Last Trip's Birding Hike on the Las Vegas Wash Wetlands Trail

Las Vegas Wash

 

 

 

Date: January 1, 2021

Place: Las Vegas Wash, Las Vegas, Nevada

Coordinates: 36.124706, -114.902346

Length: 1.1 miles

Level: easy

 

Our family 2020 winter trip was an intense one. We got to explore a lot of the nature around Las Vegas, hiking two-three hikes a day. We were in the area for just one week but by the last day of our trip we felt like we were there much longer. On the day of our return, which was also the first day of 2021 we did a second birding walk at the Clark County Birding Center, a walk that turned out very prolific, bird-rich time. When I wrote about that hike I didn't remember that we went anywhere else after that, but apparently we did, and after looking through the photos my memories came back in full force. We had one more hike that day. A short one, but nonetheless a hike I wanted to write about, so I won't forget it again. 

This final hike of our 2020 winter family trip was Pappa Quail's idea - he saw this spot on the map of the local chapter of the Audubon Society. It was the Wetland Trail near the las Vegas Wash, and it was labeled as a good birding spot. 

Desert View at the Trailhead

The trailhead was east of the Las Vegas Lake, which is a human-made reservoir. Downstream of the Las Vegas Lake was a stretch of the las Vegas Wash, kept flowing with water let out of the reservoir. Further downstream the wash merges with the Colorado River at the larger human-made reservoir of Lake Mead. The parking area by the trailhead was a large gravel flats. A few other cars were parked there and seeing some of the people near the cars we figured that this was a water access spot and that people come here to enjoy the water. 

Our hike as captured by my GPS

The trail was wide and flat, and easy to walk on. We didn't see any birds yet though. We expected to see them near the water. There were plenty of creosote bushes all around but they, as were the other shrubs that we saw, looked pretty dry. 

Wetland Trail

The wash was very close but it wasn't visible: we were on the high plateau where the trail was, and the wash was running in a narrow crevice it cut in the ground. All that was seen from above was the line that marked where it was. 

A narrower path branched off from the main trail and we followed it to the edge of the wash. Below us, nt very deep really, was a lovely blue strip of running water flanked on both sides by thick riparian vegetation. 

Right below us was a concrete step that stretched across the water and from which the water dropped down in a wide and low waterfall. It looked like at some point there was a low dam there. 

I followed the Las Vegas wash with my eyes and my camera until it curved and the water flowed out of my view. On the horizon rose a few short mountain chains that looked low and very arid. Lake Mead was somewhere there, but we had not direct view of it. 

We returned to the main trail and resumed walking to the wash. When we reached the edge of the wash once more we chose to descend on a narrow foot path that took us directly down.  

As soon as we started descending down the wall of the wash we started seeing greener vegetation. One of the first green shrubs that I noticed was the pygmy cedar. 

The pygmy cedar isn't a cedar at all. It isn't even a relative of cedar. It is a shrub of the aster family and to my utter surprise, it had a bit of a bloom. 

We reached the water and although we came down there looking for birds, the first beings we saw were other human beings. The people that were down there weren't birders - they were there play in the water. 

Maybe it was because of the people's presence, but all of the waterfowl that we saw were on the other side of the wash. 

Pappa Quail and the elder chika trained their cameras on the birds and identified a few species of ducks there, none new to what we've already seen earlier that morning at the birding center.

American Wigeon (center pair), Gadwal (top left), American Coot (bottom left, blurry)

The other bird that Pappa Quail noticed there was an American Pippit. Although familiar to us, it was the first time we've seen it on this trip. 

American Pippit

We continued east along the wash, distancing ourselves from the other people in the hope of seeing more birds, and closer. 

I let my family birders search for the birds while I admired the local geology.  Although not as spectacular as what we've seen in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and in the Valley of Fire State Park, it was still pretty nice to look at and try to figure out the layer system there. 

And I did find another blooming plant too - the flatcrown buckwheat. I saw no leaves on the ground but the flowering stems where full of the little red flowers, giving the little plant the appearance of and ornamented tree skeleton. 

Flatcrown Buckwheat, Eriogonum deflexum

We neared the end of the convenient path. Moving any further east would require us to balance on broken rocks and large pebbles and to bushwhack through the vegetation. We chose to not do that, but we did stay there for some time, looking around and enjoying the view. 

Pappa Quail and the elder chika soon found something else to look at a sole rock wren that eyed us from a nearby rock. Pappa Quail commented that this wren probably didn't read the memo about waiting for us in the parking lot as did all the other rock wrens we've seen on this trip. 

Rock Wren

I gazed at the quickly flowing water, a line of life running through the arid desert. In this particular area a large city was built that is fed water from this wash and from the Colorado River, and electricity from the turbines of Hoover Dam. The wash water comes from the entire basin of Las Vegas, including the snow-capped Spring Mountains where we hiked on the previous day. 

Las Vegas Wash

An American kestrel perched on a bare branch higher on the bank cliffs and we all turned our attention to the beautiful little raptor. 

American Kestrel

I also admired the riparian vegetation that was growing at the wash banks. A thick belt of low reeds was right at the water, and taller reeds made another thick belt further up the shore. Between them were other plants, most of which I didn't identify. I did recognize however, the invasive tamarisk among them.  

The tall reeds too are not native to this part of the world. By now though, they have become completely naturalized and provide shelter and food to little bush birds. 

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

On our way back up the wash bank some cormorants flew by and the elder chika captured one of them in fight. 

Double-crested Cormorant

On our way out of the wash and back to the high plateau we chose to ascend the dirt road slope, which was faster and more comfortable to walk on. 

While ascending the dirt road I had the opportunity to look closely at some of the finer geological layers, laid down by ancient flood times in the area. 

By the time we were coming up from the wash it was already afternoon and the sun was getting lower. The dirt road was completely shaded by then but the upper plateau was lit still. I loved the illumination effect it had n the creosote bushes higher up. 

Creosote, Larrea tridentata

We didn't linger any more in the area. On the quick walk back to the parking lot I paused only briefly because I saw a wildflower that I missed on the way down - a desert trumpet that still had a few flowers open on it. 

Desert Trumpet, Eriogonum inflatum 

This was the last hike of our 2020 winter family trip to Las Vegas. After that we pointed ur car to the northwest and drove straight home, with only short breaks to fuel the car and our bodies. A trip that begun with great disappointment of not being able to go camping in Death Valley, turned out to be a lovely desert exploration and finding the natural treasures in a place known better for gambling and other types of recreation that are farther from our family style as Pluto is from the Sun. We didn't insert a single quarter into any slot machine, but we left Las Vegas with a true jackpot in our hearts.

This post also concludes catching up with writing about my hikes in 2020. We hiked a lot in 2021 as well and in that year I wrote even less, so there's more catching up to do still. That is however, still in the future. 

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.