, consisting of repeated ups and downs—interrupted
only by a few luxurious strolls through or along dried-up river beds. What was
the most visually dramatic thing to us was how the colors of the mountains
consistently changed their hue as the sun moved across the sky. Look once, and
they were one color of red; look a few minutes later and they were another. We
could look at the same mountain for ten minutes and see completely different
colored scenes; one right after the other.
About
halfway through our hike, we began a descent that took us to White Rock, where
we stretched out on some huge white boulders and had a snack. With the mountains
now behind us and to our right, we headed down into an area that was more
characteristic of what we would think of when picturing a desert. There was big
sagebrush, Agave, Joshua Tree, prickly pear cactus and a host of grasses and
other low-lying brush. Though we did not see any golden eagles, we did see
several hawks drifting on the breeze that wafted through the canyon. Just before
4:00 p.m., we marched back into the Willow Springs picnic area; our 7.96-mile
day over. Now we had to drive back to the chaos of Las Vegas where we would meet
Harmony and Jarrod and take in “The Blue Man Group” show. Talk about
contrasts in environments! On the way out of the park, like some sort of “B”
grade horror movie, we drove through a large swarm of giant bees that plastered
our windshield with bug guts to where we could not see where we were going.
Windshield washer fluid and wipers did little more than turn the mess on the
windshield into a translucent, streaky mess. Freaky!
After
a quick shower and a fresh set of clothes, we jumped into a cab and drove to The
Venetian Casino where we planned to have dinner. Based on our cabdriver’s
recommendation, we went to the Café’ Lux and sat down for what was to be a
fabulous dinner; complete with a couple of the café’s touted Peach Belinnis
to drink. About halfway through dinner, Harmony and Jarrod appeared so we had
the waiter bring some additional food and had a memorable dinner. We highly
recommend this restaurant if you are ever in Las Vegas. Everything about it, the
delectable food, the amazing sIrvice and the great prices make it a place to end
a day of loosing all your money at the casino. The “Blue Man Group” show
defied description—a blend of raucous music, offbeat humor, incredible special
effects, creative stunts and audience participation—all without any of the
three guys on stage saying a word. This is a “must see” show. Just to give
you an idea of how crazy the show was: a couple came into the show late and
proceeded to walk down the aisle to their seats near the front of the theater.
Little did they know that there was a camera pointed at them and everyone else
in the audience watched on a large screen as they made their way to their seats.
The action had stopped on stage, as the Blue Man Group also watched, and when
they sat down, a booming voice came over the PA saying, “You’re late!”
It
had been a wonderful day and a fun evening. We could not wait to see what
tomorrow would bring.
May
28, 2008: Bristlecone Loop Trail on Spring Mountains National recreation Area
(6.4 miles)
With an entire free day at our disposal, we decided to do a loop hike of the Bristlecone Trail on Spring Mountain. We drove highway 95 approximately 30 miles north from Las Vegas until we reached to Highway 156 at Lee Canyon. From there it was a 17-mile trip up highway 156 to the Lower Bristelcone Trailhead. As soon as we made the turn onto Highway 56, we could see the mountains looming ahead; a gigantic behemoths standing guard over the surrounding desert; some with snow covering their upper peaks. They stood in dramatic contrast to the desert we were driving through, with its windblown sand, scrub bushes and Joshua Trees as far as the eye could see. The closer we drove to the mountains, the more the desert seemed to fade away and as we started to climb, the desert environment morphed into thick stands of pine. Along the road ran a large stream, pounding its way over countless boulders and freefalling to the valley below. And nestled amongst the pines, the mountains as a backyard and the stream marking the boundary of the front yard were several cabins and lodges. What a spectacular place to live, we thought.
We were
beginning to wonder when this road would stop going up, up, up but, then
suddenly, there it was; the lower trailhead. We decided to continue up the road
to locate the upper trailhead near the ski area. This additional 1-mile drive
was along the road we would later have to walk down to get back to our car. At
the upper trailhead, we parked, exited our car and simply gazed at the
surrounding mountains. What a sight! I one direction were partially barren
slopes dotted with fir, aspens and Bristlecone pines and as we turned around,
the mountains, bathed in shadows, were slopes almost completely wooded, save for
the ski slopes meandering from the summits to the ski lifts. “Mom”, of
course, had a photographic field day with the views from this spot. Our brief
respite completed, we drove back down to the lower trailhead. As we exited the
car, we realized that the scenery was not the only thing that had changed from
the flatlands of the desert below. The temperature, which at the base of the
mountains was a balmy 80°, was now a chilly 45°-50° where we now were at
8,470’ and the wind was blowing steadily. It was time to augment our hiking
wardrobe with long pants, wind pants and wind jackets. The chances were pretty
good that as we made our way up the summit, at 9,380 feet, it would become even
colder; despite being in the sunshine most of the time. The trail began with a
leisurely walk up an abandoned WPA road and for quite awhile we were completely
surrounded by Pine-Fir
forests and groves of Quaking Aspen. In every direction were amazing views of
the surrounding mountain peaks. As we made our way further up the trail, we were
captivated by the sight of snow blanketing the
slopes on one side of the trail, and on the other side, hundreds of hummingbirds
flitted among the pines. We also spotted several Mount
Charleston Chipmunks; they live in the Spring Mountains and
nowhere else. What we hoped to see, but did not, were herds of big horn sheep
racing across the faces of the mountains. Sometimes we hiked on trail surrounded
by Ponderosa
Pine, White
Fir, Bristlecone
Pine, Common
Juniper, and a few Rocky
Mountain Juniper and Limber
Pine trees. Then suddenly, we would find ourselves walking on a
section of wide-open, limestone-covered trail, with nothing but the warm morning
sun and a crisp breeze enveloping us. It was an environment that freed the soul.
Up we went through more stands of Bristlecone Pine, aspens and Rabbitbrush and
as we neared the summit we found ourselves tiptoeing along narrow sections of
trail through snow drifts packed solid by repeated thawing and refreezing. It
was quite treacherous and a slight misstep could have dire consequences. As
the sun crested the mountain to our east, we reached the summit and now the
vegetation had become sparser due to the harsher conditions and the
shorter growing season found on these more exposed slopes. Standing guard over
the mountaintop were the rugged, stands of ancient Bristlecone pines,
twisted by the incessant wind that batters and ravages everything in its path.
These trees were simply magnificent. Below us, we could now see Lee
Canyon.
The
walk down was joyous; taking us through even more Aspens and along the remnants
of earlier- season flash floods that had left ugly, boulder-strewn gouges in the
mountainside. We saw a group of trail maintainers on their way up the mountain
and said, “Hello,” as we stepped off the trail to let them pass. Before we
knew it, and much to our dismay, we suddenly reached the section of trail just
before the ski area and upper trailhead. Here in 2007, trail maintainers had
built a fence along the trail to protect the rare plants and the rare butterfly
species that live on the plants. The plant grows here and only in a few other
places around Mt. Charleston. We stopped briefly when a family on their way up
the trail asked “Mom” to take a photograph of them.
Now
we had to make the one-mile road walk down Highway 156, to the lower trailhead.
We both hate road walking but there was no other option. As we neared the lower
trailhead we came to McWilliams Campground, in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National
Forest, and decided to stop, take a “potty break” and have lunch. The
weather was still beautiful and the noonday sun had raised the temperature
considerably; still slightly chilly but remarkably pleasant. We took a long time
eating because we did not want this adventure to end so quickly. But end it did,
and as we reached our car at the trailhead we turned and took one last look at
the wondrous natural beauty we had just walked through. Another memory etched
forever in our minds. We now made the long drive back to the hotel where we
called our daughter, Rebecca, had dinner, and prepared for our raft trip
orientation later that evening.