Southern Nevada Desert Dreaming Part 4 Feb 9-11, 2015 Now w/Pics!

[John Morrow]

Well, truth be told, I seriously pulled my left calf running down (or up) that darn dune!
Thus, for the next couple days it was easy walks and viewing extensive petroglyph panels while it loosened up. It stiffened once again getting off the plane this afternoon. I will visit the Bridge Canyon Wilderness and the Black Canyon Wilderness of Lake Mead National Recreation Area on this leg.


Feb 9th I set my sights on the Keyhole Canyon Archaeological Area at the edge of Lake Mead National Recreation Area first. Then I thought I'd move on to the Spirit Mountain and Bridge Canyon Wildernesses for more rock art in case the leg was not ready for more ambitious stuff. Spirit Mountain will have to wait. A great carcamp was on a graded dirt road called Christmas Tree Pass Road in the southern end of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.




Feb 10th. I started by stretching out the calf in an atttempt of the Bridge Canyon Wilderness Highpoint 4420' and it's close neighbor Point 4192'. Turns out Pt 4420' was seriously technical, easily mid-fifthclass and exposed and unprotectable. Darn granite blobs! Point 4192' will have to do.




Afterwards it was on to Grapevine Canyon and Archaeological Area in the Bridge Canyon Wilderness for an easy 4 mile RT canyon walk to discover granite dells, narrows, and much more rock art.

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More pictures:


https://www.flickr.com/photos/235578...7648488370364/




Notice that this rock art is much different from what I have shown in Utah and the Virgin River of Southern NV and SW Utah. This is art across the centuries from people like the Mojave and Haulapai.



Feb 11th. The next day it was a drive back up the Colorado River for an incredibly exciting non-technical canyon descent to tight narrows, dryfalls, wetfalls, and hot springs!!! It was called Boy Scout Canyon outside Boulder City. 3.5 miles one way to the west bank Colorado River through the heart of the Black Canyon Wilderness Area. Climb out the same way. Many Class 3 scrambles but no rappels. The famous 200 foot vertical dryfall has a big fun bypass. I'll map it out later. It is a MUST DO!
Dryfalls 1, 2, and 3 are bypassed. But I downclimbed 1 and 2 for the fun of it to look down off of the 300 footer. Then reclimbed them to locate the bypass route (cairned).




After the 500 vertical foot Class 3/4 sidewall bypass descent back into the canyon, it is waterfall after waterfall downclimbs all the way to glorious hotsprings (you will have the upper ones to yourself) and eventually the river itself.


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Retrace it all. Take tie to soak in the hot water first, good for pulled calf muscles! There are many tattered fixed knotted ropes at the waterfall climbs, but I either bypassed or climbed all without the aid of ropes. It is doable and so worth it.


I drove back up to the Northshore Road for sunset and found yet another private nice carcamp in sweet quiet solitude.




More Pics:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/235578...7650809340952/