Lightning Sands Canyon

A short canyon that has rubble in it and no smooth, polished sections.

Drive on the Cottonwood - Marble Canyon Road from Stovepipe Wells. The road has deep sand, especially at the beginning, so 4x4 high clearance is recommended. The road will start jogging north then west several times. Park on a big turn in this series (if you start going north for more than a minute, you've passed it.) Walk south. Your goal is a triangle-shaped ridge that is south of the second large wash. Stay in the wash as long as possible for the easiest walking, then eventually just bee-line to the ridge. Hike up the ridge, pausing to notice the crinoid fossils (sea-lilies, they look like either Cheerios or rattlesnake rattle). Your goal is the first canyon on the left (south). We walked all the way to the head of the canyon because it didn't look like it would be fun to go down the slope directly into the canyon from the side.

Descend through rubble for a while until the first rap. Rap 1 (20 feet) from a cairn anchor. Appears multi-stage but isn't. Rap 2 (100 feet) from a cairn anchor. Rap 3 (25 feet) from a rock chock (more like a pebble chock) very close to the edge. Rap 4 (110-120 feet) from a large rock in a pothole. Webbing goes up over 3-foot lip. Walk for a while in rubble. Rap 5 (75 feet) down a slope from a rock chock LDC. Downclimb immediately afterwards.

Walk through rubble after the final downclimb. Eventually it smooths out into the wash. Follow the natural flow, which will take you left (north) and towards your vehicle.