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| Hiking | 7.72 Miles |
1,433 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.72 Miles | 3 Hrs 33 Mns | | 2.68 mph |
| 1,433 ft AEG | 40 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | After finding the correct NV-167 pullout for Bowl of Fire, it still took me a couple of minutes to figure out where the Bowl of Fire Trail was, and I only figured that out after my eagle-eyed wife spotted the cairn. The trail does not get much foot traffic, so it is faint in spots: More of a disturbance in the desert surface than an actual worn trail.
The temperature was perfect hiking weather, with temps in the low-50s. I did not need a jacket, and only drank about 1.4 liters of fluids all day.
The first major formation, where the Bowl of Fire Trail ends, has a couple of easy, slightly scrambly, routes up its backside. I spent a couple of minutes on top, admiring the views, before dropping back down. Casual hikers will want to turn around at this point. I headed off trail. 🗺
I can't really describe the route I took from Bowl of Fire to Northshore Summit, other than to say I tried to find as many beautiful red rocks as I could, while also taking the path of least resistance. I had used satellite view to plan my route, and for the next 1.8 miles, it worked well, and I followed it pretty close. Check out my GPS route.
The most interesting rocks I saw in Bowl of Fire were on the ground: There was one boulder that was covered with dozens of small desert varnished hoodoos. On the saddle where I had lunch, there were a number of delicate hand-sized rocks each covered with numerous overlapping concave surfaces: [ photo ] .
Mile after mile of the area was covered with ½" Aztec sandstone marbles. I thought two of the marbles had copper mineralization, but upon picking them up, I discovered it was lichen. The marbles were not at all slippery, as I found them on flatter, hard-packed sand surfaces, rather than boulders.
Anything that was not Aztec sandstone -- e.g. granite -- is way rougher than it looks, with razor-sharp edges. Take care picking up any rocks: By the end of the day, my hands were covered with scrapes. 
The vegetation in Bowl of Fire was scattered and not at all stabby. Very few cacti. I only saw one plant with flowers, which were too tiny for my pocket camera to get focused photos of.
After a quick snack break, I left the Bowl of Fire after 3.3 miles, commencing 1.9 miles of steep wash crossings as I attempted to find a route to Callville Wash that was both easy and scenic travel. It was a crapshoot if any given gully, as twisty as they all were, led to Callville Wash or not. Thus all the wash crossings, which really wore me out. 
Many of the wash crossings, particularly after leaving Bowl of Fire, showed signs of recent flash flooding, such as mud or flow patterns, but no stacked brush.
The ½ mile I was in Callville Wash was SUV-able, with very few rocks and relatively firm sand. Indeed, there were a number of 4-wheel tracks. It was moist in spots, and I even saw a few small puddles.
Where I saw some fenceless metal poles, I left Callville Wash, turning up a very narrow side wash. I had a suspicion it would turn into the west end of Northshore Summit Trail, which it did a ½ mile later. The transition is marked by a cairn.
It is 300 ft. up to the Northshore Summit ridge, but that comes in only 0.4 miles, so it is a good blow. Once on the ridge, Northshore Summit Trail meanders another ⅓ of a mile to a split: Left is down to the trailhead; right to the summit itself. I went right.
Despite being only a 200 ft. prominence, Northshore Summit has some decent views. Through the distant Las Vegas haze, I could see the rapidly descending sun glaring off Lake Mead. Rather than take the "steep" direct route down to the trailhead, I doubled back to the previous split, then headed down. The only two people I saw all day, were 200 yds. ahead of me. 
It took my wife & I 90 minutes to drive back on Lake Mead Blvd., past Nellis Air Force Base, to North Las Vegas, where I did my recovery at the Bacon Bar. Pretty much everything at the Bacon Bar has bacon -- even the Bloody Marys! I had bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers and the Ultimate Bacon Cheeseburger, washed down with Oskar Blues Brewery's Hotbox Coffee Porter and Garage Brewing Company's Marshmallow Milk Stout. All delicious. Oh, and I got an order of Man Candy (maple-glazed bacon) to go. The next day, I had pig coming out of my pores! 
Hike Video: https://vimeo.com/479834866 |
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Wildflowers Observation None
I saw one flowering plant all day. |
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| http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored. |
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