| |
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 5.30 Miles |
760 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.30 Miles | 4 Hrs 30 Mns | | 1.51 mph |
| 760 ft AEG | 1 Hour Break | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | The group was up for some off-trail adventuring, so we started at the Fire Wave parking area (Parking Area #3) and headed south to drop to the canyon floor. There was some scrambling right from the beginning and we kept checking our topo map to make sure we were generally headed in the right direction. Along the way we marveled at the colors and bizarre rock formations. Once we'd gotten far enough south, we headed west through a short bit of narrows to pick up the White Domes Loop Trail (it's southern end). From there we passed through another stretch of narrows and came to the "T" where White Domes continues north (right) and Prospect picks up going south (left). Shortly after getting on Propspect we decided to go off-trail and cut over to a north-south canyon to the east. There were countless mini-caves, alcoves, and "take a look at this!" moments. After hiking and scrambling for a little over a mile (oh, and can't forget lunching!), we found our way back over to the Prospect Trail.
At this point the Prospect Trail became a bit of a slog in a wide, open wash. We knew we had a few miles to go and were hoping the footing would become more stable. Fortunately, we came upon a Boy Scout troop headed in the opposite direction and were pleased to learn that we'd soon come to some upward scrambling and then we'd be on more compact ground. Once past the scrambling we could see for miles to our south.
With about a mile left, we noted the word "Prospect" on our USGS topo map and an "X" so we made our way over the the "X". We're not sure what it was but the rock was chalky and pink-purple in color. We didn't notice any obvious mining operations and were left wondering as we got back on the trail. At this point the trail was obviously an old road and made for easy hiking.
As we were walking up a small rise we were pleasantly surprised to come upon 8 desert bighorn rams. They couldn't care less about us and just munched away on the grass. We watched them for several minutes and then continued on to our awaiting vehicle.
It was considered by all to be the best hike that we did in the Valley of Fire. |
| _____________________
| Stephanie and Blake Barnard |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
