The Blue Diamond Hill Southern Triangle | Red Rock Canyon, Nevada

The Blue Diamond Hill Southern Triangle | Red Rock Canyon, Nevada | Visit lasvegasareatr... | Explore the triangle formation of majestic canyons in Southern Blue Diamond Hill just South of the Blue Diamond Hill Gypsum Mine Road. I photographed at least 10 cave openings in the towering limestone walls of those canyons: Some approachable, some too high on the walls for any but accomplished rock climbers.
The route begins at the Wheeler Camp Spring trailhead parking area on Highway 159 just North of the town of Blue Diamond. From the parking area, cross Hwy 159 and angle right (Southeast) to descend into the first canyon. Keep to your left and ascend to the summit of that canyon at the Blue Diamond Hill Gypsum Mine area. Then cross over to the next large canyon to the South. This is the canyon that descends to eventually connect with the first canyon, forming the apex of the upside-down canyon triangle not far above Highway 159. That’s the simple route summary.
My actual route was a bit more complicated. I hit a barrier about 2/3rds down the descending canyon, re-ascended to the summit of Blue Diamond Hill and descended the ridge above the canyon all the way to the lower apex of the triangle. From there I re-ascended the canyon to check out the barrier from below. The canyon below the barrier was so complicated that I braved the barrier to ascend the canyon back to the summit of Blue Diamond Hill. That’s 3 times to the summit of Blue Diamond Hill in one day! From the summit, I again descended the ridge above the canyon, this time on an old unpaved road no longer in use.
In fact, that road, which descended from the Blue Diamond Hill mining area, ended exactly across from the main entrance of the town of Blue Diamond. So, my theory is that that old road may have once been the main road for the gypsum mine workers to ascend and descend from the mining operation above. Today, the gypsum seems to be primarily transported up and down the hill via huge trucks on the main gypsum mine road. I’m thinking the chute that used to transport the gypsum oar downhill is no longer in use? And, the town of Blue Diamond was originally established to support the mine. Just a theory based on how that old road descended the hill and ended up exactly across from the main entrance road for Blue Diamond Town!
In terms of major discoveries today, there was the non-stop beautiful Southwest desert garden landscape all around. Included were sage, many varieties of cacti, yucca and Joshua trees. As mentioned, there were scattered caves in the majestic limestone canyon walls. One would need to explore the openings to see how far back the caves went. Some could be shallow, perhaps one or two elaborate! The canyon walls were so high I could hear an echo. And, the atmosphere, though less than a half-mile in the lower areas from the noisy Highway 159 was totally serene and quiet…like being in a distant world!
Yes, there was a barrier about a third of the way down the return canyon. My practice is never to descend an area I cannot re-ascend if needed. Otherwise, it’s possible to descend to a lower level, only to be faced with another drop-off. If you can’t get back up, you’re trapped! So, I re-ascended the canyon from the upper end of the barrier, then circled around to the base and ascended to the lower end of the barrier just to check it out. Turns out the lower end of that canyon was so complicated with brush, boulders and thorns that I was motivated to ascend the barrier…not as bad from below as it had looked from above. From there, I re-ascended the entire canyon and descended on the old ridgeline road back to Highway 159. When exploring, it really helps to have lots of water…I had 5 liters. This gives the freedom to get lost, try various routes, and not be in danger of getting stranded without water, a potentially life-threatening situation.
In summary, the Blue Diamond Hill Southern Triangle is a magnificent adventure in a strange distant world, while at any moment you’re only a short distance from civilization! Fall through Spring are the best time of year for this adventure. Mid-Summer temperatures can easily exceed 110 degrees!

[@JLucMontagnier]

Happy that you hike these canyons!

[@lasvegasareatrails]

These are beautiful hidden canyons, largely unknown. I can see why you love them! In the Fall I will explore them all! Will soon post our adventures in Bowl of Fire (rattlesnake included) and the La Madre Notch.