Our trip began with a plane ride into McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada. There is just something about flying in Vegas that is unlike other airports. All the glittery people and cacophony of slot machines. The simultaneous release of breath that a vacation has started and the holding of that breath thinking about what your adventure will bring. There is just a palpable buzz in the air that is hard to ignore.
I have to admit, this is my first time arriving in Vegas and not staying in town. I am excited to actually be exploring outside of Sin City, something I have done very little of. I have visited the Grand Canyon once before, a few years ago on another spring break trip with my mom to Phoenix and Yuma where we drove up for the day to visit the park. We have plans to see much more this time.
On the plane, I had given Denise a copy of the road map I had brought and we had talked about which direction we wanted to head towards the road to Supai and Havasupai Falls, as well as possible places to stop along the way. We had decided on a clockwise loop around to the north first toward Zion and Bryce, coming down to Flagstaff to access Supai and then traveling back to Vegas via the Mojave National Preserve. I had an idea of a few places to visit along the way, but we would let each day dictate where we ended up.
Denise and I get off the plane and make our way to the rental car area on a shuttle away from the airport. We each have a backpack as carry-on and a duffel bag we have shared and checked that has our poles, food and car clothes. Let’s just say, that thing was a beast. I don’t know what Denise had to do at home to get it shut (pry bar?), but we had crammed as much as possible into it. (Denise is an Alaska member and gets to check one bag free). Even though the flights were full and they offered to check our packs for free, after having my bag lost once on a trip to Arizona, I refuse to take that chance again (I had split my clothes between the two).
Our first task after driving away from the airport was to stop in town for a few items, mostly a cooler with ice, a fuel canister and fresh food. I had packed dehydrated meals and snacks but we wanted some produce to round out our meals for the week. We scored a 28 liter cooler at Walmart for $15 and there was a Trader Joe’s and Big 5 combo close by that got us set up with the rest for the road. I also picked up a cheap umbrella, something I have done the last few times I hiked in the southwest. You can’t take them in carry-on, so it is easy just to pick them up in town when I get there. Why an umbrella? They provide shade and reduce my need for sunscreen chemicals. I love them.
We were headed out of Vegas by 1pm, ready to start our adventure. Our goal tonight was to get as close to Zion as possible before the sun went down. Denise had already looked up a few camping possibilities on www.freecamping.net so we had an idea of how close we could get before calling it a day. Since the drive is only a few hours away, we opted to stop at an attraction on the way that someone in my scrambling class had suggested, Valley of Fire State Park. It took us about an hour to get there, being just 55 miles up from Vegas.
Driving into the park about 2pm, I knew right away we had made a good choice, as the red rock formations cropped up on the horizon. We headed for the visitor’s center first, not only to use the bathroom but to find out which trail was the one similar to the incredibly popular Wave. Denise talked with the ranger as I looked at the large illustrated guide on the wall. The one we wanted was called the Fire Wave, so we knew we would do that one today. Our second one was another close by: White Dome (basically the two longest trails we had time to do today).
I spotted a longer one way trail (5+ miles) on the wall map I’ll do next time I visit, from one end of the parking lot at White Dome back down to the visitor center. It offers slot canyon, scrambling and views and I imagine there are a lot less people on it. Not that the numbers were overwhelming, the park was actually relatively calm. Nothing like the zoo that would be Zion the next day.
We arrived at the White Dome trailhead lot about 3:15pm and parked on the shoulder of the road as the parking lot was filled with cars. There were travelers taking respite and eating lunch in the shaded picnic area, so we walked up the trail a bit and found a high point in the shade that looked down on the trail.
From above, we watched a diverse group of people hike in below us, mostly families, and began to soak in the warmth of the desert. This was what we had been looking forward to for months, getting away from the PNW wet and cold and just being WARM. Glorious warmth. And dry.
Shortly, we continued on the trail and down into the slot canyon below. There were trail kiosks and remnants from an old movie set. The canyon itself was not grandiose, but worthwhile nonetheless.
The rock here makes interesting patterns other than just the waves as time has eroded the sandstone, limestone and shale in different ways. But my favorite part of hiking in the southwest is the contrasting line of the rock to the bright azure sky above. It just makes everything pop.
Once through the canyon, you wonder along a wide sandy trail that loops back around a large rock formation. I scrambled up on top of smaller ones along the way and looked out at the frozen undulations of stone that fanned out from this area.
We also admired the desert flowers still in bloom and a few small arches offering keyhole picture opportunities. So beautiful.
Even with all the cars in the lot, we really didn’t see a whole lot of other people. I got the impression that most just walk into the slot canyon and then back out without completing the whole loop.
It didn’t take us long to make it back to the parking lot which had emptied somewhat and we used the privy before heading over to our second hike where there was no bathroom. The parking for Fire Wave is on the west side of the road opposite the trailhead for the hike. In addition to signs reminding us to stay on the trail and protect sensitive areas, there were unfortunately signs reminding folks to report graffiti and vandalism to park rangers. If there is a sign, you know it is a problem. It was interesting to see them calling out cairns, as well. I wonder if anyone pays attention…
The trail was braided here where it is mostly sand and loose rock, meaning that over time the crowds have strayed off the main trail making 2 or 3 parallel ones. The bright fuchsia cactus blooms were in stark contrast to the silky orange sand.
Eventually, however, the path moved onto the sandstone and rock after weaving through some large boulders that had cleaved off the cliffs above and was marked by those traditional brown park markers.
The trail is a little more than a half mile to the “wave” area, so it wasn’t long before we came to where the action is. Standing on what must be the end of the official trail, where the sandstone wave seems to come to a crest before dropping off sharply to the valley floor below.
The panorama shows where whatever event that occurred to create this landscape continues on into the distance. I especially love how it angles up towards the sky instead of flowing horizontal. What that must have been like millions of years ago when the area was formed.
We walked around above the wave formation and took shadow pictures of ourselves. There was a young couple there who had just arrived to visit from Germany and we chatted about how amazing this place was and some of the other places we were visiting this week. It’s fun to think we are exploring the same thing that people come from all over the world to see and it is in our own backyard.
The trail ended here but we hopped on rocks a bit further to the next rock formation and explored a bit up there. The ground reminded me of those orange sherbet and vanilla ice cream cups with the little wooden spoons! Maybe because it was so warm, an icy treat sounded good.
It was after 5:30pm by now, so we began to wonder back toward the car. The sun going down gave the rock walls an even brighter coral glow, a color that alone would warm the soul. There were a few more folks heading in with tripods, this must be the time to get those golden hour pictures. We timed that right. After piling back in the car and turning on the AC, we ended our time in the park with one final stop at the bathroom at the visitor center, open even though the center was closed.
Now it was on towards Zion and Utah. We continued out of the park towards Lake Mead instead of returning the way we came in and did the loop back up to I-15. This was a beautiful drive in itself, with Virgin Peak and the Virgin Mountains in the distance. As the sun was setting, a large, bright globe of a moon began to rise on the horizon. I would be seeing a lot of that moon tonight…
I don’t know exactly what time we go to our “camp” for the night, but it was well after dark when we hit the town of Hurricane. I opted to top off our gas tank before we went looking for Dustin Walsh Road toward Rockville, taking a left and beginning up the unlit gravel road just outside town. Supposedly, there are places we could park and camp for the night on this road that ended up on a mesa with an overlook. I had my doubts, especially because we were driving a tiny red, one-windshield-wiper rental tuna can.
The road did have several pullouts, all occupied. A “no room in the inn, kind of thing”. I drove on as the road continued to worsen but Denise reassured me there was a spot coming up and that the reviews said the road was good for all vehicles. I could make out in the light of the headlights that we were passing barbed wire fences and cattle guards, and plenty of sage brush and creosote bush. Hmmm, where was I going to hang my hammock? Again, Denise said the reviews reported trees. At the moment, nothing looked hospitable.
Then, suddenly the road opened up in front of us. I could see a canyon of a rut across the entire road in the headlights, anyway. I stopped short and told Denise, this has to be where we call it. Maybe there was that one small pullout we already passed we could go back to? There was no way I was going to make it over that rut.
Denise gave it a look and then jumped out to see if we really couldn’t drive over it. As if she doubted my assessment of the crevasse. She glanced it over and in true air traffic controller fashion, put up her hands in front of her and gestured, right here. I said, “Are you kidding me? There’s no way that won’t scrape the car.” She smiled and gestured again. Trusting her, I could only shrug and inch forward toward the abyss. All I could think was, had I given the rental company my credit card, too? Or would this all be on Denise?
Would you be surprised to hear the car made it? Yeah, me too. First, the front end went down and then there was the inevitable grinding of the front bumper hitting the dirt. Denise looked up at me in shock. I couldn’t help but give her an “I-told-you-so” glance while we both laughed nervously. Luckily though, we were not permanently stuck and the car popped back up as if in surprise itself. Denise jumped in and we continued on in anticipation of a premium camping location. I told her I hoped the rental company doesn’t routinely look at the undercarriages of returned cars.
Our final stop for the day was just up a bit further at a junction in the road with several offshoots to private property. We didn’t even mess with dinner having eaten a bunch of snacks in the car and hopped out to toss up camp. Denise was using her 2 person tent and I had my hammock, so we set about to get our accommodations in order. Just above the pullout there were actually some trees but the spacing was less than ideal. I guess it would have to do. After stringing my bed up, I changed into PJs, used the facilities (dug a cat hole up off the road) and climbed into my hammock to hopefully get some sleep for our plans tomorrow to visit Zion and Bryce.
I had forgotten my eye mask buried in my pack, so it took a while to fall asleep. I tried to get a picture of how bright the moon was overhead but you can alone do so much with an iPhone. The air was now crisp and I was glad to have brought my puffy and long underwear, as well as the additional down quilt to supplement my sleeping bag. All was well and snuggly and it was goodnight, Moon.
But wait, there’s more. You read the title for this post, right?
So I was deciding whether or not to share this last part here or in the next post because this is Day 1 and what happened next was technically about 2am in the morning. But the dawn always means the promise of a new day, so I’ll tell it here to give tomorrow a fresh start.
Sometime around 2 am, possibly with a shift in position, I awoke to the sound of a slow rip and a slight drop in my altitude. I quickly looked up to my right only to see a window in the hammock where there should be no window. Then with sudden anticlimactic flair, I was unceremoniously sitting on the ground under and outside of my hammock. Kerplunk.
Really, so this is how it’s going to be? This is what the desert wants to welcome me with?
You know that moment of realization when there really is nothing to do but move on? There is no crying over spilt milk split hammock. There was no time to mourn, wonder whether there was operator error at play or the hazards of the desert. All I could do was pick all my stuff up (sleeping bag, air mattress, pillow and down quilt) and look for the closest flat spot to lie out. No time to be disappointed about no longer being able to swing relaxingly in my hammock down at Havasupai Falls, I needed my sleep.
Oh, you thought I was going to be cowboy camping because I mentioned not seeing any trees in the story above. I wish.
I decided my split hammock was as good as any ground cloth and used it to keep more damages from occurring to my gear (I have had my Neo Air for 5 years without puncture and I plan to keep it that way). I zipped myself up in my sleeping bag as far as it would go (thankfully, it was cold and necessary anyway) because the biggest reason I have never just slept on the ground before is BUGS. And where else should one be more worried about bugs and creepy crawly things? That’s right, the desert. I don’t care about coyotes. Tarantulas? Yep. Scorpions? Check. Until I reluctantly fell back asleep, even the zipper on my bag received some lightening ninja moves if it dared brush against my cheek like an intruder.
So, that is how I spent my first night out ever out under the stars, cowboy camping in landscape outside Zion National Park. All I could think of as I drifted off was what does tomorrow have in store for me…
Click on the picture below for photo galleries of our time in Valley of Fire State Park, as well as more information about the park.
Editor’ note: my hammock is still stuffed in the sack I put it in after using it as a ground cloth in the beginning of the trip. I am in denial of its demise. Pulling it out will only make it real.
I began my story on my post Spring Break Road Trip: Where Do I Start?, an overview of our trip. My next post is Spring Break Road Trip Day 2, Part 1: Angel of Zion and More Weeping.
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