News of Southwest (AZ, NM, NV, TX)

It looks like I will be in Reno in late October and I might have a chance to get in one day of hiking - assuming I can find a red-eye flight home on Saturday night.

Any recommendations on something close - within, say 2 hours of the airport? A summit with a Class 2 scramble/Class 3 would be great.

Me and Hotoven are gonna attempt it and maybe do some backpacking around it. Think we might be there Fri or sat. Idk how long we're staying if anyone is in the area

I was studying maps of the Pecos Wilderness, looking for some lesser traveled areas that might be interesting to explore on a possible trip out to NM later this year. I found this long ridge at the eastern end of the wilderness that seems to rise close to or above the treeline, has some lakes in deep cirques and seems to have a rather rugged eastern escarpment. With one minor exception, I can't find anything ...

Last July, I found these flowers on the Tree Spring Trail in the Sandia Mountains. Does anyone have information about what they are?

Red:

http://www.summitpost.org/image/629005/ ... trail.html

Orange:

http://www.summitpost.org/image/629008/ ... trail.html

Yellow:

http://www.summitpost.org/image/629007/ ... trail.html

Blue:

http://www.summitpost.org/image/629006/ ... trail.html

Purple and white:

http://www.summitpost.org/image/629009/ ... trail.html

Will someone please tell me of some websites or places here in town where I can get a harness and shoes for my niece for cheap but good quality?

Thanks!

How easy is it to get walk up backcountry permits this time of year? We will be starting at the South Rim on a mid week day. Doing the Grandview Loop. Any feed back would be nice. If it's impossible then might have to scrap it and head some other place.

Next week I'll be flying to Las Vegas for a trip in Utah and Arizona. I'm arriving on a saturday evening however, and I still have to get some supplies such as fuel for my stove (because I can't fly with this) and perhaps some backpacking meals. This means I have to find an outdoor store, open on a sunday. So far I've only been able to find a 'REI' in vegas, but this opens ...

Via the Queens Mine route how long would anyone expect it to take to summit boundary round trip from the trail head? How comparable is it to Borah Peak in Idaho? I noticed it's .6 miles longer than Borah Peak round trip, but it's 1,000 feet less in elevation gain, so I would think it wouldn't be as difficult of a hike as the initial 2 miles on Borah. Also Borah has a few sections ...

Just a heads up to bc skiers......road is open to 10,000......upper campground is not yet plowed, but there is trailhead parking.......spent five days last week in the Wheeler - Jeff Davis cirque and (on top of 2 1/2 feet of new snow which fell during the week's storms) the skiing was/is outstanding.....
Last week the road was only open to the scenic overlook; which didn't do me any good, still had to start at 7,500....access ...