North Bowl of Fire Loop

Today (12-21), five of us hiked the North Bowl of Fire Loop hike with a stop at Raven's Balcony. We started at the Northshore Summit parking area, which is different than the normal trailhead. This route makes for a longer and much more interesting hike into the Bowl of Fire.

Once in the Bowl of Fire we headed to Raven's Balcony, which has stunning views out to the south and east. We descended from the balcony, but stayed fairly close to the cliffs. In about 200 yards Ed and I spotted a gully that looked like it might go all the way to desert floor. We took a shot and it turned out to be a pretty easy (class 3) down climb.

This option cuts about an hour from the normal descent route. We determined the best way to do this hike is to leave one car at mm 18 and start the hike at Northshore Summit parking area. Once down the gully head out across the desert to mm 18 and pick up the car. This would be an excellent option for this hike.