Rainbow Mountain (King of Clubs) - January 26, 2014

I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about whether I should continue posting to my blog.  But, as I was reading past posts about hikes and running races, I realized how nice it is to preserve these adventures and share them with my friends and family.

As a result of my hiatus, I'm obviously a bit behind.  Big picture example of how far behind I am:  This post is about my 21st card with Hiking Las Vegas and, as I'm typing this, I currently have 27 cards!!  Never fear, I will catch up.  

This is probably one of the hikes of which I'm most proud: Rainbow Peak for the King of Clubs

via Summit Post

Rainbow Mountain is one of the most prominent peaks in Red Rock Canyon NCA.  To reach the peak, we hiked, scrambled, and climbed four ropes for several hours.  The peak of Rainbow Mountain sits at an elevation of approximately 6,800 feet, making it the 5th highest point in Red Rock!  After all that, you won't be surprised when I tell you that I get a pretty big smile across my face every time I look out the window at work and smile.

So, I mentioned ropes....  In the picture below, you can see one of my friends climbing the very first rope, while I waited my turn.  It was a serious climb up approximately 50 feet.  I was super nervous when we came back down because I was really tired from hiking all the way up and nearly all the way down.  Fortunately, I have amazingly resourceful friends and one of them rigged a harness type thing out of webbing and I learned to rappel.  It was a little on the terrifying side, but also thrilling.  I am so grateful for the amazing people with whom I hike; I've learned so much and I always have a blast!!

Once we got up that first rope, the fun was just beginning.  At the top of the rope, we had a super steep sandstone slab to walk up.  

Let's just say it wasn't exactly a walk in the park walking up this slab.

After the slab, we scrambled and we scrambled and we scrambled.  Sometimes it was class 2, other times it was class 3, sometimes it even approached class 4.

Oh yeah, and there was a little exposure...

And did I mention ropes?  After the first rope, climbing the remaining ropes was a piece of cake...ish....  It's downclimbing that gets me a bit stressed and required a bit of concentration.

But, once I get on solid footing, I'm always ready to look up and smile for that kodak moment!

It seriously was a beautiful and challenging hike.  The weather was perfect and the day was made even better by an amazing group of people.  I really cannot say enough how much I appreciate these supportive and encouraging people!  I'm in awe of them every day and I am grateful that they let me tag along to experience these journeys and further develop my hiking abilities