Getting Lit at the Valley of Fire

Meet: Saturday, 2/25 at 6:30 am, USC Village @Hecuba/Fountains

Return: Sunday, 2/26 at 8:30 pm

Member: $70 Non member: $88

Participant Driver (1): $31

Activity: Hiking, swimming, s’mores eating, beaching, cornhole, rock scrambling!

Difficulty: 5/10 Medium

Distance: 5-6 miles

Elevation: 600 ft

Recommended Prior Experience: Comfortable dispersed camping, some hiking experience recommended, comfortable scrambling up rocks

Location of Trip: Valley of Fire State Park and Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada

Native Land: Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute)

Come join us as we cross the state line into the gambling capital of the world, Nevada, for a LIT weekend at Valley of Fire State Park! We are going to hike and scramble around some of the most beautiful red rock scenery you will ever see, and camp along the shores of Lake Mead under a starry night sky. We will then have an awesome campfire accompanied by s’mores (cue gasps and wows from the crowd), hot cocoa, and fun games!

On Sunday, Emma and Tadd will chef up a really yummy breakfast (instant oatmeal, obviously. Just kidding, we’re more extravagant than that), and then we’ll head to a beach along Lake Mead and hang out there until mid-afternoon! We will bring a cornhole set and other games like Uno, and we encourage you to bring other fun group games as well (but not Twister).

Possible activities that we will do on the drive back from Nevada include: stopping at the best drink shop in the world (Dutch Bros.), seeing the Statue of Liberty and Pyramids of Giza on the same street, and gambling our life savings away in a Las Vegas casino. Bring a LOT of cash - more than you think you’re going to lose (don’t actually, we are not gambling on this trip!)

We will arrive back at USC around 8-9 pm, just early enough for your all-nighter of homework (Fight on!) We hope you come with us on this awesome trip. If you couldn’t tell, Tadd and Emma have been looking forward to this trip for a very long time, and Valley of Fire is Tadd’s favorite state park in the entire country! Wooooooo!

Contact the Guides:

Tadd - taddlong@usc.edu

Emma - edeangel@usc.edu

What to Bring:

*REMINDER (overnights only) : if you do not have a sleeping bag, sleeping pad, backpacking pack, or other technical gear (non-clothing), do not panic, SC Outfitters has these items for you! Your guides will send out a gear-request form the week of your trip where you’ll let them know what gear you need!

• Small backpacking pack or school backpack

• Sleeping pad

• Sleeping bag 

• ***Warm layers (thermal long sleeves, sweater, long pants)

• Comfortable hiking clothes

• Hiking boots/hiking shoes

• Socks / underwear

• Toiletries

• AT LEAST 2-3L of water

• Warm hat

• Sun protection (sunscreen, sunglasses)

• Headlamp

• Warm pajamas

• Any necessary medication

• Hand sanitizer

• Mess kit (plate/bowl + fork/knife/spork)

• Bathing suit 

• Towel that is easy to pack

• OPTIONAL: cards/games/other fun activities

• REQUIRED: good vibes, can-do attitude

Please Review Our Cancellation and Refund Policy:

All SC Outfitter trips have a no-refund policy unless a substitute participant can be found. In the event your trip requires added reporting measures of participants (plane tickets, external providers, rental services, etc.) dropping the trip close to the date of the trip will not allow for the spot to be re-filled. See the details on trip pages for specific deadlines and reference our complete cancellation/refund policy here.

TRIP DIFFICULTY RATING SYSTEM

• Difficulty rating for trips

  • 1: No physical activity.

  • 2: Leisurely walk.

  • 3: 2-5 miles less than 1000 ft of total elevation gain on well maintained trails. About 2-3 hours continuous activity

  • 4: 4-6 miles, about 1000 ft of elevation gain, well maintained trails. About 3 hours of continuous activity.

  • 5: 6-8 miles, about 1500ft of elevation gain on maintained trials. 4-5 hours continuous activity

  • 6: 8-10 miles, about 2000 ft of elevation gain, well maintained trails. 4-6 hours of continuous activity.

  • 7: 10-14 miles, over 2500 ft of elevation gain, variable trail conditions possible. Full day of continuous activity.

  • 8: At high altitude. 12-16 total miles, over 3000 ft of elevation gain, variable trail conditions possible. Full day of continuous activity.

  • 9: Technical skills may be necessary. At high altitude with physical elevation gain. Scrambling over rocks likely involved.

  • 10: u gunna die

**If you have any questions or concerns about the physical activity, recommended prior experience, or gear needed on any kind of trip please contact the guides as soon as possible!!