sunday morning we headed downtown to the california hotel & casino for some grub at aloha specialties, the OG hawaiian joint that seemingly hasn't changed for 20 years. nowhere else in sin city can you get a heaping plate of kalua pig & cabbage for under 8 bucks. sufficiently fueled, we exited las vegas and drove 17 miles west to red rock canyon to get away from all the hullabaloo. it was a gorgeous and crisp day... perfect for hiking!
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| spam musubi! |
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| start of trailhead |
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turtlehead peak is rated the most difficult of the hiking trails (rating is "strenuous") along red rock canyon scenic drive, so naturally it's the one we took on. it's only 5 miles round trip, but it's a 2,000 feet ascent highlighted by a lot of bouldering and loose rock. after about a mile, the trail is hardly discernible; it's a jumbled mess where you basically create your own path. the easy thing is, there's no right or wrong way - it's just straight up.
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| there's the peak |
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| making our way up |
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| ice/snow on the backside |
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| made it! |
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| journal at the peak |
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| obligatory pose |
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| view of the canyon |
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| view of the vegas strip |
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after reaching the saddle, it's another half mile up thru patchy ice/snow to the top of turtlehead peak. we reached the summit around 2:30pm, read some journal entries from previous hikers, paused to scarf down some toblerone & clif bars, then began the slippery slope down.
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| careful! |
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| sunset at red rock canyon |
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got back to our car at 4:30pm with just enough sunlight left, to temps in the low 40s. it was a challenging and rewarding hike, which did wonders for the soul in leaving the nicotine-charged sensory overload behind...
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| one last look |
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