The Bain of My Existence

Cottonwood shapes in Bain Springs Canyon

Yes, I have a Bain, Bain Springs Canyon, that is. This canyon dominates the Virginia Range to the south of the Toll Road Canyon, and is even larger and has access to the highest reaches of the range. However, the bottom is closed off tight by private property, so I haven't been able to really explore the canyon until Sunday.

So the plan for yesterday was to hike off of Toll Road, cross the burned over hills between Toll Road and Bain Springs Canyon, and drop into the canyon above the private property and its unfriendly owners. The plan worked well, although the route, especially once I crossed over to the Bain Springs side, was extremely steep and rough, although clear mainly due to the fire that burned there either last summer or the summer before. The steep gullies cutting down the slopes were especially steep, and one bare gray rock that we had to scramble up, so while it worked, I'm not sure I would go the way I did again.

Starting off hiking through the burned over juniper groves

In the burned garden

Coco taking a break climbing up steep rocky ravine

Shining cloud

Wispy cloud crown

Coco loving the shade

Steep drop into the canyon

Water, willow, and cottonwoods at the canyon bottom

There was a good little clear stream down in the canyon, which Coco very much appreciated. There is a road on the canyon bottom with one set of footprints, going both ways, then a chain across the road (so I suppose I probably didn't drop into the canyon high enough to avoid the private property, but oh well, I tried, and I never did see a No Trespassing sign) and then above there was a single set of bike tracks and a single set of four-wheeler tracks. The four-wheeler especially must have been pretty aggressive as the road wasn't much more than a single track through thick willows in a lot of places. The road crossed a ravine that would climb up to the top of Toll Road (and might be a better way to access the canyon for next time), and there we walked back down to the water and hung out in the sandy bottom for a little bit, climbing on a grand cottonwood trunk fallen across the water and inspecting a collapsed timber bridge that would have made a perfect little shelter, but no evidence that anything other than mice had used it.

Epic broken cottonwood sculpture

Canyon bottom road

Old collapsed bridge that would have made a perfect shelter

 Decided to take the road that leaves the canyon and climb up to Geiger Summit, I would like to explore farther into the canyon, but it had no real obvious way to get in. I'm glad I did as well because of my amazing experience with the ravens. I had started to notice them when I was in the canyon bottom, thousands of raven rising all over the canyon and hills, wheeling and disappearing. More ravens than I have ever seen before. I was a little concerned for a moment that I had stumbled into The Birds, but they paid no attention to me or Coco. I got some video of them though that I might have to post sometime because it was truly amazing.

Climbing out of the canyon

Sagebrush

Looking back down into the canyon

One of the many, many, ravens

Top of Bain Springs Road

Bain Spring Road emerges near the top of Geiger Grade. We stopped at the top and ate lunch and then decided how we would get back down. Walking along the highway wasn't an option, and I didn't really feel like retracing my steps, so decided to cut back in the ravine below the highway, but first hiked along the ridge to the top of a giant rock cliff across from the highway. This is alos a prominent landmark from our house that I have always been curious about, so glad we did that. Then down a steep hill and bushwacking through the ravine through thick brush and junipers and the up on the flat where Toll Road emerges and joins up with Geiger Grade.

Coco on top of rock formation

In the thick juniper forest

Dreamy juniper

Formation we were just on top of, rough going through the junipers

Never get tired of Coco loving the snow!

Last part of the adventure just at the lip as I started walking down Toll Road. Stopped to let a white SUV go ahead of me down Toll Road, then walking along they are stopped in the middle of the road with a giant guy in camo cargo shorts pissing in the middle of the road. So, not wanting to have to be in front of them, I stop and wait, and then finally they go ahead around the corner and I start off. Then, around the next bend, they are stopped again this time with a middle-aged woman standing outside the backseat complaining very loudly about how much beer she had spilled all over the seat and then something about how she had poured it on something, I didn't want to pay too much attention to be honest and was glad I didn't see them again. Finally at the bottom, just had to walk by a guy shooting his gun in the canyon bottom. Oh Nevada . . .

Hiking down Toll Road

Toll Road at sunset

More Toll Road