Red Spring Peak - Beginner Scramble

Met up with some of the members of the Vegas Hikers Meetup group to participate in their beginner scrambling event to the Red Spring peak. The organizers of this event are very welcoming, knowledgeable, and helpful. I met other members new to scrambling and it was so fun! Afterward, there was a potluck lunch with delicious food! A beautiful day with perfect temps and cool scramblers! Enjoy this YouTube video of our scramble. 

Dog Wall - Rock Climbing

Peanut gallery on the upper trail from the 1st pullout parking lot

Spent the morning at the Dog Wall crag in Red Rock Canyon. Yup, the rock was dry enough! The climbs here were overhanging and I only attempted one climb, Pleasure Dog (5.10) but quit when I couldn't get to a hold (too reachy for me). After that I just sat out and belayed. It was amazing to watch Linda and Tim leading the overhanging routes! And it was good to get out - I got to spend time with my climbing buddy who was visiting from Colorado for the weekend! 

Liz leads Catwalk

Trad routes on the left of the Dog Wall
Unknown Dihedral, Doggy Style and Wok The Dog

You can spot a climber on The Slab

Tammy on Pleasure Dog

Linda leading Cujo

Unknown Dihedral - Trad

Calico Hills 2 - Walk

Photos of my walk through Calico Hills 2 of Red Rock Canyon until the rain started!

Kraft Mountain Loop Trail - Desert Hiking

Kraft Mountain Loop Trail

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Nevada

Another perfect day for desert hiking! Today Ronnie and I hiked the 3.1 mile loop around Kraft Mountain. Although the parking lot was filling quickly, we managed to find parking at the Sandstone Road trailhead. We hiked counter-clockwise as the ascent is less gradual in that direction. There were many boulderers arriving and already many in the boulder area. Many hikers out with their dogs were enjoying the day as well. Enjoy some photos taken of our hike.

The start of our hike. We hiked counter-clockwise and started our hike (East) from the Sandstone Road trailhead. Left: Ronnie with the pink Kraft Mountain in the background. 

Entering the Kraft Boulders area

Entering the La Madre Mountain Wilderness Area

Along the trail

Beautiful formations

  

Along the trail
We came up the trail that leads to Turtlehead Peak

There were two, short, steep, sections that required rock scrambling (Class 2). For someone with two knees replaced with Titanium, Ronnie crushed these sections!

Petroglyph Wall - Short Walk

Petroglyph Wall, Red Rock Canyon, Nevada

After lunch my husband and I took a drive on the Scenic Loop of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. We stopped at a couple of places along the loop, but at the Willow Spring picnic area, we took the easy and short Petroglyph Wall trail to view the Petroglyph Wall. The trail is way too short to be called a hike. But it's a pleasant walk and the Petroglyphs are both fascinating and beautiful to look at.

Along the trail

The trail crosses Red Rock Wash

Gorgeous views from the trail

Las Vegas is nicknamed the "9th Island"
For lunch we dined at the Island Flavor on Durango Drive in the Windmill Plaza. This eatery was highly recommended and I now know why. Their menu is full of Hawaii local favorites, the serving portions are huge (compared to Aloha Kitchen), the prices won't break your pocketbook and the service is quick and full of ALOHA! We walked in and the place was filled with local Hawaiians.....it was like being back on the islands! The walls are decorated with hula implements and posters and photos of the islands. And there's Hawaiian music playing overhead while you dine. Original owners are from the Big Island and the chefs also own Island Style Cafe in San Diego, CA. I give this place 5 stars and highly recommend if you want to dine on Hawaiian local food! From now on this is my go-to place to kaukau, always! 

Hawaiian Style Ahi Poke (1/2 pound)

Ronnie always orders Kalbi Short Ribs. 

It comes with rice and Mac salad. Had a bite

of the Mac salad and it tastes like home!

They have "Daily Specials"

This was the Tuesday Special

Noodles and Grilled Teriyaki Chicken

And for dessert we split the Guava Cake!

I'm in love!

Lone Mountain - Solo Hike

Shaka from Lone Mountain, Las Vegas, Nevada

Lone Mountain 
Elevation 3,342 ft
Trail: Regular Route
Elevation Gain: 542 ft
Distance: 1.3 miles

Billed as the "locals hike" I finally got to hike Lone Mountain. We had a view of this hill from our room when my husband and I were here in Las Vegas last month. You can read about our visit here. Today I had a bit of time to check it out. It's super fun and if you don't have a whole lotta time, you can get this hike in. The views are phenomenal, well worth the burn on the steep ascent. To access the Regular Route, I parked at the trailhead on Vegas Vista Trail. The parking lot isn't paved and it's across the street from the entrance of a gated community. 

Lone Mountain is a hill that is detached from the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. It's an isolated, rocky butte just northwest of central Las Vegas. The unincorporated community surrounding the hill, is named after it. The Perimeter Loop trail can also be accessed from the East Trailhead at the Lone Mountain Discovery Park on Jensen Street. 

Enjoy some photos taken of my hike!

Along the trail

Summit Marker

Summit Pano

Las Vegas in the distance

Looking down the South Ridge Trail

Red Rock Canyon - Rock Climbing

Shaka selfie from the top of

"Sweets To The Sweet" - Hamlet Wall

Spent a couple of hours this morning climbing with Marissa and Tammy at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Park! Got a few climbs in on the Hamlet Wall off of the first pullout on Scenic Loop - Sweets To The Sweet (5.7), Frailty Thy Name Is Sandstone (5.7), and To Grunt & Sweat (5.8). Being in Red Rock Canyon was surreal...the rock is so red and has a gritty feel to it. I was so stoked to be finally climbing me some red rock! What an amazing day - I sure will miss  Marissa and Tammy, but hope to be back to climb with them soon. Enjoy some photos taken of our day.

On 'Frailty, Thy Name is Sandstone' with Tammy (in blue) on my belay

Tammy leading 'Frailty, Thy Name is Sandstone'

Marissa leading 'To Grunt to Sweat'

Climbing some red rock! 'To Grunt To Sweat'

Pano from the anchor of 'Sweets To The Sweet'

Got a nice crowd of climbers even on a weekday

This trip to Las Vegas was part of a week vacation with my husband. We got a great deal on a Stay-and-Play (hotel/golf) package! Accommodations at the Suncoast Hotel & Casino plus a round of golf (including cart) for the both of us at Highland Falls (my personal fave!), Eagle Crest and Palm Valley golf courses in Summerlin. We also played a twilight round at the Mountain Course of Angel Park Golf Course, which our hotel overlooks.

Pano view from our hotel room

Staying in Summerlin put us 5 & 10 minutes to the golf courses, and 20 minutes to Red Rock Canyon. Desert golfing with a bit of desert rock climbing - a fantastic week gone by way too quickly. 

Pano - 14th hole at 3070 feet - Highland Falls Golf Course 

There are a lot of places to choose from to eat out in Las Vegas. A few spots we ate at; Kona Grill, Mimi's Cafe (breakfast), Aloha Kitchen (twice!). And at the Suncoast Hotel & Casino we ate at The Game, St. Tropez Buffet, Peng Zu, and Du-par's (breakfast). And I don't have a photo of it, but Aloha Kitchen does have Spam Musubi! I ordered one to-go so I can have one to snack on while golfing.

In case you didn't know, Las Vegas, Nevada is considered the "9th Island". One of the reason it's referenced as the 9th Island is because there are many "Hawaiian transplants" to the desert city. Many have transferred from the islands and now live and work in Vegas. While there we met a lot of former Hawaii residents. As you can see from my photos above, there are several places to eat Hawaiian food and foods local to the island. But you can also purchase Hawaii snacks, foods, and souvenirs at CVS. We were lucky that the CVS closest to our hotel was the one that has a "Hawaiian aisle" as not all CVS carry products from Hawaii. In addition to da rubbah slippahs, chocolate macadamia nuts, Aloha Shoyu, Jade crack seed, mochi crunch, Kona coffee and Hawaiian Sun drinks, they also have a frozen section with Laulau!

CVS #8791

8580 West Charleston Blvd

Las Vegas, NV 89117