Hiking the 7 Wonders Loop
Feb. 27th, 2023 03:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerNorth Las Vegas Travelog #9
Valley of Fire State Park - Sun, 19 Feb 2023, 12pm
The Fire Wave may be the most popular trail at Valley of Fire state park in Nevada. When we hiked it Sunday morning there were dozens of other people on the trail with us. Most people get there, stand on top of it while taking pictures of something else, and turn back. We kind of did that ourselves on our first visit a few years ago. ...I say kind of because we didn't stand on the wave while taking pictures of something else. I mean, we did stand on the wave, but we took pictures of ourselves on the wave because it was amazing. But turning back after that is not the only option.
There's a loop trail that continues on from the Fire Wave. It's the 7 Wonders Loop. What are the 7 wonders? I don't know! When we visited here a few years ago I was too sore from overextending myself the day before to hike around the loop. We turned back to the trailhead like 90% of everyone else. But today we've got ample energy to hike the whole loop.
So, what are these 7 wonders? The trail doesn't exactly have guideposts marking them. We're on our own to figure it out. I'm going to guess that the Fire Wave itself (pic from lower end shown above) is Wonder #1.
Wonder #2, then, would be this small arch I spotted slightly off trail:
The cool thing about hiking this continuation of the trail is that the crowds dropped way off. It wasn't empty down here— we still passed a fair number of people as it is a holiday weekend— but I was able to enjoy some "alone" time at this arch and other features on the trail.
Keep reading: Wonders #3-4, the Mustard Cliffs and Roast Beef Canyon!
Valley of Fire State Park - Sun, 19 Feb 2023, 12pm
The Fire Wave may be the most popular trail at Valley of Fire state park in Nevada. When we hiked it Sunday morning there were dozens of other people on the trail with us. Most people get there, stand on top of it while taking pictures of something else, and turn back. We kind of did that ourselves on our first visit a few years ago. ...I say kind of because we didn't stand on the wave while taking pictures of something else. I mean, we did stand on the wave, but we took pictures of ourselves on the wave because it was amazing. But turning back after that is not the only option.
There's a loop trail that continues on from the Fire Wave. It's the 7 Wonders Loop. What are the 7 wonders? I don't know! When we visited here a few years ago I was too sore from overextending myself the day before to hike around the loop. We turned back to the trailhead like 90% of everyone else. But today we've got ample energy to hike the whole loop.
So, what are these 7 wonders? The trail doesn't exactly have guideposts marking them. We're on our own to figure it out. I'm going to guess that the Fire Wave itself (pic from lower end shown above) is Wonder #1.
Wonder #2, then, would be this small arch I spotted slightly off trail:
The cool thing about hiking this continuation of the trail is that the crowds dropped way off. It wasn't empty down here— we still passed a fair number of people as it is a holiday weekend— but I was able to enjoy some "alone" time at this arch and other features on the trail.
Keep reading: Wonders #3-4, the Mustard Cliffs and Roast Beef Canyon!
