MOTORCYCLE CANYON, LAKE MEAD, NEVADA

February 21, 2017


Mike green in Motorcycle Canyon. Lake Mead, Nevada
Finally I was able to meet up with Mike and Heidi for the weekend and celebrate Mike's birthday in style with a weekend packed of canyoneering. Unfortunately, we were not able to get out to Death Valley due to the potential for flash floods and after some extensive debate, we decided to stick around Vegas and head over to motorcycle canyon.

Mike green in Motorcycle Canyon. Lake Mead, Nevada

Motorcycle canyon is a 3AIII and is located in the Black range, just south of Hoover dam in Nevada.  There are a series of technical and non-technical routes down this section of the colorado which can make for a great week of canyoneering, some of which require a packraft, and kayaking.
Mike Green and Heidi Schindel in Motorcycle Canyon. Lake Mead, Nevada
This route pours into Goldstrike Canyon which is a bit more of a touristy route and a non-technical approach to the Colorado river and to some nice hot springs.
Mike descending the second drop in motorcycle canyon. Lake Mead, Nevada
We parked the car at the trail head and headed up the 4x4 road which took us into the clouds since the weather was still lingering in the southwest region and the threat of rain was a reasonable assumption with a possibility of accumulating rain.  The clouds were breaking up a bit more once we got to the trail head so we headed down to the first 90ft drop and rigged in.

Heidi at the top of the second drop. Motorcycle canyon, Lake mead, Nevada
This was Heidi's first technical canyon and it was Mike's birthday, I tried to find something that would be the best option for the conditions that we had to deal with and I think it worked out pretty well.
Heidi Schindel comign down the second drop in Motorcycle Canyon. Lake Mead, Nevada
The first drop was a 90ft drop and the next drop was a 60 footer which dropped us off on a rolling plateau of sorts that continued to descend down some breakdown falls and into another set of narrows.

Mike is giving me the sharu martin in motorcycle canyon. Lake mead, Nevada
The rock of the black range and the hot springs made this canyon almost volcanic like in nature with the dark colors that we passed around.  I bet that this canyon lights up with color in the sun.
Mike and Heidi in Motorcycle Canyon. Lake Mead, Nevada
Eventually we came up on a section of narrow that had two 40ft sloping descents and another small drop before the canyon opened up again into a series of downclimbs.
Mike Green in Motorcycle Canyon. Lake Mead, Nevada
I was surprised to see how narrow this canyon got for the area and I found this canyon to be more interesting than I thought it would be, which was a nice surprise.
Mike Green in Motorcycle Canyon. Lake Mead, Nevada
We poured into gold strike canyon and walked back to the car without any issues at all except for all of the helicopters that kept flying in circles.
Heidi Schindel in Motorcycle Canyon
MOTORCYCLE CANYON https://www.flickr.com/photos/exploration-worldwide/sets/72157680451543716/

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