South Oak Creek Trail, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, NV

Hiked Saturday, March 7. Approximately five miles, out and back. Wrapped up my last weekend of hiking in Las Vegas with a late afternoon visit to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

My initial goal was to try for a post-sunset shot of Orion and the winter Milky Way over the red rocks. I had done this last year, and hoped to try again, this year. However, the moon phase made this a little iffy, and the clouds made it impossible.

Nonetheless, I intended to do some walking out there.

Except for the clouds, the weather was perfect for hiking. I think, because of that, the crowds flocked to Red Rock, which led to a road closure of the scenic drive by late afternoon. At least, that was my guess. In any event the entrance to the scenic loop was closed when I got there. So I drove on along NV-159, past the entrance and exit to the scenic drive. Wound up parking at the second trailhead past the scenic loop exit.

Oak Creek Trail has three access points. The first is from the end of a spur dirt road that leaves the scenic loop, just before it returns to NV-159.

The second access point, called "Middle Oak Creek Trailhead," is the first major parking area on NV-159, past the scenic loop.

The third access point is a bit further along NV-159, and is called "South Oak Creek Trailhead."

All three of these trails potentially intersect, although the Middle and South Oak Creek trails obviously have longer distances to get to a more southerly location; it takes quite a bit longer to get to actual Oak Creek from the latter starts. Both also more head towards the base of Mount Wilson, before heading towards Oak Creek and Rainbow Mountain.

Formally, the South Oak Creek trail is supposed to go up to, then around, a knoll (Potato Knoll), befoe returning to NV-159. Before doing the loop, I first walked a bit up the actual canyon, walked as far as I was comfrotable, then turned around. Saw some water in the creek bed.

There are numerous use trails through the area, so figuring out if I was on the right one or not was not obvious. But I got a chance to enjoy the outdoors, either way.

The sun was rapidly disappearing as I made my way back to my car. Nice side-lighting as the setting sun dropped beneath the cloud layer. I took a last few pictures, then hurried along to my car. Thus ended my last hike in the Las Vegas area in the last two months.

Because of the whole "safer at home" thing, as well as numerous trail closures in my usual stompinggrounds, I haven't gone off on any hiking adventures in quite a while, since then.

Las Vegas Springs Preserve, Short Walk, and Watching Dogs Catch Flying Discs

Hiked March 7, 2020. So, the day after my stumble through the North Loop of BLM Trail 404, I got up the next day to spend some time at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve. I've been there before. Looks like my earlier posts were in January of last year, and back in March 2013. I'm sure I've been there other times, but those are the only posts I have.

The Springs Preserve is an odd setup: It's owned by the Las Vegas Valley Water District. In theory, it's "Where Las Vegas was Born." The natural springs that once bubbled up here created "The Meadows" (or, in Spanish, "Las Vegas") that was the original reason for European settlement here.

Most of those original ruins are pretty totally collapsed, but there are a few historic structures (some reconstructed) on the site. There is also a developed garden to illustrate low-water use landscaping, for example, and a reconstructed "Boomtown," with some relocated historic buildings, but mostly reconstructed facsimiles of historic structures. There are also several museums on the site, including the Las Vegas branch of the Nevada State Museum.

However, the original springs dried up long ago, so, other than some reconstructed water features, most of the 180 acres of the Preserve is just sort of random open space. It still does attract some wildlife, of course, but it's not the best place to see waterfowl in the area, nor the best place to see native and undisturbed desert flora. Still, it's a big ole place to wander around. And, on the first weekend of the month, it's also part of the Museums on Us program from Bank of America. Come there with your BofA card, and you get into the Preserve and all the museums there for free.

You can also just walk the Preserve grounds (museums not included) if you joined a botanical garden in your area that has reciprocal privileges through the American Horticultural Society. The Los Angeles Arboretum is part of that program, so on what was the first full weekend of March 2020, I actually had two options for seeing the Las Vegas Springs Preserve for free. I went with the BofA option, on the assumption this funnels some extra money into the Springs Preserve and the State Museum.

I was mainly just here to get some exercise. I brought my camera, of course, but I had no expectation of any blooms or wildlife to see. On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was a dog show. They had that one of my previous visits, as well. So, with my telephoto lens, I thought it would be a chance to try some action shots.

I don't do this very often, so I don't even know the settings to automate some of the features (predictive autofocus, for example, when things are moving). I just set for a high ISO, to allow a fast shutter speed, and a moderately small aperture, to allow for a bit of depth of field.

Because of the (lack of good) shooting angles available, given the audience and what not, most shots were pretty lousy. Some were not entirely terrible.

Minor processing of the .jpegs and some crops, to take out distractions.

If I did this more often, I'd learn the preset for predictive autofocus. Also, I should probably take advantage of this home time to learn Lightroom, or something, but that still hasn't happened.

I also bought a color negative scanner a number of mouths ago. The intent would be to scan some of those old negatives and get digital files, before that's all lost to time or carelessness. That hasn't happened yet, either.

After an hour or so walking around the Springs Preserve, and 30 minutes or so for the dog show, that was about it, here. Enough walking to qualify as a hike, and enough entertainment with the dogs to get some decent shots.

Last thing for the weekend and the day was to maybe head over to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. If it was clear, I was hoping for some semi-night sky shots. Didn't get that, but I did get another decent hike for the day. It helped me exceed my step target for the day.

BLM Trail 404, North Loop, Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area, NV

Hiked Friday, March 6. Who'd have thought that this would likely become my last weekend of hiking for the foreseeable future?

Trail 404 is indicated as a loop that starts at the Shadow Canyon Trailhead in Henderson, and runs over Black Mountain. From the trailhead, the south end of the loop is the more frequently traveled. From the top of the detention basin near the trailhead, it's the first indication for Trail 404. I have hiked that trail twice.

The area trail map at the detention basin and other BLM documents indicate that there is supposed to (or at least, is proposed that) this trail be a loop.

On my last trip up to the top, I did see one Trail 404 indicator on the "other" side of Black Mountain, but I did not see much evidence of an actual trail heading back down. With darkness encroaching, I elected not to try the unexplored way back down in the dark, and returned the way I came.

In February, on a late afternoon, I spent an hour or so at the lower end of the trail, seeing if I could follow the northern loop. After some misfires, I did locate the trail, and followed it far enough to at least get some altitude, before darkness fell.

This time around, I had a bit more time, though I was still starting in late afternoon, after my drive up from the Los Angeles area. Still, I thought I'd have enough time to make it to the top, if the trail did exist. This turned out to be overly optimistic.

The north loop starts almost at the end of the concrete apron at the top of the detention basin. From that marked trailhead, you stick to your left, staying mostly out of the actual wash bottom, until you cross over the wash, maybe 3/4 of a mile up. You get quite close to the two large water tanks, but you do not attain the ridge on which they are located.

On the day I hiked, there were some flowers in bloom: phacelia and probably sun cups. They were common, but by no means a carpet. I think they probably got somewhat denser, but still not a carpet. It doesn't look like the soil would be conducive to a thick bloom.

The northern route is a LOT tougher than the southern route. While much of the southern route is flat, wide, and/or a an easy path to walk, this is true of nearly none of the northern route. Instead, it's narrow, rock-strewn, and steep. Lots of uneven landscape to cover.

From the first picture in this post, you're generally going to approach from the left, along that ridge, except for the earlier part, where you're first running to the left of the lower wash. By contrast, although not obvious in this picture, the southern route runs, not level but easily, until the final push.

As you start the climb on this northern route, there's a pretty serious canyon to your left, which you don't get that close to, but you could certainly peak into. The broadcast towers of what people normally think of as Black Mountain are, first above and to your left, then level with you, then well below you.

Relative handful of Joshua tree as you gain altitude, too.

Good views to your west and south, but your view to the east and west is largely blocked by the mountain your are climbing.

By the time I got up there, the sun was no longer shining on the Ivanpah solar complex, so no idea at what point that comes into view. But the mountains certainly looked nice.

After two hours of hiking, I was still what I assumed to be at least half an hour from the top. The sun was getting low, and I was going to be late getting back to my wife, so I turned around, well short of the top.

By contrast, two hours put me at the top when I came from the southern end. Can't say for sure if my conditioning was identical, but my feeling is that, yes, the northern side is a lot tougher going up. It's also a lot tougher coming down; I fell on my butt several times in the dark.

One of these days, I may again try this approach, when I'm sure I have the time. But I'm in no hurry to repeat this hike. The southern loop is definitely preferable.

Owl Canyon, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, NV

Hiked Sunday, February 16. This trail is only a little over two miles long, though you can make it longer by taking any one of a number of use spurs, or by linking up with the River Mountains Loop trail, and taking that as long as you want.

This trail begins near the "left" side of the first picnic area on your left, as you drive into 33 Hole Overlook/Picnic Area. As of the date of this posting, a .pdf for the hike is available here: Owl Canyon.

That's the same flyer they handed me at the Visitor's Center, except mine was black and white. :D

I didn't actually read it much before I hiked. I should really stop doing that.

In any event, from the trailhead, looking northish, you pretty much see what's in the first two pictures. The first one shows the trail, very well-defined. The second is a bit to the east, showing a marsh that I did not visit.

The decent is steep, and you do need to take care, but it did not strike me as especially dangerous, with care and balance and good shoes. The flyer text says it's 75 feet down; the map side says 45 feet down. Either way, it's not sheer drop, so just be careful.

The "main" or actual trail heads over the first rise, then around a second berm. LOTS of dead tamarisk in this basin, so they clearly have this as an invasive species management area.

You keep the small hill on your left and head towards where the wash narrows.

All of this would have been underwater less than 20 years ago, by the way. So the tamarisk is also a relatively recent arrival in this basin, and they are trying to keep it from completely taking over the wash.

The walls here are a conglomerate of mixed-stone sizes, similar to White Rock Canyon, but more colorful (not white!). Maybe more like the stuff that composes the top ofLiberty Bell Arch.

[Both links are mostly of the same hike, but the first one had more pictures of the actual White Rock Canyon].

Because of the narrowness of parts of the wash, it actually gets pretty dark in places. I mean not dark so you can't see were you're going, but dark enough to need to adjust your camera for some pretty long exposures or high ISOs.

On my way through one of the narrower areas, a large led-hiking group was coming down. Their leader pointed out an owl nest, in the wall. He also pointed out a LOT of owl droppings, dripping from the walls.

Not long after the owl nest, I reached an undercrossing. A big pipe went under Northshore Road. Once on the other side, the trail only went a little over a 1/4 mile more before hitting another undercrossing. This time, it was two pipes, going under the River Mountains Loop trail. That's a paved (or at least, mostly paved) trail that circles the River Mountains, which overlook Lake Mead and the Colorado River (Hence, the River Mountains).

I turned around just before the second set of tunnels, on the assumption that I had pretty much seen what there was to see. Also, my wife was waiting by the car (she didn't want to hike; I usually go on my own, but we were spending some time together, and I was hoping she could join me on a short hike, but the initial descent was more than she wanted to do.
So I was initially just going to reconnoiter, but she said to go ahead, so I did.

Returned the way I came. So just two miles for the day. New trail, though. This rail was not mentioned in Lake Mead NRA literature as recently as a few years ago, so this is a new one. I don't know how much of the erosion happened just in the last 3-4 years, or if it was just "rediscovered" and added to the list of hikes, even though it had existed even before the reemergence from the lake.

Easy hike, though not recommended for high summer. If you go in summer, bring lots to drink, and take it easy.

Black Mountain, BLM Trail 404, Sloan Mountain National Conservation Area, NV

I hiked this trail twice over the summer: July 5, 2019 and September 29, 2019. Not sure how I managed to not have time to blog this.

Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area largely abuts the city of Henderson. Much of the open land to the south and west of Henderson is (hopefully) permanently protected by the Conservation Area.

There are multiple official access points for hiking into the Conservation Area, but the BLM website only directs you to one (Petroglyph Canyon).

For the rest, I had to look elsewhere. Bird and Hike is by far the most detailed extant site I know of for hiking in the Las Vegas area.

For this trail, you access from the Shadow Canyon access point. The free version of the All Trails app and website will also direct you to the trailhead.

It's pretty straightforward. From either I-215 (southwestern Beltway) or Saint Rose Parkway, take Eastern Avenue south. Where it splits (about two miles south of Saint Rose Parkway), stay left, on to Anthem Parkway. Two and a half miles later, turn left on Atcheley Drive. Google Maps suggests you go straight for one mile, including the .6 mile after Atcheley transitions to Somersworth Drive. After the previously-referenced one mile, turn left on Shadow Canyon Drive. Note that this will be the second time you see Shadow Canyon Drive.

If you waited until the second coming of Shadow Canyon, the trailhead will be .2 miles on your right. If you turned upon first encountering Shadow Canyon, the trailhead will be .7 miles on your left. There's a very small parking area on the east side of the road, room for maybe four cars. On-street parking is also permitted. There's water and a small shaded structure at this trailhead, but no restrooms.

From the trailhead, walk along the paved walkway towards a detention dam. You'll pass an access point to the City of Henderson's Anthem East Trail. Continue walking on the main trail, towards a small structure at the top of the dam. Attached to this structure is a BLM trail map.

For Trail 404, continue past the structure, walking along the top rim of the detention basin. About halfway along that top rim, trail sign directs you up Trail 404. (Should you pass to the other end of the rim, another trail sign also directs you up the other end of 404. However, that trail is not well-defined at the upper reaches, and I would not recommend that route.

Along the preferred route, the trail is well-marked and well-defined, except for the last section, where various use trails alternatives make their way to the top of the mountain. There is only one sign trail split this way, and you go straight to stay on Trail 404.

Volcanic rocks are you companion along this entire route. You may see rabbits, as well as lizards and insect life along the way, but it's a pretty arid route. About halfway up Black Mountain, scattered Joshua Tree begin to appear. Still pretty sparse, and none look very old. I don't know if this means they are only recently starting to grow here, or the mountain soil and environs are just too tough, so larger ones can't get enough water or can't bare the heat or cold, and die. But, what ever the reason, there are no really old, really large Joshua Tree along this route.

As you ascend Black Mountain, the panorama expands. The bright focus of several solar generating towers are visible to your south-southwest. That's Ivanpah Station, across the border, in California. You see those to the west of I-15, coming or going towards Primm.

When you get to the top, you'll also see several fields of solar panel fields, mostly to the east. U.S. 95 also shoots from left to right.

Further to the north, you may see I-11, the Boulder City Bypass, that heads from the Beltway, south of Boulder City (and separated by a large mountain), and around, to Hoover Dam. Scanning even further north brings you to Henderson and, eventually, the Las Vegas Valley. The Las Vegas Strip is somewhat west of north.

Also at the top are a roundish boulder wall, to protect you against the elements. Probably an ammo box and informal trail register will also be up there, along with an American flag, flapping in the breeze. If there's a flag there, you'll have seen it on the way up, so you'll know how much further you had to go.

The first time, up, I returned the way I came. The second time, I tried continuing a bit past the peak, because I saw a trail sign, down near the saddle to the next rise, to the north. However, following the ridge past that, I saw no additional indicators of a trail route.

The BLM map shows a "proposed" trail continuing over, then back down to the detention basin. Other sources I have read describe a trail going that way, and, as noted earlier, I did see the lower end of this trail, down at the detention basin.

But with no obvious trail to follow and not a whole lot of excess daylight, I backtracked back up to Black Mountain and returned the way I came. On a future trip, I will likely try following this alternate trail from the detention basin, to see if I can follow it up to the other end of the loop.

Bird and Hike gives the round trip distance at about 7.5 miles, with a net altitude gain of a bit under 2100 feet. There is essentially no shade on this trip, and no protection from the elements. Probably best to avoid the heat of a summer day, or especially windy times. But it's a very nice late afternoon hike, provided you are prepared to hike in the dark.