Sunday, October 14, 2012

GoldStrike Canyon Hike on Saturday, Oct 13, 2012

This blog is a photo log of our hike in Goldstrike Canyon on October 13th, 2012. From the trail head parking lot to the Colorado River, it is about 3.5 miles. The famous Goldstrike Canyon Hot Springs start about 2.5 miles down the trail. Denalee and I did the 7 mile round trip hike in about 5.5 hours. That includes the 45 minute soak in the upper pool on the return hike.

Here is some interesting information for those folks that haven't spent much time in the desert. Goldstrike Canyon is in the Mojave Desert which is the hottest, driest desert in the western hemisphere.  
The canyon opens into the colorado river about 1 mile below Hoover Dam. There are no lakes or ponds in this desert. Even in the mountains at 11,000'. Running water is only experienced when there is a flash flood.  All of the erosion that you can see in the photos was caused by flash flooding rain water. In the canyon there are very few plants except for the very bottom of the canyon where the hot-springs water is flowing.