Anniversary Narrows Hike

Oh my. What a great hike we did yesterday! We had so much fun. I'll tell you about the hike in just a second, but first, I give you the day's inchy.

It was another nice day of weather. We found several interesting hikes in our new hiking book, one of which was the Anniversary Narrows hike. The book told us that the narrows were located at the bottom of Lovell Wash, which drains out of the Muddy Mountains to the north. Borax was discovered in the area in 1921, and over the next seven years, the mine produced 200,000 tons. 

We were a little confused about finding the trailhead because we didn't realize the book was talking about a different entrance to the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. We drove about 30 miles to find it, including this two-mile rugged stretch just before finding the parking area.

There was another car there, although we saw no other signs of life, and we parked at the edge of this deep wash.

We could see evidence of mine tailings. It's a primitive trail with no signage, but the book described it well enough that we figured we were in the right place.

We set out heading uphill in the wash and encountered the most interesting geological formations right from the get-go.

We could see the opening to the mine shaft right away. There was a fallen down fence in front of it. We walked past at the beginning of the hike, but then decided to walk up and take a look on the way back.

Layer upon layer of sedementary rock can be seen here...all pushed up over eons of time.

We hiked up the wash about a mile before reaching the opening to the narrows.

It was the slot canyon of my dreams. Look at these fascinating formations!

As we reached the far end of the narrows (about 1/4 mile long), we had to do some scrambling. When we walked a few days ago, it made my shoulder hurt. For this hike, I kept the sling with me so I could use it if my arm was bothering me. It worked out pretty well. It gave me a place to hold my camera, and I could take it out of the sling when I needed to use my arm for scrambling.

Toward the end, I decided I'd done all the scrambling I could tolerate, and so Mike went the rest of the way and took a few pictures for me to see. We were nearly at the end when my tolerance gave out.

On the way back, I took a few more pictures of some of the interesting geology of the place.

There was evidence of the mining operation of nearly 100 years ago. Obviously, these rocks were placed by human hands, and it appears the many decades since have covered them over in layers of dirt.

In the middle of the image below, you can see what remains of a building foundation.

And there was other evidence of the mine's history in the remains of other structures and debris.

Walking up to see the opening to the mine shaft, we also discovered these natural bridges. You might think these are tunnels, but they are formed by rushing water, which makes them natural bridges.

Here's the opening to the mine. There is a fence cropped out of the image. We didn't go inside, since these old mine shafts are unstable and dangerous.

Driving back, we marveled at the beauty of the layers of mountain ridges.

We also noticed this earthen dam north of Lake Mead, and this resort community.

We stopped off at the "Sunset Overlook" for this panoramic view of Lake Mead and the surrounding area.

And a closer-up shot. I just love the layers of mountain ridges here.

And that was our hike.

We talked about doing more hiking today, but I think I need a day between these outings. I was in considerable pain last night, although the hike didn't seem that bad. Using the sling helped, but I need to pace myself better.

Today we may drive out to Boulder/Hoover Dam and the memorial bridge. We've visited before, but it's a magnificent structure and worth a second look. The next stitchery from Crabapple Hill is posted, and so that's what I'll be doing next. I hope those of you back east are digging out of the snow. Stay safe and warm, my friends.