Clossing the Day With A Last Light Hike on the Step Ladder Trail at Springs Mountain National Recreation Area

Date: December 30, 2020

Place: Springs Mountain National Recreation Area, Las Vegas, Nevada

Coordinates:  36.273322, -115.582198

Length: 2.5 miles

Level: easy+

 

The last full day of our family 2020 winter vacation in the Las Vegas area was a full one. Not all of us were happy about doing another hike at the end of a busy day, a day that begun with a cave tour and continued with a good workout hike up Fletcher Canyon. The younger chika was tired and the elder chika disappointed with the low bird count on the previous trail. Pappa Quail was discontented because I had no real idea of where we should go, and he too was ready to get back to our lodge and have a relaxed evening indoors. I, on the other hand, argued that spending a nice day indoors, especially on a vacation away from home, was a waste. I remembered seeing a trailhead sign on the access road to the Spring Mountains and my family eventually agreed to go on a short hike on that trail. 

Our hike as captured by my GPS 

 

 The few clouds that were in the sky gathered around the mountains, leaving most of the sky lovely blue. The afternoon sun lit the cliffs in a sift light. It was still pretty cold though, so we huddled in our jackets and started down the trail.

The area we were at was basically the foothills of the Spring Mountains. We were high above the valley north of Las Vegas, but well below the mountains, where we hiked just a short time earlier. The foothills were round and soft sloped, with vegetation of mainly bushes and shrubs with just the occasional tree here and there.

The trees that we did see there were junipers and small pines, as isolated individuals or in small groups. Most of the trees were a good distance from one another. 

Pinyon Pine

As first we walked east, and the trail was fairly level. The trail was nearly clear of snow but in the shade of the bushes a few snow patches still remained. 

Step Ladder Trail

Of the lower bushes that covered the hillside, many were manzanita bushes, their thin, red back glistening in the sunlight. These manzanitas had no berries left on them any more. 

Manzanita, Arctostaphylos sp. 

We saw a few birds here and there, which were probably responsible for the lack of manzanita berries n the bushes. All of the birds that we saw were of species we were already familiar with. Still, they were a pleasure to see. 

Woodhouse Scrub Jay

It was nice to see even the very common American robin, as it perched boldly on top of a low pine tree.  

American Robin

Little by little the trail was ascending. The slope was mild but even so some switchback turns were introduced. 

A rabbit hopped away into the bushes. It hid in the vegetation too quickly for any of us to get its photo but t did leave behind tracks in the snow. 

Rabbit Tracks

After we curved around the contour of the hill the view east opened up. We could see the dry and barren-looking mountain ranges far in the distance, and the long alluvial fans that extended from the foothills where we were down to the valley. 

We got to a fork of the trail and stopped there, considering where to go next. We didn't have a thorough map of the trail system, but the maps downloaded to our navigators showed a small loop extending north and returning to this same spot. 

Long afternoon shadows

It was getting late already but we did have enough time to hike the small loop, so we started northeast on the eastern arm of the loop trail. 

Step Ladder Trail

This part of the trail was inside the wide part of a wash coming down from the hills. This more enclosed, and probably better watered place supported more trees and larger bushes.  Still, it wasn't quite a forest.

Juniper

We saw a few more birds in the trees and bushes. They too were all of species we've already met around the area. 

Woodhouse Scrub Jay

The Step ladder Trail continued beyond the little loop we were walking on - it extended deep into the wilderness. I assume it was a good place for backpacking. We were not about to go any further on this trail, however. 

As we made our way around the loop part of the trail the clouds moved from the mountains and little by little the started to cover the sky. The combination of the gathering clouds and the lowering sun quickly darkened what left of the day. 

 I was amazed by the snow cover of these mountain, so deep in the deep. Mountains make their on weather, they say. They are a magnet for clouds and pull down precipitation that sustains life in the desert year round. 

The level of snow coverage depended on the direction  the slopes were facing, and also on the grade of the slope of course. It may not have been as deep a coverage as the High Sierra, but it looked impressive still, especially in the drought winter of 2020. 

Not all the mountains we saw had snow cover. Far below in the southeast were smaller mountain chains that not only were bare of snow but also looked devoid of plant life. 

View southeast

It was getting cold and we weren't seeing any new wildlife. Quickening out pace we completed the loop part of the trail and started back west on the same trail we came out on. 

The daylight was waning. The sun hasn't set yet, but it was hiding behind the mountain and the clouds dimmed the light that was coming around the peak. All of us now, including myself, were ready to go to the lodge and call it a day. 

We made it back to the parking lot in time with the sunset. The mountains were dark already and the chill froze my face, but the scenery was beautiful. ur car was the only vehicle in the parking lot. The road coming from the mountains was quiet. We were alone in the vast wilderness. 

We drove back to Las Vegas for the last night of our trip. Tomorrow we would explore the Clack County Birding Center for the second time, and then sneak in one last hike by the Las Vegas Wash before driving back to California. 

 

A Big Change In Scenery: Hiking the Fletcher Canyon Trail at the Spring Mountains

 

Date: December 30, 2020

Place: Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, Las Vegas, Nevada

Coordinates: 36.263609, -115.611721

Length: 5 miles

Level: moderate 

 

Our family 2020 winter trip to the Las Vegas area had a good balance of hike types - historical/cultural relics such as petroglyphs, spectacular geology, and of course, wildlife and birding walks. The day following our birding day we started by checking out a local stalactite cave, which was nice but not very memorable. At least, I don't remember much of it. After the cave visit we headed northwest into the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area to do what I insisted on calling 'a real hike'. I didn't have much of a plan however, so we selected a trailhead up the road. The choice was random however - up the mountain there was a lot of snow on the ground. I don't remember if the road was closed or if we simply didn't want to go too high into the snow area. Either way, we chose the Fletcher Canyon Trail, and after the first enthusiasm of seeing snow int he desert, we got ready for the hike. 

 The trail was an in-and-out one, and we didn't quite know where it would end so we thought we'd go up until we couldn't go any further, or until we'd had enough. 

Our hike as captured by my GPS

The beginning of the trail was covered in snow, which made me a bit wary. I was concerned about slipping and walked very carefully on the sleek path.

Fletcher Canyon Trail

The day was beautiful however, and soon my concerns were dispelled by the brilliant sunshine and by the quiet, serene surrounding.

It was nice to walk through a forest, a real forest, for a change, after all the desert scenery. I love the desert, but I also love the mountains and their forests. Nearly all of the trees were conifers - pines, firs and cedars. 

The trail was going uphill, but at a mild slope. A thin layer of snow covered most of the trail area, and we had to watch for icy patches along the way. 

Fletcher Canyon Trail

We didn't see a whole lot of bird activity, but there was some. Every now and then Pappa Quail and the elder chika would pause and try to pinpoint the location of the source of tweets. Sometimes they succeeded too. 

White-breasted Nuthatch

Above the tree tops, wherever the forest opened up a bit, I could see the rocky cliffs of the mountain sides, too sheer to be covered by trees. 

But the cliffs, sheer as they were, were not completely devoid of trees. Plants, even large trees, can germinate inside even the smallest rock crevice and slowly widen their root space in the rock as they grow to their full size. Trees hold together mountain soil but they are also a significant force in the erosion and the breaking down of the rock cliffs. 

Many of the pine trees were laden with cones in various stages of maturation. The  mature cones were still attached to their mother tree, fully open, allowing the pine nuts to fall down or be carried away by nut eating animals. 

We were fortunate to see one of these nut eaters - a Cassin's finch. The pine nuts are a staple food fr many f these animals, especially during times when little else is available. 

Cassin's Finch

As we walked higher and higher up the trail the cliffs closed in on us, forming a canyon. During that time the clouds started moving in, stretching thin white wisps across the blue sky. 

I looked up the cliff walls. Long, thick black streaks extended from the top or from cracks in the rock where water dripped throughout wet times for many years. 

Below we had to take more care of where we were setting foot. The trail became sleeker and unstable rocks were hidden by the snow.  

Trees were growing in the bottom of the canyon, reaching upward tall and thin, to reach the narrow strip of sunlight. We encountered several fallen logs on our way, and had to circumvent them carefully. 

Here and there the canyon opened up a bit, allowing more sunlight to penetrated downward. Naturally, there were more trees growing in these wider sections of the canyon. 

Not only trees were growing in the rock crevices. There were bushes and spreading shrubs. I was in awe as to the hardiness of these plants, and their ability to survive and even thrive in such tight places.  

In a lower rock crevice I saw a baby pine tree, green and lush, stretching its baby needles to the light. Around it was another plant which I didn't identify. That plant looked less happy, but still very much alive. 

Baby Pine

Then the canyon narrowed even more and the vegetation dwindled to a few dry shrubs at the base of the sheer canyon walls. More and more large rocks that appeared to have fallen recently littered the bottom of the canyon and we begun wondering how further we should go. 

The answer came to us pretty soon in the form of a large rock collapse. This pile of boulders looked like it had been there for a while. Later I read that this trail ends in a dry waterfall - this might have been it, although we didn't know it at the time. Either way, we were not about to tray and climb up that obstacle. It was time to turn around and walk back down the canyon.

Waterfall?

We did stop for a brief snack break where there were rocks large enough to sit on after brushing off the snow cover. My family birders were a bit disappointed about the low count of birds that they saw. I looked at the snow covered plants nearby. 

The high canyon walls kept us well shaded inside. We didn't sit for too long - it was getting colder in the shadow, and we needed to keep moving in order to stay warm. 

Without much wildlife to look at I moved my attention to the geology - interesting layering patterns always fascinate me. 

We made our way down the canyon at a pretty good pace. As we walked down more clouds gathered above and dimmed the sunlight. The mountain heights were still well lit. 

We went down the sleek, snowy path, taking good care not to slip. Soon I was well behind the rest of my family, enjoying a few moments of quiet solitude. 

I found an interesting pile of sticks that were placed next to a tree trunk forming a low shelter. It looked like a structure built by youth scouts or students in some survival class. I didn't think someone would actually spend the night here in a real survival situation so close to the road.  

When I caught u with the rest of my family I found Pappa Quail and the elder chika staring up a tree through their cameras and binoculars. 

I looked up there as well and saw what they were looking at - a sole downy woodpecker that was making its way up and down the branches looking for insects. 

Downy Woodpecker

Behind us loomed one angular peak of the Spring Mountains. This was the south-facing slope and it was nearly devoid of snow. 

Pine nuts were an important staple for the local overwintering animals. So were the manzanita berries. I found a few manzanita bushes that still had quite a lot of berries on them. I tasted a few- they were sweet but pretty dry in texture. 

Manzanita, Arctostaphylos sp.

Mountain mahogany seeds however, are not edible. Not for humans, anyway. They do look very pretty though. The feathery wing the mahogany seed has looked like a thin layer of frost. 

Mountain Mahogany

We covered quickly the short distance left to the trailhead. We didn't see any more birds or other wildlife, but we did run into one other hiker who came to walk his dog on this trail. He was the only other human that we saw on that entire hike.

I can see how this trail can be a wonderful summer relief for local hikers when the weather below is too hot to hike anywhere else. The snowy winter scene was a good change for us too, although wildlife activity was very low. We had a couple more hours of sunlight left for the day and decided to look for another trail in the area rather than go back early to town.