Sloan Canyon 06-12-2016

  Today may be our last morning with temps in the 80's for a while, so we headed out to Sloan Canyon. This was our first trip back since the new paved road and visitor center have been installed. It definitely makes the trip to the trail head much less of an adventure, but the days of diving up and parking at the entrance of the canyon are over. The new trail head sits up on a hill and adds a decent amount of extra mileage to the hike.

On the positive side, the new visitors center is a great addition. We were greeted in the parking lot by an extremely cheerful and knowledgeable ranger that answered all of our questions. They have also added an portable restroom outside the visitor center and that is always a good addition. 

    With the changes to the trail configuration, the Sloan Canyon hike now starts out heading downhill on solid footing. Once you get to the y-intersection and head up the wash on trail 100, the footing becomes less solid and is almost sandy. This is still a rather easy hike but the loose ground definitely makes you exert a bit more energy.

Eventually we reached the old parking lot at the beginning of the canyon. From this point forward, the trail remains the same as it has always been. I believe due to BLM conservation /wilderness area rules, no new signage or man-made structures can be added, so this area should remain natural and wild. 

    We decided not to do the full trail 100 to 200 loop today. Instead we hiked up to the petroglyph gallery, spent some time looking at the immense rock art collection,

hiked a little way up around the corner and then retraced our path back down the wash. Just a heads up to anyone who also only hikes the the gallery then turns around, going down the dry pour-overs is a bit more challenging than climbing up them. We made it down without incident but you should mentally map out your path down as you are heading up the pour-overs. 

    Today was a great hike, as Sloan Canyon always is. With all the new improvements, I would recommend people head out as soon as possible to this trail. Soon there will be subdivisions completed all around Sloan Canyon and I anticipate BLM will be advertising the new accesibility of this trail. All of that adds up to crowded trails and a loss of solitude. The rock art on this trail is so amazing and really is a treasure that needs to be appreciated by all Valley residents but getting out and hiking Sloan Canyon in the lonely, peaceful morning is something special. 

White Owl Canyon

Today's plan was to drive up to the Moapa  area and explore Arrow Canyon. A late start and expected warm weather put an end to that trip. So we headed back out to Lake Mead for a hike we know well, White Owl Canyon. We start the hike at the old Lake Mead boat ramp and use the shoreline trail. It is a well marked trail that follows the wash till it empties into Lake Mead. You can take side trails that will lead you into slot canyons or follow it until it reaches the lake and then into the wash that leads into White owl Canyon. The only tricky part to this hike is at the point the wash narrows and leads to a fork.

White Owl Canyon is to the left, if you choose right the path is much tougher and less interesting.  Once in the canyon, the evidence of owls is everywhere. We have had little luck seeing owls in the past but today we got lucky. We saw two different owls hunting in the slot canyons. It may have been because today was one of the first really warm days of the year and the lizards were everywhere.

 The hike continues up the canyon and through two culverts. After the second culvert, the one that takes you under the river mountain loop trail, you should look for cairns on your right that mark a trail up out of the wash and onto the bike/walking trail. The river mountain loop trail is great for biking but is rather boring for walking and gets very hot in the summer. 

Unfortunately to make this hike into a loop it is a necessary part of the trip. We chose to follow the trail all the way back to the boat ramp. You can exit the bike trail and take a slot canyon back towards the wash but some of these canyons have very difficult areas or even dead ends so plan ahead before dropping into an unknown area. This is a great easy four mile loop that, due to all of the water sources, give you the opportunity to see lots of wildlife.

On today's hike we purposely avoided the nesting owl from my previous post. We want to give her owlets a chance to grow a little bit before we check on their progress. 

White Owl Canyon 03-28-2015

Today we did a very short hike to check on an Owl pair we came across last year. The image above is from the end of April 2014. I still find it impossible to look at these owls without cracking up. This year we have seen an owl back on the same nest but no young ones. Today we decided to do a quick check to see if there are any new additions to this owl family. We only saw the mature owl sitting on the nest. I took a few quick pics and we were on our way. Once back home, I downloaded the photos and to my surprise, two baby owls hidden in the back of the nest. 

We do not want to stress newborns so we will give them some space and check back in a week or so to view their progress. Let's hope everyone stays healthy and grows up to be as cute as last years pair. 

Sloan Canyon 03-22-2015

Today we hiked Sloan Canyon in hopes of finding some spring wildflowers. Things have changed since the last time I was here.

BLM has blocked off the last part of the road and moved the parking area about a half mile back from the old trailhead.   So to get to the start of trail 100 you need to walk down the old road.  

Once at the trail head, we chose to make a clockwise loop using the marked trails 100 and 200. The trail starts in a wide wash with great volcanic geology ( BLM   page on Sloan Canyon geology - sloan canyon geology ). Moving through the wash there is a series of dry falls. Most are simple to climb up and require minimal skill.

Immediately after the last dry fall you will enter into the Petroglyph Gallery. Everywhere you look you will find petroglyphs on rocks. It is an amazing and special area.

I fear  the large amount of development encroaching on this canyon will gradually deteriorate the quality of this pristine canyon. After the amount of petroglyphs start to slow, trail 100 will wind around and meet up with trail 200.

As soon as you see the marker for 200 look immediately to your right and take the trail that heads up the hill. This trail will guide you up, great views of Henderson, and over the hill and Eventually the trail will  meet back up with trail 100 near the Sloan Canyon trailhead. 

Unfortunately we were a bit too early for the wildflowers. Many buds are showing so maybe a week or two more.  In years past, this canyon has been filled with amazing color. So we will try to get back soon to check on the wildflower status. Even without the stunning wildflowers, this is a must do hike to see the great geology and the massive amount of rock art.