Christmas Tree Pass and Grape Vine Canyon Nevada (Foiled Again)

I have been trying to travel on the Christmas Tree Pass the past few times that I was in Arizona visiting my father, but there is always something that prevents this from happening. This time it was my short stay; I was only there for four days in November, and my Dad has no interest in bumping around on a “bad road”. He has a point, back roads in a desert climate can quickly become impassible if it has rained (which it had). I decided to rent an economy car and hike to the petroglyphs in Grapevine canyon instead, which is something else high on my list of things to do. Turns out, there was not enough time for that either, but I did get a few nice pics.

Christmas Tree Pass is a 15 mile stretch of dirt road over the mountains shown above. It was one of the original horse and cart passes used by travelers heading west to California and is now a scenic route that takes just under an hour to traverse. It can be steep and rough in places with deep ruts, but is generally well maintained and passible especially with a high-profile vehicle. If it has rained, even once, then road conditions can be challenging.
   The north end of Christmas Tree Pass, shown above, is just off of Hwy 95. At this entrance, there is signage for the Piute/Eldorado Desert Management Area that includes a small raised platform and a roof for some sun shade. You know you are in the right place when you see this.

My economical rental is not off-road friendly. I have often seen rental cars, such as mine, coming off of a back-country pass, but it is very risky. Each year there are reports of tourists who have died of exposure on some desert pass due to vehicle failure or because they got stuck. In every case I heard that people walked away from their vehicle and/or they did not pack enough water which lead to dehydration and exposure. I have a healthy respect for nature, so I tend to play it safe.

I stopped to take this picture of an abandoned mine beside the highway. You can find these dilapidated structures all across the desert. There are rundown and rusted mobile homes, recreational vehicles (RVs), stick houses (built rather than pre-fabricated homes), and industrial structures like this mine. It is a haunting and humbling sight.

This picture was taken through the dash while driving along route 163 to Laughlin. I do not suggest anyone operate a camera while driving even though I clearly did. Twice I pulled over to take pictures and twice the police stopped to see if I was OK, because there is no cell coverage over the mountain range. This was super nice, and a reminder not to drive over the speed limit along this route.

This is the beginning of a beautiful two-mile drive from this sign at the south end of Christmas Tree Pass to the turnoff to the Grapevine Canyon Parking Area. Christmas Tree Pass runs between routes 163 near Laughlin and Highway 95.

Grapevine Canyon lies within the Bridge Canyon Wilderness, the Spirit Mountain Wilderness, and it is partially in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Here is a picture I took last April 2016 on an overcast day that threatened rain. The desert is beautiful when it is in bloom after the rains. This pic was taken from the parking lot, which includes toilets and picnic tables. This is a day use area where you can park and then hike. ​

There is a path that leads up the canyon for about a quarter of a mile to where there are petroglyphs. These glyphs were made by the indigenous people who lived and travelled through the region 150 to more than 800 years ago. Here you can see that the canyon floor is a wash, which will flood with runoff water when it rains.
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Grapevine canyon lies just south of Spirit Mountain, which the Mohave people call Avikwame and the Hualapi people call Wikame. Both tribes believe this mountain and area is their spiritual birthplace, so one must tread carefully on these sacred lands. Just like any back-country travel, be mindful to pack out what gets packed in and tread lightly on the paths to disturb as little as possible. This is picture was taken last April of the view looking down towards the valley.

I did not have time this trip to hike the Canyon. I did see the start of the trail last spring, but as luck would have it there was a rain shower moving in that day and the hike to the petroglyphs follows a wash. I have a healthy respect for desert washes. A wash can be dry one minute and then full of rushing water. My father told me that it can sound like a train barrelling across the landscape when there is a rain shower in the mountains and the runoff careens downhill through the desert landscape along pre-existing runoff routes (washes). He has seen RVs and motorhomes stuck on islands for days, because they drove across a wash to a plateau of land to setup camp and then it rained. I turned tail that day when rain threatened over Grapevine Canyon and drove back to Laughlin. Maybe I will have better luck next time.

​by Ursula Toelke

(source: https://www.nps.gov/lake/planyourvisit/hikegvine.htm)

Christmas Tree Pass runs between routes 163 near Laughlin and Highway 95. Grapevine Canyon is two-miles North along Christmas Tree Pass from route 163 .

For interesting articles and back-country information about points-of-interest in the deserts of the USA, check out  http://www.desertusa.com.

About the author:
Ursula Toelke is a back-country landscape painter who lives in Huntsville, Ontario. She is frequently traveling and is known for finding those little out-of-the-way places that really make a trip memorable. We anticipate more articles from her as she builds her own custom rig in the coming years.