LAST DANCE WITH MARY JANE
I
got up early on Saturday while Christy slept in. I grabbed a bagel and coffee from the hotel
lobby and headed for the mountains. My
destination for the morning was Mount Charleston, in the Spring Mountains
northwest of Las Vegas. At 11,916’, Mount
Charleston is the eighth highest peak in all of Nevada. That lofty elevation promised a respite from
the heat of the desert.
Summiting
Mount Charleston would’ve been a great way to finish our trip. Unfortunately I only had a half of a day to
spend in the area, and the hike to the summit is 16 miles (round-trip) with an
elevation gain of 4,200’. I needed a
less-ambitious plan.
My
pre-hike research revealed a number of short hikes in the area. Ultimately I decided to do two of them. First I would hike to Cathedral Rock, an
outcrop below Mount Charleston.
Afterwards, I’d do the hike to Mary Jane Falls.
I
drove west across northern Las Vegas before picking up a highway heading
northwest out of town. Before long I
found the road heading up Kyle Canyon. I
followed this road through desert initially, passing stands of Joshua
Trees. Then I entered Kyle Canyon,
climbing up into the mountains. I passed
through a couple of small villages before reaching the Lower Cathedral Rock
Trailhead, just before a picnic area.
The small trailhead parking lot was full, but I was able to find a
parking spot on the shoulder just down the road.
The
hike was just an easy walk on a good trail.
It was sunny but cool that morning, thanks to the lofty elevation
(7,600’ at the trailhead). The path does
climb 1,000’ in 1.5 miles though, so it is a fair ascent. The trail was quite busy, despite my early
start. It was almost like being back in
the Grand Canyon!
The
trail features several nice views along the way of Kyle Canyon and the
surrounding peaks and cliffs. There is
also quite a bit of aspen, and some early wildflowers (mainly Paintbrush) were
blooming. The highlight though was the
view from the top. Cathedral Rock
features a 360 degree vista of Mount Charleston, the Spring Mountains, and Kyle
Canyon. Although the trail was busy,
there was only one group on the summit when I arrived. They left a few minutes later, allowing me to
enjoy it by myself.
I
hiked down quickly. A short drive
brought me to a huge gravel parking lot at the upper end of Kyle Canyon. There were quite a few cars here, too, which
promised another busy trail. Apparently this
area is an extremely popular hiking destination.
The
hike to Mary Jane Falls was similar to Cathedral Rock in distance and
difficulty. As expected, the trail was
extremely busy. Most of the hike is in
Kyle Canyon, which is heavily wooded.
Still, there were some nice views of the limestone walls of the canyon
along the way. I spotted a couple of
caves during the hike, and found more near the falls. Unfortunately the cave I checked out was
marred with graffiti. Apparently there
are illiterate losers in Nevada, too.
Mary
Jane Falls is seasonal, and at my visit it was little more than a damp
cliff. I’d like to see it during spring
runoff, as the waterfall is quite tall.
The highlight of the falls was probably the abundant wildflowers. There was an impressive patch of Shooting
Stars near the base of the falls, along with some Wild Columbine.
The
falls were extremely crowded, so I didn’t linger long. I hiked back quickly, and returned to Vegas
around noon. I headed back to the hotel
to pick up Christy so we could relocate to The Venetian on The Strip.
Back to Nevada
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Please remember to Leave No Trace!