A hike that has been on my bucket list for a long time is seeing the Hidden Cabin off of the Hidden Forest road in the Desert National Wildlife Range just north of Las Vegas. The cabin is originally dated back in the early 1900s but had been restored back in 2020 by an Eagle Scout project and supposedly had an outhouse as well. This is a longer hike but I was confident that I was up for the challenge after our recent success in hiking in New Zealand.
The trailhead of the hike is actually about 25 miles up a gravel road so the day really starts at the Desert National Wildlife Refuge Center just off of Corn Creek road. This is a cool wildlife center that has a few exhibits on the history of the area and is a sanctuary for birds. Highly recommend checking that out if you ever have the chance. This is also the end of pavement so this is where I aired down before the 25 miles. I elected to go to 28 PSI but I should have lowered it to about 20. It was a bumpy ride!
The 25 miles gravel road is groomed and well marked. AWD or 4WD is not required nor is high clearance but I would recommend a tire with a higher ply rating to prevent tears or slicing. The further up Alamo road you go, the less traffic you will see so prepare to be on your own for repairs. I brought, as always, a floor jack and tools just in case I had to swap out a tire. It took me 38 minutes from the Wildlife Center to the trailhead. I'd plan on at least an hour in a normal car.
Once I arrived at the trailhead, I noticed another vehicle so I knew I wouldn't be the only one on the trail today. After that, it was time to get loaded up and off I go! I always start my Gaia app, my Garmin watch, and the Garmin InReach so I can accurately capture the data. The InReach gives me piece of mind when I'm out by myself so that Nina can track my progress from home despite me having no cell phone service. Plus, she can reach me via text if something comes up.
The trail to the cabin is 5.5 miles up and 2,170 feet of ascent. This averages out to about 400 feet up per mile and it was a consistent climb the entire ascent. The trail was easy to follow and I encountered no scree rock nor any slippery terrain. However, I did encounter snow for the last two miles, about 1-2 inches deep around the 4 mile mark and about 3-4 inches for the last mile. I did the hike in normal hiking boots and that was fine; I did not need any snow specific gear.
I came across the outhouse first and it was nice, clean, and had a good view. Next, was the cabin. It had 3 picnic tables outside and was complete with a table, windows, and a wood stove. Very cozy! This was the destination for my hike but this was where the turnoff for the summit push for Hayford Peak starts. It's another 2.5 miles up and 2,500 feet. It's on the bucket list for the spring but not today! After a short break at the cabin and a cliff bar, I was headed back.
The way down was a straight shot right down the hill just the way I came up. I was glad I had trekking poles to keep the pressure off my knees a little bit. On the descent, I noticed that the sun set behind the hill on one side at 2:45PM despite the official sunset time at 5:25PM. This was a friendly reminder to always start early and plan ahead when in mountainous regions, otherwise you may find yourself hiking when the temperature drops quickly and it gets dark rapidly.
Once I was back to the car, the total hiking distance was 10.86 miles and 2,170 feet. It was about 2+30 up, 30 minutes at the cabin, and then another 2 hours back to the car totaling 5 hours on the trail plus an hour on either side for transit. My total time for the day was around 7 hours. Totally worth it to have a great hike with a cool destination that isn't crowded and somewhat close to the house. Stay tuned for a future endeavor up Hayford Peak!
After many discussions with a few folks at work, we decided it was time to get out of the office and head out to get some dirt on the tires! Two of our friends were new to wheeling and had never been, so we picked an easy trail that was still enjoyable - Wheeler's Pass. I've done it at least 10 times before at this point so I was very familiar with it and able to spot our friends as needed. We had myself, another buddy and his wife in a Bronco, another buddy and her husband and brother in a stock Tacoma and another guy with his girlfriend in a stock Colorado. It was a good group and ready for a good day on the trail!
We met up at 0800 at the Lowe's parking lot before driving out to the trailhead, about 50 minutes away. Once we arrived, both Broncos aired down while the Tacoma was already a little low on PSI and the Colorado stayed at highway PSI since we were concerned about damaging his baby highway tires. Once we got rolling, it took about 2+30 hours to arrive at the top. There were a few instances where I stopped to spot others through a rougher patch but we all rolled through well. Thankfully, we came across no other groups!
At the top, we got a quick group photo and decided to push on over the ridge and descend into Pahrump on the other side. It is always windy at the apex, so we didn't stay long. I did notice that the sign that's usually there was missing. Weird!
Once we reached the bottom of the hill, we stopped for about an hour while I grilled up some brots and burgers. Winston, of course, got some food too.
After we finished out the trail, we all met up at a local gas station to air up, hit the bathroom, get a few snacks and head home. Another great day on the trails in the books!
On the 5th day of our trip in New Zealand, we planned to hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, which is regarded as one of the world's best day hikes and also puts the hiker at the base of Mt. Ngauruhoe, also known as Mt Doom! This was the primary reason we traveled to New Zealand and I was very excited.
During this portion of our trip, we stayed in Rotorua to be closer to the trailhead for this hike. Even with that, we were still a two hour drive from the parking lot but I packed all of our food, water, and electrolyte packets the night before. This hike is a through trail so Nina got us shuttle tickets so that we would park at the end, then catch a shuttle to the beginning. The shuttle tickets sell out weeks in advance so we were fortunate to get the 8:30 time slot. After the long drive, we arrived around 8:15 and caught the shuttle to the start. Very excited!
Right from the start, the trail was very clearly marked and easy to follow. Everyone was going the same direction so you couldn't get lost. What struck me the most about this trail is the people we were hiking were all serious hikers and traveled from all over the world to do this hike. We did too! The hike starts off with a slow gradual incline across some plains - I named these the Plains of Mordor. Just passed the plains were our first view of Mt Doom! It felt very surreal. Good thing I brought my own Ring of Power!
Throughout the ascent, we noticed not only how well the trails were maintained, but also, how well everything was labeled. This is one of the signs that they had throughout the trail to show how far along you were, and how much further is needed to go. They also posted stats of historically where during the hike was the highest number of rescues needed. Without any access to additional food or water during the adventure, this was a stark reminder of how big of a day this was going to be! At this point, the gradual climb turned into a less-gradual, more steeper climb. After all, the trail is called an 'Alpine Crossing' for a reason, so I assumed there was a mountain for us to cross. Let us begin!
When we thought was near the end of the climb, offered us the closest spot to Mt Doom that we would have. It was cool to be that close for where the movie was filmed. Viggo Mortensen, the actor who played Aragorn, chose to walk to the sets, sometimes for days at a time, in his attire and sword so that his character would look traveled. Having now traveled the same steps, respect for him for choosing to get his steps in rather than take the helicopter like the other actors. We stopped here to take in the views, have a quick snack, hit the bathroom (they had drop toilets every 3-4 miles) before continuing. Once we arrived here, we realized it was a false summit and the real climb had yet to begin.
As we continued, we crossed a short plain and noticed how windy it was becoming. This was a concern because we (I) was already pretty sunburnt at this time and now we were adding wind burnt to that too. No bueno. As we pressed on, we came to the base of the actual climb up a long but steep ridge towards the no-kidding summit. This was a little morale crushing but we regrouped, rallied, and made the decision to push on hoping it would all be downhill once we passed this last peak!
As we climbed towards the summit, we encountered some crazy winds. We didn't have an exact reading but I'd guess 60 MPH. It was enough for where you had to squat slightly moving forward otherwise you'd be blown over. I could Nina wasn't having at this point but she was a good sport and kept moving. Our rain jackets doubled as wind jackets which was helpful. We only stayed at the summit long enough to take a selfie, take a short video, and then push on ahead!
As Isaac Newton likes to say, 'what goes up, must come down' and down we had to go. This was definitely Nina's least favorite part as we descended on a steep ridgeline, in the wind, in the sun, across some very slipper scree rock. Understandably so, she slowed down considerably during this section, which caused us to consume more water than planned. This had later ramifications when we ran out of water so we couldn't eat any of our snacks which meant we were running on empty and were getting very sore with each step. I broke 5L for me and another 3L for Nina but it turned out to not be enough. Again, I didn't consider the slow down, nor the high winds nor the intense sun.
After the long descent, we stopped to transition from volcano terrain, to green emerald pools, and more.
As we came down the backside, we had to put a few miles down directly in sunlight where my sun burn got worse and worse. Finally, we entered the forest before the end. We were pretty sore, out of water, and a lot tired at this point but only had a few more miles to go! Again, the trails were well maintained and the Park Service had put in a bunch of stairs throughout to stop erosion. This was great but made for tough steps as our knees were pretty sore.
Once we were finally past the forest, it was another 3/4 mile to where the car was parked and we were happy to attack the final stretch.
We were fortunate that there was a family selling drinks out of a trailer at the parking lot and they were closing up when we arrived. We happily overpaid for some waters and PowerAde's before getting in the car, swapping shoes to sandals, and headed to get some food.
Overall, we covered 13.10 miles over 13 hours and 5 minutes and climbed 5,302 feet. This was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime hike and we highly recommend it!
It's been a long time since I did some harder off roading trails, so I was all for it when my good friend Nick from Rogue Overland invited us out to Sand Hollow State Park for 2 days of hard wheeling. Sand Hollow is in St. George and only about a 2 hour drive from Las Vegas so the plan was to meet up with the Vegas gang early Saturday morning, drive out, hit John's Trail Saturday then hit Sliplock Gulch the following day before driving back home.
Day 1 - Saturday
Saturday morning started dark and early as we meet up at 0600 at the gas station but we rolled out on time and meet up with the group in St George a little ahead of schedule! If you've ever wheeled with the guys from Rogue Overland then you'll know that you don't want to be the one guy running late. The early drive out gave us a good chance to enjoy the sunrise!
As we met up with the rest of the guys, we headed out to Sand Hollow State Park, aired down, and started rolling down John's Trail. This trail was only about 3 miles long but took most of the day. It was also a bit of a kick to my confidence as I haven't done a hard trail in awhile. It took me awhile to get settled back in! Thankfully for me, I had some experts with me who were patient with me as I figured out how to wheel some of the harder trails again. I felt a lot better by the end of the first day!
There were a few maintenance issues amongst the group so I started taking the bypasses. There's no ego on the trail and if you're concerned, then take the easy way out! I knew the Bronco was more capable than me that day but I'm okay with it. At the end of the day, it's my daily driver and I didn't take too many risks.
As they say, a picture is worth 1,000 words. That means a video is worth 1,000 pictures. Check out Rogue Overland's video here: Video
After the trail, Nick hosted us to a great dinner as we hung out around the fire. Perfect way to end the day!
Day 2 - Sunday
Next day was Sliplock Gulch. It was a little longer at 9 miles but had very similar to terrain from the day before and was in the same area. Nick's wife, Vicky, sent us off that morning with home made sourdough and I put them in the Bronco engine bay to stay warm. After the day before, I felt a lot more comfortable this time around. However, this trail was pretty gnarly so I still took some of the bypasses but still had plenty of opportunities to get some good wheeling in!
Near the end of the trail, we stopped for lunch so I popped the hood to see how Vicky's bread was doing. It was still warm and delicious!
After lunch, we finished the rest of the trail, aired back up, and headed out different directions back home. Another great trip in the books!
After a little more than four years, Lou and I decided to head back to Flagstaff and enjoy a nice break from the heat of both Las Vegas and Phoenix. Last time we were in Flagstaff, we camped at a really nice overlook called "Edge of the World" but the experience was dampened when our dog Winston, who was only a puppy at the time, ate too many pinecones and had doggy diarrhea all night. We decided to go back (without Winston this time) and get redemption enjoying the scenery. You can read about that trip here: Flagstaff October 2020
Day 1 - Friday
Friday was a work day but I left work a little early to make the drive with my trailer Shelly over to Flagstaff where Lou met me at the Circle K in town. After getting gas, we made our way to the Edge of the World trailhead and proceeded on the trail. It is an easy 26 mile trail down graded dirt roads through a forest. The green was a welcome sight for both of us. We came across a few cows on the way as well. Unbeknownst to us at the time, but these would not be the last cows we saw this weekend.
It took us about 90 minutes to get to the end of the trail where the overlook is. Last time we camped at the popular spot as labeled on Google maps but this time, I did some research on Google Earth and picked out 5 tentative spots that wouldn't be so crowded. My scouting paid off and we secured a great spot with an awesome overlook away from all the folks in their Subarus and sprinter vans. We could see them at night and that ridgeline sure did look crowded.
Day 2 - Saturday
We woke the next morning and I captured some awesome shots with the drone. It was a bit tricky because of the trees in the area but I made it happen. Take a look below:
After that, we packed up and headed out the way we arrived. We stopped at this cool bridge for a quick photo op. This photo does show how easy the trail was. We made good time on the way out as well.
Once complete with that trail, we did a 14 mile through trail entering the Cinder Hills through the back entrance. This was a cool little trail since the front entrance is bogged down with ATVs and side by sides.
After Cinders, we checked out another nifty trail called S P Craters trail. One of the entrances was closed due to a forest fire but there was an alternate path way in. This trail was a little slower going initially but it sped up as we went. Even at high elevation in Flagstaff, it was a bit warm, so we stopped under the first tree we found for lunch. It happened to also be the only tree we found. It was here that we noticed Shelly took a little damage from all the vibrations and needed a repair on the pull out drawer. No problem!
We kept rolling and the trail opened up to sweeping landscapes. However, our progress was halted but not by rocks. We encountered a few herds of cows very comfortably grazing and couldn't be bothered. One cow stood up as we approached, made eye contact, and started peeing in the middle of the road, marking his turf. Rude! We didn't want to blaze a new trail so we turned around in search for another path. We had to do that a few times before we eventually got by all the annoying cows.
Once past the cows, we were able to circle around the craters. There was a hiking trail up to the top of one but we elected not to do that. Nonetheless, it was interesting to see the big craters.
After the craters, we started a new trail that Lou knew up a forest road in search for camp. We found a decent spot quickly and set up. It was tucked away in the trees and Lou whipped us up some steaks for dinner. Yum!
Day 3 - Sunday
Our plan today was to pick up Sophia from campus at Northern Arizona University and take her to lunch. Lou and I figured we could have a slow start to the morning since no one wants to wake a college student up too early on a Sunday morning.
We drove to campus and I illegally parked in the parking lot while we checked out her new home. It was pretty nice! She boasted about having a sink in the room and her and her roommate were even growing bonsai trees outside! Jury is still out if the trees survived the winter though since they get snow there.
As we drove off campus for lunch, I spotted the automatic delivery robots called Starships driving around campus. I knew about them and was excited to see one in person! We also spotted one of apparently two big statues of the campus mascot, Louie the lumberjack. He was in fact chopping wood.
We arrived in downtown Flagstaff to a kind of hipster place called Proper Meats + Provisions. We all had a nice lunch before dropping Soph back off at her dorm. It was great to see her and rumors are she did very well on her first semester!
Lou and I send our goodbyes and I started the 4+30 hour journey home ready to see Nina and fluffy Winston!
