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Amber Cat Canyon Route -- Eastbound
Amber Cat to Trailhead
Hiking Around Las Vegas, Gold Butte National Monument

Amber Cat Canyon
Doodlebug Arch
Freestanding Amber Cat (view NE)

Overview

Amber Cat Canyon provides a scenic hike down through an area of colorful (red, white, and amber) sandstone where the geology seems to be all jumbled up. This route runs 2.5 miles round-trip and is fairly easy, but the canyon section of the hike is entirely off-trail with some minor scrambling. Past the free-standing Amber Cat, hikers can head back out or continue on and complete any of several loops.

There are two main ways to get to the free-standing Amber Cat: hiking directly from Whitney Pocket (Amber Cat Canyon Route) or hiking from Whitney Pocket down Doodlebug Canyon to Doodlebug Arch, then continuing down Doodlebug Canyon to Amber Cat Wash, and finally hiking back up Amber Cat Wash to the Amber Cat (Doodlebug-Amber Cat Loop).

Presented here are details of the route from the Amber Cat directly back to the Whitney Pocket trailhead. For getting to the trailhead and safety concerns, or getting to the free-standing Amber Cat, see Amber Cat Canyon Route and Doodlebug-Amber Cat Loop.

Amber Cat
The Amber Cat with ears and eyes

The Hike

From the Free-Standing Amber Cat (Table 1, Waypoint 14), hikers return to the wash, turn right, and head upstream following Amber Wash up Amber Cat Canyon. The main wash is easy to follow as hikers proceed through a colorful wonderland of sandstone.

As hikers approach Amber Cat Mesa (Wpt. 13), the canyon becomes narrower, the walls grow taller, and the wash more winding as hikers seem to spend more time going side-to-side than straight up the canyon.

There are no high pour-overs or other serious obstacles for hikers. Horseman can find their way up the canyon too, but with some climbing onto the wash banks to circumvent minor obstacles.

Near the top of the canyon, the grade steepens, but the route becomes less sinuous. While hikers might feel that they are making better forward progress, they are leaving the more interesting parts behind.

Doodlebug Arch
Hiker continuing up Amber Cat Canyon (view NE)

Hikers eventually spend more time walking on sandstone than on wash gravel as the route climbs towards the skyline ahead. A use-trail eventually brings hikers to Amber Cat Pass (Wpt. 16). Atop the pass, it is always worth taking a moment or two to gaze back down Amber Cat Canyon with the interplay of sun and shadows on the jumbled red, white, and yellow sandstone.

Descending over Amber Cat Pass (Wpt. 16), a well-defined use-trail runs northeast across the gentle hillside more-or-less on the contour. The use-trail runs below striking red sandstone outcrops, across the toe of a white sandstone outcrop, and across a wash before it finally intersects the jeep trail (Wpt. 02), which the trail has been paralleling for some time.

Following the jeep trail east, the road climbs the canyon, eventually joins into the campsite road, and finally arrives back at the Whitney Pocket day-use parking area trailhead (Wpt. 01).

Doodlebug Arch Doodlebug Arch
Doodlebug Arch Doodlebug Arch
Doodlebug Arch
Hikers heading up Amber Cat Canyon (view NE)
Doodlebug Arch
Amber Cat Mesa; the "real" amber cat is said to be up there (view S)
Doodlebug ArchAmber Cat Mesa; the "real" amber cat is said to be up there (view S) Doodlebug Arch
Hikers heading up Amber Cat Canyon (view NE)
Doodlebug Arch
Looking back at Amber Cat Mesa (view SW)
Doodlebug Arch
Continuing up Amber Cat Canyon (view NE)
Doodlebug Arch
Continuing up Amber Cat Canyon (view NE)
Doodlebug Arch
Hikers beginning to climb out of Amber Cat Canyon (view NE)
Doodlebug Arch
Interesting patterns in the sandstone
Doodlebug Arch
Hikers climbing towards Amber Cat Pass (view NE)
Doodlebug Arch
Amber Cat Pass (view NE)
Doodlebug Arch
Looking back: Amber Cat Canyon from Amber Cat Pass (view SW)
Doodlebug Arch
Hikers descending over Amber Cat Pass (view NE)
Doodlebug Arch
Hikers on use-trail descending over Amber Cat Pass (view NE)
Doodlebug Arch Doodlebug Arch
Doodlebug Arch
Hikers returning to the old road (view NE)
Doodlebug Arch
Hikers heading up the old road (view NE)
Doodlebug Arch
Returning towards Whitney Pocket (view E)
Doodlebug Arch
Hikers approaching Whitney Pocket trailhead (view E)

Table 1. Hiking Coordinates and Distances based on GPS Data (NAD27; UTM Zone 11S). Download Hiking GPS Waypoints (gpx) file.

Wpt. Location UTM Easting UTM Northing Elevation (ft) Point-to-Point Distance (mi) Cumulative Distance (mi)
14 Free Standing Amber Cat 754636 4044703 2,726 0.00 0.00
15 Amber Cat Mesa 754925 4045064 2,808 0.37 0.37
16 Amber Cat Pass 755128 4045286 3,071 0.23 0.60
02 Amber Cat route at Jeep Road 755730 4045487 3,059 0.41 1.01
01 Trailhead 756119 4045566 3,102 0.25 1.26

Happy Hiking! All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.
copyright; Last updated 240325

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