The trail to the top of Cathedral Rock is one of those hikes that has a little of everything - scenery, waterfalls, wild flowers, birds, butterflies, animals, and spectacular views from the top. The following pictures were taken on different hikes over a period of several years.
Lizards are frequently seen along the trail. Once the sun comes up, they like to lay out on the rocks to sun themselves.
The Spring Mountains are primarily made of limestone, so if one looks down while walking or resting it is not uncommon to find fossils.
I call this area of the Spring Mountains "Avalanche Alley" because of the frequent avalanches in the winter. Definitely not an area for snowshoeing or cross-country skiing. The snow on the north and east sides of the mountain will often last into the summer months.
During the spring and early summer there are numerous waterfalls and small streams along the trail.
There are a variety of wild flowers along the trail with different varieties blooming at different times of the year.
Fred once told me that there is a particular type butterfly that lives in this area, but I don't remember what he told me.
There are great views from the top of Cathedral Rock and Mummy Mountain is visible in the background.
Once at the top, it is enjoyable just to lay back and watch the clouds go by.
Unfortunate Incident
Hiking trails in the Spring Mountains are heavily used during the summer months, especially on weekends; so I usually arrive at the trailheads early when I can still find a parking space. Because of the heavy summer usage of public lands around Las Vegas, the National Forest Service, Parks, and Recreation Areas have all established rules and regulations to protect the lands and the land users. While hikers are the primary users of most trails, other groups such as bird and butterfly watchers, outdoor wildlife and landscape photographers, and a variety of other people can be found using the same trails.
Most people on the tails obey the posted rules, but there always seems to be a small number of people that do not follow the rules and feel that their rights and uses supersede the rights and uses of others. Anyone that has spent time on public lands has undoubtedly witnessed people climbing over fences into restricted areas, cutting trees and building fires when cutting trees and building fires are not allowed, ridding motorized vehicles in Wilderness Areas, destroying or disfiguring monuments, and allowing unleashed dogs to chase deer, rabbits, squirrels, birds, butterflies, or anything that moves.
Since I walk fairly slow and take a lot of pictures along the trail, most people pass me before I reach my final destination. Thus, I was not overly surprised that when I reached the top of Cathedral Rock there were a number of people there ahead of me. I was disappointed, but also not overly surprised, when a young woman and her companions showed up with a fairly large dog that was not on a leach. Signs in the parking lot, at the trail head, and along the way are posted to remind people of the rule "Dogs Must Be on a Leach" because of the large number of people using the same trail.
Upon reaching the top of the rock. the owner allowed the dog to freely run around unleashed, stopping at the various groups of people, expecting some attention or something to eat. Some people had no problem with the unleashed dog and petted the dog when it came to where they were sitting. Other just ignored the dog and it was obvious some people were offended by the unleashed dog's behavior.
Someone reminded the young woman of the leash rule for dogs, but the young woman responded that the dog was under her voice control, was friendly, and would never harm anyone.
Most people do not sit too near the edge of the rock because it is several hundred feet almost straight down to a rock field below and there are no railings or any type of fencing to keep people back from the edge.
While eating our lunch a small ground squirrel popped out of a hole in front of us and scurried around looking for bits of foot that may have been dropped. When the unleashed dog saw the ground squirrel, the dog ran as fast as it could toward the squirrel. The squirrel had undoubtedly been in this situation before and ran to the edge of the cliff, stopped, and ducked into a hole. The dog didn't.
When the dog went over the edge, the young woman became hysterical, started screaming, and ran toward the edge of the cliff. It appeared that she was going to jump off of the cliff after the dog, but a number of people restrained her and pulled her back from the edge. She continued thrashing about while screaming, bawling, and acting totally irrationally. She then decided that she was going to run back down the trail but kept tripping and falling. Some young men in her group had to restrain her and they kept telling her that by trying to run down the trail she was only going to injure herself. Finally, two young men held her by each arm and told her they were going to hold on to her all of the way down the trail because she was still uncontrollably thrashing about and crying. After their group left, there was a very somber mood at the top of the rock. Instead of spending additional time enjoying the afternoon, most of us just picked up our gear and headed back down the trail.
I don't know what ever happened to the dog and I did not ever try to find out. Maybe the dog landed on some soft ground or in a bush to soften its fall. Maybe it didn't. However, I have never been back to the top of Cathedral Rock after that incident. I just wish people would obey the established rules when visiting public lands.
On a brighter note! I hope everyone had a great 4th of July yesterday. The Peace Rose is from a rose bush in my front yard.
BONUS PICTURE (Peace Rose on Flag)
You mentioned a special butterfly that I told you about. It is called Carole's Fritillary (although some experts still think it is Carole's subspecies of the Zerene Fritillary). Somewhere up in the mountains there was an information board which had a picture of the species. I have not been in the Spring Mountains at the right time to see it. Interestingly before I sent this I went to check the spelling of the butterfly because some guides spell it Carol's (without the final "e") and found out the derivation of the name which I never knew. It was named for actress Carole (with an "e") Lombard who died in a plane crash in the Spring Mountains on Potosi Mountain in 1942. I learn something new every day! Fred
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