View down Blue Diamond Canyon 3 Notchleaf Phacelia Entering Blue Diamond Canyon 2 Canyon 2 We had seven hikers in the Blue Diamond Canyons 2&3. It was a good group who were ready for the challenges ahead. We parked outside the utility building across from the small community of Blue Diamond. As always, we were careful to not block the drive nor the gate that provides access to the building. We ducked through the barbed wire fence and climbed up to the right on a vague trail behind the building and into Canyon #2. The first 150' of the wash was very ro ..read more

Cottonwood Overlook Plateau Windy Peak (L) and Hollow Rock Peak (R) from Cottonwood Overlook Plateau Steep Carabiners' Trail out of the Trailhead Oops! Wrong Way! A new hike for the club, the Cottonwood Overlook Loop is still under exploration. However, on this hike we learned a little more about the hillside on which it rests. Seven of us began an in-your-face climb straight up from the trailhead that lies exactly where SR 160 and Potosi Mountain Road junction. The Carabiners' Trail is in much better shape than when we did this hike several months ago. I ..read more

Rick enjoys the North Peak (Sandstone) Spring Mountains ridge from North Peak (Sandstone) Red Rock Wash Ascent Through the rocks of Red Rock Wash There is a mountain ridge in Red Rock Canyon NCA,  lining an old road named Rocky Gap, that juts out from the Keystone Thrust escarpment. At the top end of this ridge is a small gray peak we call North Peak (Limestone). At the lower terminus of the bench is another small but yellow peak we call North Peak (Sandstone). Some people refer to the latter peak as THE North Peak since the limestone peak is not vis ..read more

Black Velvet Canyon Entrance Black Velvet Canyon and Epinephrine climbing wall on Left  Mike's Rock Starting into Cottonwood Valley from Late Night TH I enjoy the months of March and April every year for a lot of reasons. One of those is that there are so many spring break rock climbers on the walls that it is almost constant entertainment! Some of the best walls for observation are in Black Velvet Canyon. World class stuff, people! Five of us parked at Late Night Trailhead and started out to the east around the hill behind the parking lot. Continuin ..read more

Pink Goblins? About 180 degree view at the Point Turtlehead Peak from Pink Goblin Pass Road Runner We heard a cry, kind of like a small puppy, as we walked along the Calico Basin Trail. Coyote pups? Lost puppy? Nope. We think it was a road runner! Are we wrong? A hiker looked over to the right down from the Calico Hills base and saw the magnificent but ferocious bird sitting on a rock. When we stopped to look, the cry ceased. We took the photo and continued around Cannibal's Crag to the slabby part of the sandstone. There were only a handful of rock climb ..read more

Calico Hills and La Madre Mountains from Moenkopi bike Trails Moenkopi Arch Wash below Moenkopi Arch Heading over to Moenkopi Arch The Moenkopi Formation is a geological formation that is spread across the southwestern United States including Nevada. It consists of thinly bedded sandstone, mudstone, and shale, with some limestone in the Capitol Reef area. It has a deep red color and tends to form slopes and benches. Generally, the layer was deposited by sluggish rivers traversing a flat, featureless coastal plain to the sea. Its low relief mean ..read more

View up to the Keystone Thrust Fault Area White Rock Wash Keystone Canyon Wash to Cactus Hill to La Madre Mountain Range Will someone get this girl some clippers! There were eleven club members who arrived at the lower White Mountain Road Trailhead near mile marker 6 of the Red Rock Canyon NCA Scenic Loop Drive. It was an experienced and fun group but most had never climbed up through Keystone Canyon as the "normal" way is to descend. We started down the Grand Loop Trail across the scenic loop and dropped down to the junction with the Keystone Canyon Wash ..read more

Lava Butte from Rainbow Gardens Crest Trail Rainbow Gardens Canyon Old Buffet Boys Cairn Just us girls in the Wide Wash There were three of us on a slightly breezy morning at mile marker 2 of Northshore Road, the Rainbow Gardens Trailhead for hiking. This is yet another beautifully colorful area that is easily reached with a small hike. The pink elephant in the room, of course, is the 2871' Lava Butte. That doesn't sound like much, however, the cone shaped butte's surrounding elevation at the base is only 1400'. This difference of 1469' is remarkably daun ..read more

Inside the Redstone Slot View from Jean's Saddle Jean's Canyon Redstone Newly engaged John and Deborah Nestled between the Bitter Spring Valley (named for the bitter taste of springs in this area) and the Hamblin Bay Fault just north of Lake Mead and the Black Mountains, is a place called Redstone. Redstone lies on the south side of Northshore Road between MM 25.5 and MM27.5. It is an area that is filled with Aztec Sandstone and, subsequently, many petroglyphs from ancient native occupants ... if you can find them. There is a picnic area and res ..read more

Charleston Peak South Ridge of Charleston Peak Twilight Ridge Burro in Kyle Canyon As Rita and I started out from the Twilight Trailhead on Kyle Canyon Road, this beautiful burro brayed at us from across the canyon. Obviously, he was greeting us from loneliness as there was no other sole around. Why? Idk. The scene from the trailhead was absolutely gorgeous! The snow layered down to around 8000'. We were at the 5000' vicinity. Most remarkable was the deep snow covering the Wilson Ridge. This is the ridge reaching from the La Madre Range over to Harris Pe ..read more