Fall 2024 Back to the Southwest, 10.19.24 - 11.13.24, Part 15 of 15, Valley of Fire State Park/The Painted Pinnacles, NV

After spending two days with us in Valley of Fire, Darren, Debbie, Jarelle and Matt planned to leave the following morning. Bridgit and I had hiking plans early so we said our goodbyes that night. We got up early but when Bridgit tried to turn on the heat it wouldn’t stay on. I tried to start the generator but it wouldn’t start. Next I tried the engine and it wouldn’t start either. Everything was dead in the water. We tried several things and with Darren’s help I hooked up our new charging block and connected it to the chassis battery. That did the trick and in no time I was able to start the engine and then the generator to re-charge the house batteries. Our house batteries are getting old and after five days of sitting with no hookups, even recharging them with the generator wasn’t enough to hold a strong enough charge to get through the day. Time for a new set of batteries.

All this delayed our hiking plans which was no big deal. We got out of camp around nine and drove back up to the Silica Dome parking lot. Prior to our trip while researching Valley of Fire I had stumbled upon a hike that isn’t on any of the maps and has no signage. Gaia had never heard of it either so all I had to go on was some written information from the internet and one screen shot of a Google Earth view of the area. All I knew was that somewhere east of the Silica Dome in the backcountry was an area called The Painted Pinnacles. The small amount of information I had found convinced me I had to go find the place.

It was shorts and t-shirt weather as we followed a closed gated dirt road out around a hill and down along the east side of Silica Dome. The road was easy to follow at first but became less obvious the further we went. We lost a little elevation as we proceed in a southeasterly direction. After about a mile or so I started thinking we needed to be further east. Looking at Gaia, there was nothing to show where the Painted Pinnacles were, but we were getting close to connecting to another remote trail called the Fire Canyon Wash Trail. We could see the wash down below us and I knew we didn’t want to go all the way down there. As we looked around we could see some golden colored rock to the northeast. I was pretty sure that must be the Painted Pinnacles so we started working our way towards that area. Trying to hike on a beeline was impossible. We were facing several very deep canyons between us and the golden rocks. We had to follow the rim of the closest canyon due north for quite a ways and then go in and out of the heads of several canyons to go further east. We came across a faint trail that continued north and we followed it to the top of a ridge. There we found another trail that ran east so we took that until we came to a small hill. At the top of the hill we were now on the edge of a large bowl looking down into a sea of amazing rock. Much of it was golden in color but throughout the bowl were bold streaks of red rock as if someone had painted the golden rocks with red paint. We had found the Painted Pinnacles!

We parked ourselves at this overlook and had lunch and relaxed. No one was remotely anywhere near this place. We seem to do really well in finding the right places and the right times to have a lot of hikes all to ourselves. After lunch Bridgit hung out while I climbed a hill next to the overlook. It was covered in beautiful orange striped rock. At the top of the hill was a long ridge with a faint trail along the spine. I hiked it out to the end and it gave me several different views of the Painted Pinnacles. I tried to find a way to get down into the bowl but couldn’t see any intelligent way down there. I’m assuming you would have to go way south near Fire Canyon Wash and then come up into the Painted Pinnacles from the southeast.

**The orange rocks leading to the ridge above Painted Pinnacles**

**The Painted Pinnacles from Painted Pinnacles Overlook**

**The Painted Pinnacles with Fire Canyon in the background**

**Climbing the orange rock to the ridge**

**The Painted Pinnacles with Fire Canyon in the distance**

Because of our issues with the Navibahn batteries, we didn’t get to the Painted Pinnacles until mid-day. I am sure that if you got there closer to sunrise, the colors on the red and golden rock would be something special.

To get back to the Silica Dome parking lot, we found a much more direct route. By staying up high, we ended up going straight across towards Silica Dome just underneath a northern ridge. It was easy travel through the desert and in no time we connected to the dirt road we had started on. I think it only took us forty-five minutes to get back to the Jeep. For not being very far from a parking lot and for being such a beautiful area, it was surprising to us that even on a Saturday, we were the only ones out at the Painted Pinnacles.

Back at our campsite we ran the generator for awhile a couple of times throughout the rest of the day to make sure the batteries had a good charge. Meanwhile, I got a text from Debbie who said as they were leaving they saw about twenty bighorn sheep. I was beginning to think they were all making this up just to bug me. We’d been out early, late and everywhere in between and hadn’t seen anything more than a bunch of tracks and a bunch of poop.

We were now at the point where we had one last day before heading for home. My friend Gary planned to get up super early and drive about two and a half hours from Virgin, Utah to be at our campsite by 5:30AM. He wanted to be out on the rocks by sunrise and who was I to argue? When he got here, his wife Wanda had decided to come along. Bridgit thought it would just be Gary and me so she was still asleep at 5:30AM. Wanda, Gary and I drove up the White Domes Road to P2 and parked. I had shot sunrise due east of this parking lot, but Gary said it was a nice hike to go a little bit east and then head north all the way to Pink Pastel Canyon which is what we did. The sun rose as we were hiking and I can’t think of too many nicer things than casual strolling at sunrise through the desert. It’s simply beautiful.

When we got to Pink Pastel Canyon we hiked through it and crossed over to the west side of the road. Then we hiked south on that side to get back to P2. Again, nobody around and tremendous scenery.

The morning stroll north from the east side of P2 to Pink Pastel Canyon and back south to P2 on the west side had been a real joy. We were in no hurry, the light was beautiful and Gary and I were taking all kinds of photos the whole time. As it was still quite early, we then drove up to the top of the White Domes Road and parked. I’d been eying the far northern wilderness of Valley of Fire thinking it would be fun to explore out there but it’s quite a long hike. We ended up hiking out that way a short distance to a feature called Duck Rock. It really does look like a duck!

After returning to the car, I asked them if they could drive me up to Silica Dome. That was about the only spot I could get a cell signal in the park. I needed to check the weather for the next three days in certain spots that could present trouble if it was windy or snowing or both. We drove back down the White Domes Road and just after turning onto the Fire Canyon Road, there on the right side of the road up in the rocks was a group of seven bighorn sheep, both ewes and rams! We found a spot to pull off and grabbing our cameras we managed to get some great bighorn shots. It felt like a gift on our last day in Valley of Fire. I love seeing wildlife when we’re out there traveling.

While we were there, Gary took me on one more short hike out to a bunch of cool rocks sort of near the junction of White Domes Road and Fire Canyon Road. One of the great things about Valley of Fire State Park is that there are endless opportunities to just wander off into places where there are no trails. You find some of the coolest things by just saying, “I wonder what’s over there?” and just heading into a big pile of crazy rock.

**Yours truly by Brundlefly Arch (my name, Gary photo)**

Gary and Wanda still had a long drive home so they dropped me back off at our campsite and headed back home to Virgin, Utah.

It was our last day before heading for home and we didn’t want it to end. Around three we drove back up to a pullout just before the Silica Dome parking lot and took our camp chairs out to the rim of Fire Canyon. We just soaked up the warm afternoon sun and stayed out as it sank lower in the sky and bathed the amazing scenery in warm evening light. Bridgit saw some movement down in Fire Canyon and as we watched, the family of bighorn emerged and moved across the rock towards Silica Dome. So she had her bighorn sighting after all! It was a great way to wrap up our trip. We reflected on all the experiences we encountered. So many incredible hikes! Only one washout day on the entire trip! We got to hike with Gary and Wanda, Darren, Debbie, Jarelle and Matt and spent lots of time with Mike. Every trip we go on seems like the best one ever and this one was no exception.

It took us two and a half days to get home. We drove up 93 through Nevada and stayed overnight in a little tucked away rest area that we loved just below Jackpot, Nevada. We were the only vehicle there overnight. Our second night we made it safely through the Blue Mountains and stayed in Pendleton, Oregon. The third day was only about a five hour drive home.

We are already planning another trip to the southwest next spring filled with many more amazing places we haven’t seen yet. I really hope you enjoyed reading about this adventure and seeing the photos. I would welcome any questions, feedback or suggestions you may have. Please either leave a comment on the website which you can find at the bottom of each trip report or just email me directly (jbnewmark@gmail.com) if you would like a response. If you ever decide to go to any of the places we have featured in these reports, I would be happy to give you even more detailed information if you so desire. Thanks again and we hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving!

Fall 2024 Back to the Southwest, 10.19.24 - 11.13.24, Part 15 of 15, Valley of Fire State Park/The Painted Pinnacles, NV

Fall 2024 Back to the Southwest, 10.19.24 - 11.13.24, Part 14 of 15, Lake Mead National Recreation Area/Anniversary Narrows, NV

Railroad Grade/Mount Baker, WA, 9.18.24