More Southern Nevada Wilderness Rambles Feb. 4-5, 2015 Now w/Pics!

[John Morrow]

Feb 4. After some mountains I needed a canyon. Arrow Canyon Wilderness features a great deep limestone canyon with many petroglyphs.



I turned it into a loop by exiting a south side-canyon into the heart of a creosote bush flats wilderness with distant mountain ranges. Strangely attractive. I then ascended to the rim and descended on nice tread to the start of the canyon at an old dam site.



Getting over the dam involves the hardest part of the day: 30 feet of Batman-wall-climbing (actually descending) hand-under-hand on a fixed climbing rope. My palms were getting rope burn by the bottom.




Beta:
I-15 north out of Vegas to Hwy 168 heading west a few miles to a 3 mile rutted BLM road south to the trailhead. This canyon is a special place for the Moapa Band of the Paiute Tribe and the rock art dates from 1000 years ago to near present day.
The pics of rock art and the canyon on my Flickr page:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/235578...7650651186376/



Feb. 5 This was an absolutely fabulous day in the Muddy Mountains Wilderness! I-15 to Valley of Fire Exit, 3 miles east to the BLM Bitter Backcountry Byway, to a High Clearance required Colorock Quarry Trailhead Road for 5 more miles. Awesome camping. This is access to a wonderland known as Hidden Valley. I originally wanted to backpack but ended up doing it as a looong day. A giant Tinaja in the sandstone provides great water. 12 Bighorn Rams had just visited and I watched them as small specs ascending out of the valley (binocs).
Hidden Valley was definitely a place for the old ones as there is much rock art. (An overnight would afford greater surveying).





Then I ascended to the saddle between Muddy Mountain 5433' and Muddy Peak 5387'. These are two classic desert mountain climbs: Muddy BM is a P2K and Muddy Peak features a pure NW Ridge Class 3 exposed and solid limestone scramble. Go get it!!!!



This place is special. I will someday return to explore for rock art.


Slideshow worth viewing: https://www.flickr.com/photos/23557848@N03/sets/72157650307243047/ type "show" w/o quotes after the forward slash

[John Morrow]

Wanted to mention I figured out how to post pictures, yay! Up here in the PNW they are fond of saying that TR's are, "useless without 'em!"