Overview

The Doodlebug--Amber Cat Loop is an interesting, 4.3-mile hike through the wild and scenic red-and-white sandstone country of Gold Butte. The route runs down an old road and then hops over a low ridge into Doodlebug Canyon. Doodlebug Arch is towards the end of the canyon, and from there, the route continues down Doodlebug Wash to the confluence with Amber Cat Wash, which is followed upstream through Amber Cat Canyon and back over the ridge to the trailhead.

For details of the route from the trailhead to Doodlebug Arch, see Doodlebug Arch Route. For details of the route from the free-standing Amber Cat back to the trailhead, see Amber Cat Canyon - Return.

This hike is easily accessible from Whitney Pocket, a popular camping and picnic area in Gold Butte National Monument that is accessible in 2WD vehicles. All of this, plus hikers may even find doodlebugs in the soft sand under the arch. Amber Cat Canyon is not appropriate for horsemen because of slickrock narrows that are dangerous for horses.

Link to map.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, ... this is a relatively safe hike for those who stay in the bottom of the washes. There is one pour-over low in Doodlebug Wash that can be bypassed using a horse trail on the east (left) side, but Amber Cat Canyon is not appropriate for horsemen because of slickrock narrows that are dangerous for horses.

There is a lot of biological soil crust in this area. Please stay on the use-trails, in the washes, or on solid rock to avoid busting the crust.

This is, however, a wild and remote area without services of any kind (no restrooms, no water, no gas, no food). Bring what you need to survive. Be prepared and be self-reliant. Someone will find you eventually if you stay on a main route, but be prepared to survive alone for a day or two. Some cell phones work at points along the ridgeline above the canyon.

While visiting Gold Butte, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Also, this is a remote area, so be sure to bring the 10 Essentials.

Getting to the Trailhead

Doodlebug Arch and the Amber Cat are located south of Mesquite, Nevada, in the Whitney Pocket area of Gold Butte National Monument, about 2 hours northeast of Las Vegas in a wild, remote, and scenic area.

From town, drive out to Gold Butte National Monument. Drive east on Interstate-15 to Highway 170. Take Exit 112 south towards Riverside and Bunkerville. Drive south and cross the Virgin River, then quickly turn right onto the paved Gold Butte Road. Follow the pavement (there are no paved side roads) for 21 miles until it ends at Whitney Pocket.

Continue south on the unpaved Gold Butte Road for about 120 yards to a large day-use parking area on the right. Pull in towards the information kiosk signs on the right, or continue a short way farther west to the first campsite area. Either way, park here; this is the trailhead.

The Hike

From the Whitney Pocket Day-Use Trailhead (Table 1, Waypoint 01), the route heads west on a dirt road that leads to two primitive campsites. Staying left at the first campsite (an alternative 2WD trailhead), the road continues west and forks. The route stays left at the fork and follows the jeep trail down towards the wash.

The road crosses the wash to the south side, and in about 20 yards, a faint use-trail (Wpt. 02) departs the road to the left -- this is the return route from Amber Cat Canyon.

The jeep road continues down the canyon, and at about 0.6 miles out, a saddle on the southern horizon is clearly visible: this is Amber Cat Pass, which is on the return route. In this area, another saddle on the ridge to the left begins to come into view: this is Doodlebug Pass. The route will cross the ridge using this pass.

While Doodlebug Pass is still ahead in the distance, the route approaches a fractured red-and-white sandstone outcrop on the hillside above the wash on the left. At a nondescript spot before the outcrop (Wpt. 03), the jeep trail bends right, and the route exits the road to the left. Crossing the wash, a faint use-trail can be seen climbing onto the hillside. This use-trail eventually runs across the top edge of the fractured sandstone outcrop.

The sometimes-faint use-trail continues west traversing the hillside, climbing at a gentle grade to Doodlebug Pass (Wpt. 04). The route continues over the saddle and descends southwest into Doodlebug Canyon (Wpt. 05) and continues down the canyon.

Heading down Doodlebug Canyon, the route passes sandy areas, red sandstone slickrock, white sandstone slickrock, tinajas, and even mini-narrows. Horsemen will find helpful details here.

After scrambling over the slickrock and through narrow spots, the wash runs due south for about 120 yards to a confluence of washes (Wpt. 07). Here, a well-used use-trail can be seen crossing the wash just before the confluence.

Staying right onto the use-trail, the trail climbs out of the wash and heads due west above the wash-bottom. Shortly, the use-trail approaches the last of the sandstone crags on the right side of the canyon. Crossing the toe of the sandstone crag, the use-trail bends right, climbs the hillside several yards, and suddenly arrives at Doodlebug Arch (Wpt. 08).

Doodlebug Arch is quite large, but it lies on the west side of the sandstone outcrop, so it is not visible when coming down the canyon.

Doodlebug Arch is a shady place for lunch. From the arch, hikers can return back up the canyon and head back out over Doodlebug Pass (Wpt. 04) to the trailhead (Wpt. 01), or they can continue the loop by hiking farther down Doodlebug Canyon and returning via Amber Cat Canyon or one of several other loops (see map for ideas).

Departing Doodlebug Arch (Wpt. 08), a use-trail runs more-or-less straight down the hillside and returns to Doodlebug Wash (Wpt. 09).

Back in Doodlebug Wash (Wpt. 09), the route continues southwest down the canyon. Before long, a pour-over (Wpt. 10) is passed either directly (look for hidden footholds) or bypassed on the east side. Horsemen use a trail on the bench above the canyon on the left.

About 0.5 miles beyond the pour-over, the ridges fade away and the wash opens onto a broad desert valley. Not seen from eye level, another major wash, Amber Cat Wash, comes down the valley from the east. Hikers should continue a bit farther down Doodlebug Wash, past eroding colorful dirt banks on the right, to the confluence with Amber Cat Wash (Wpt. 11).

Hikers can cut across the desert flats here, shortcutting the walk to the confluence by about 100 yards, but this area is thickly covered with biological soil crust, and we'all should avoid busting the crust.

In Amber Cat Wash (Wpt. 11), the route turns left and begins the return side of the loop. Heading upstream, Amber Cat Wash runs east to the right edge of a white sandstone outcrop that can be seen ahead in the distance.

The route runs up the wash, always staying in the main channel, for about 1/3-miles until reaching the right (south) edge of the white sandstone outcrop (Wpt. 12). The wash forks here, and the route stays left following the base of the white sandstone crag.

Continuing up Amber Cat Wash, which now is a narrow ribbon of gray gravel between red-and-white sandstone walls, the route returns to a more scenic landscape.

In about 0.3 miles, the wash forks (Wpt. 13) again (although it might not be noticed) in an area of dark-red sandstone, and here the route stays left in the main channel following the high ridge to the left that separates Amber Cat Canyon from Doodlebug Canyon. Hikers can turn into the right fork for an alternate route back to the trailhead.

The canyon begins to wind about and even curves back around to the southeast. Coming out of this big S-curve, hikers will notice the free-standing Amber Cat (Wpt. 14) crouching on the right side of the wash. The cat has no ears, but the humped back, head, and folded arms are striking.

From the free-standing Amber Cat (Wpt. 14), the route continues winding up Amber Cat Canyon where the sandstone crags get higher and more interesting. For details of the remaining hike, see Amber Cat - Return.

When passing a curious detached sandstone mesa (Amber Cat Mesa; Wpt. 15) on the right, hikers can look back and see Amber Cat Wall where some hikers imagine seeing a red cat leaping across the amber-colored wall.

Continuing up the wash, the route eventually climbs out the top of the canyon onto the ridgeline to the right, crossing the ridgeline at Amber Cat Pass (Wpt. 16).

A use-trail continues over the pass heading northeast towards Whitney Pocket. The use-trail eventually hits the jeep trail (Wpt. 02), which is followed back to the Whitney Pocket trailhead (Wpt. 01).