Grand Wash Cliffs Wilderness (Arizona)
This small, rugged, and remote wilderness area is located
in the Arizona Strip,
northwest of the Grand Canyon. A wide bench at 4600 feet of
elevation, it includes soaring cliffs on the east and west.
The eastern cliffs rise 1800 feet to the edge of the
Colorado Plateau while the western cliffs drop 1600 feet to
the floor of the Mojave Desert.
In addition to the spectacular geology at the border between the Colorado Plateau and the Basin and Range zones, this small wilderness offers a unique and varied assortment of flora, fauna, and archaeology. The area is home to a herd of desert big horn sheep, mule deer, hawks, rattlesnakes, and desert tortoise, to name a few. Vegetative communities range from Mohave shrub to pinon-juniper. Human habitation of the area dates back to six to eight thousand years from the archaic, to the later Anasazi, up to the Paiutes of the 20th century.
Beginning and ending at the north border, our activities will center on a base camp established approximately 5.5 miles into the wilderness area. From this camp we will spend two days exploring the surrounding area under the guidance of naturalist Stewart Aitchison.
The area offers no water so our trusty llamas will make the daily trip to the trail head to resupply this precious commodity. Our menus will include some freeze dried entrees as the remoteness and lack of water require a significant portion of our carrying capacity to be dedicated to camp water for our hikers.
Trip cost includes transportation from Mesquite, Nevada to the
trailhead and back to Mesquite as well as meals from lunch
on the first day through lunch on the fourth day. The trip
will require a minimum of 8 participants with a maximum of
12.
The trip from Mesquite to the trailhead is 70 miles of dirt roads, a trip of three or four hours. Helicopter charter from Mesquite to the trailhead is available at an additional cost of approximately $400 per person based on flights of six participants at a time.
Trip dates are flexible; call for details.