I have a complicated relationship with Fire Canyon. It is my favorite place to hike in Southern Nevada, but it has nearly killed me at least twice. Its winding slot canyons rouse my sense of exploration and adventure, but those same canyons have bamboozled my sense of direction, leaving me fearfully lost. In hidden parts of the canyon, I have been surprised by petroglyph panels, and I have also been surprised by real-life quicksand.
For those who are unfamiliar with this beguiling labyrinth, Fire Canyon at Valley of Fire State Park is the seldom-hiked continuation of the most popular trail in the park: Petroglyph Canyon (aka Mouse’s Tank). At the terminus of Petroglyph Canyon, where casual hikers can peek into Mouse’s eponymous tank, there is a ramp to the left that I climb with the folks who will join me in the slot canyons beyond. The ramp tops out at a small viewpoint. From here, we can see into Fire Canyon, see the adventure that awaits. It’s striking in its beauty, with sheer sandstone cliffs, towering monoliths, and endless dark recesses that beckon us. Beckon me.
Off to the right is a precipitous cliff. From near its edge, we can peek down into Mouse’s Tank. Peeking a little further, we can see a second tank that catches the overflow when Mouse’s Tank is full. Recessed in deep shadows, protected from the blistering sun above, the tanks almost always have water in them. This is where Little Mouse, a Southern Paiute, would hide from the long arm of the law in the 1890s. The tanks are named for him.
Climbing down from here is where the fun begins.
The main wash of Fire Canyon meanders for miles, eventually making its way back into Valley of Fire’s front country near The Cabins, a triplex of stone guestrooms built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Before that, it passes beneath the endpoint of the Rainbow Vista trail, and curls below Silica Dome, where Trekkies have built a memorial to Captain James T. Kirk. (The Nexus that features in Star Trek: Generations was set at Silica Dome, and [SPOILER!] is the place of Kirk’s heroic death. If you watch the episode closely, you can see Lake Mead in the background.)
Those points of interest are nice, but for me, the real gift of Fire Canyon comes from the answer to the simple question, “I wonder what’s around that next bend?” After scores of visits, I feel like I’ve still only seen a fraction of its treasures.
