Hiking Around Las Vegas, Desert National Wildlife Refuge
 Visitor Center (view NE) |
Overview The Whispering Ben Trail is a spur trail off the Bighorn Loop Trail that leads to an unusual archeological site: a boulder used like a bedrock mortar for grinding honey mesquite beans. Native peoples used one of the holes for so many years (probably so many generations) that they pounded all the way through the boulder! From the far northeast end of the Bighorn Loop Trail (Wpt. 22), the Whispering Ben Trail forks right to head northeast into the desert. The narrow, unsurfaced trail runs out about 80 yards before hooking to the left to run west. The trail end about 135 yards out at the archeological artifact. For details on getting to this trail, see the description of the Bighorn Loop Trail. Please help protect the fragile desert soils by staying on the trail, and all archeological artifacts are protected -- take only photos, leave only footprints. Link to Trail Map. |
 Bighorn Trail, approaching Whispering Ben Trail (view N) |
 Bighorn Trail at Whispering Ben Trail (view N) |
 Whispering Ben Trail sign (view N) |
 Whispering Ben Trail (view NE from Bighorn Trail) |
 The Whispering Ben Trail is fairly short (view NE) |
 Whispering Ben Trail runs out around the head of a gully (view NE) |
 Whispering Ben Trail begins to bend around the gully (view NE) |
 Hiker on trail to archeological site (view N) |
 Mesquite trees growing in the ditch (view SW) |
 Whispering Ben Trail bends to run northwest |
 Approaching the grinding stone (view NW) |
 End of Whispering Ben Trail (view NW) |
 Hiker inspecting grinding stone (view NW) |
 Grinding stone at the end of the Whispering Ben Trail |
 Grinding stone |
 Grinding stone |
 Grinding stone |
 Grand view (view W) |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | Bighorn Trail Junction | 647145 | 4033881 | 2,950 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 23 | Grinding Stone | 647143 | 4033954 | 2,953 | 0.08 | 0.08 |
| 22 | Bighorn Trail Junction | 647145 | 4033881 | 2,950 | 0.08 | 0.15 |
Happy Hiking! All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.
; Last updated 240711
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