John Morrow
Member
- Joined
- May 22, 2015
- Messages
- 1,015
Nevada:
Valley of Fire State Park
Elbow Range, Desert National Wildlife Refuge
Lake Mead National Recreation Area North Shore
Getting Jerry and Drew to a location where they could begin the exodus north to Seattle was our priority leaving the Sonoran Desert. Neither had been to Valley of Fire State Park. We were a bit tired and the short approach walks, cush campground, and showers sounded pretty good. It was completely the wrong direction for me, since I'd find myself back all the way south along I-10 once again a few days later. But I loved our choices of scrambles.
Dec. 1: VOF
A theme had emerged of scrambling things that Courtney Purcell, Rambles and Scrambles, gave a "4 Star" rating. Not much left for me to do in VoF but the 5-Arch and Gibraltar Rock had eluded me up until then. Great choices we enjoyed thoroughly.
The Five Arch; on right by John Morrow, on Flickr
Where's a route? by John Morrow, on Flickr
Class 3 ramp start by John Morrow, on Flickr
crux exposure by John Morrow, on Flickr
careful descending by John Morrow, on Flickr
back to the trailhead by John Morrow, on Flickr
Gibraltar Rock next.
On Gibraltar Rock by John Morrow, on Flickr
colors by John Morrow, on Flickr
descending the awkward by John Morrow, on Flickr
Dec 2: Leaving camp set up at VoF we headed to the Elbow Range, 35 miles west, to scramble its highpoint. The guidebook and interwebs seem to avoid a long interesting looking curving E/NE Ridge. We liked the looks of it and it turned out awesome. Long and with near continuous scrambling.
First look, in the back by John Morrow, on Flickr
aesthetic scrambling by John Morrow, on Flickr
knife-edge walk by John Morrow, on Flickr
lots more by John Morrow, on Flickr
great views by John Morrow, on Flickr
on top! by John Morrow, on Flickr
Elbow Range HP 4650; by John Morrow, on Flickr
Dec 3. Lake Mead Northshore, solo again.
Time for Jerry and Drew to depart. I was comfy at the campground so I set out to the northshore for more fun scrambles. I chose a short loop of Polytick Peak and Murphy Peak.
The south face of Polytick looked interesting and I found a nice corner to scramble on the SE side. Then on to Murphy's. The north side of Murphy really sucked, ridiculously friable despite a solid appearance. My descent on the South slope was far superior and I can recommend it.
Polytick Peak next by John Morrow, on Flickr
rare selfie to show route by John Morrow, on Flickr
(upper) route visible on left skyline by John Morrow, on Flickr
NW Face of Murphy, not recommended by John Morrow, on Flickr
Muddies over Bowl of Fire by John Morrow, on Flickr
better Murphy route (south ridge) by John Morrow, on Flickr
Polytick-Murphy by John Morrow, on Flickr
Valley of Fire State Park
Elbow Range, Desert National Wildlife Refuge
Lake Mead National Recreation Area North Shore
Getting Jerry and Drew to a location where they could begin the exodus north to Seattle was our priority leaving the Sonoran Desert. Neither had been to Valley of Fire State Park. We were a bit tired and the short approach walks, cush campground, and showers sounded pretty good. It was completely the wrong direction for me, since I'd find myself back all the way south along I-10 once again a few days later. But I loved our choices of scrambles.
Dec. 1: VOF
A theme had emerged of scrambling things that Courtney Purcell, Rambles and Scrambles, gave a "4 Star" rating. Not much left for me to do in VoF but the 5-Arch and Gibraltar Rock had eluded me up until then. Great choices we enjoyed thoroughly.
The Five Arch; on right by John Morrow, on Flickr
Where's a route? by John Morrow, on Flickr
Class 3 ramp start by John Morrow, on Flickr
crux exposure by John Morrow, on Flickr
careful descending by John Morrow, on Flickr
back to the trailhead by John Morrow, on Flickr
Gibraltar Rock next.
On Gibraltar Rock by John Morrow, on Flickr
colors by John Morrow, on Flickr
descending the awkward by John Morrow, on Flickr
Dec 2: Leaving camp set up at VoF we headed to the Elbow Range, 35 miles west, to scramble its highpoint. The guidebook and interwebs seem to avoid a long interesting looking curving E/NE Ridge. We liked the looks of it and it turned out awesome. Long and with near continuous scrambling.
First look, in the back by John Morrow, on Flickr
aesthetic scrambling by John Morrow, on Flickr
knife-edge walk by John Morrow, on Flickr
lots more by John Morrow, on Flickr
great views by John Morrow, on Flickr
on top! by John Morrow, on Flickr
Elbow Range HP 4650; by John Morrow, on Flickr
Dec 3. Lake Mead Northshore, solo again.
Time for Jerry and Drew to depart. I was comfy at the campground so I set out to the northshore for more fun scrambles. I chose a short loop of Polytick Peak and Murphy Peak.
The south face of Polytick looked interesting and I found a nice corner to scramble on the SE side. Then on to Murphy's. The north side of Murphy really sucked, ridiculously friable despite a solid appearance. My descent on the South slope was far superior and I can recommend it.
Polytick Peak next by John Morrow, on Flickr
rare selfie to show route by John Morrow, on Flickr
(upper) route visible on left skyline by John Morrow, on Flickr
NW Face of Murphy, not recommended by John Morrow, on Flickr
Muddies over Bowl of Fire by John Morrow, on Flickr
better Murphy route (south ridge) by John Morrow, on Flickr
Polytick-Murphy by John Morrow, on Flickr
