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Before You Hit the Trail

Many who read this book will already be experienced and capable hikers. But if they got that experience and developed those capabilities elsewhere, they may still find it worthwhile to read some general observations about hiking in this particular region.

It’s been one of my own experiences that while experience is famously the best teacher, she’s rather a mean one. It’s often less painful to get your lesson from somebody else’s trials and errors. These things the author has learned, sometimes through her own pain, and sometimes, thankfully, that of others.

About Water

By definition, deserts are places where water is scarce. Furthermore, even where water sources are reliable, it’s never safe to drink without the hassle of treating it.

For the latter reason I recommend carrying all your own water on day hikes. The easiest way to do this is by having a water hydration system in your backpack. If you are purchasing a new daypack many come with them already installed, but if not, you can buy the reservoirs or bladders separately. They come in various sizes from about thirty to one hundred ounces and each has a hose running from the top which lies on your chest with a bite valve on the end.

Hydration packs are available even in small sizes, encouraging kids to drink enough water.

Experts recommend a minimum of one gallon of water per person, per day. Even on short hikes, I start with one hundred ounces of water — more than a gallon and a half. I might not use it, but in case of emergency where I am out longer than expected, or if someone in my group needs extra, it comes in handy. Once I had a mishap with my hydration pack many miles into a strenuous hike and lost just about all my water. On trips where it may be several hours to the next water source, I now carry two separate bladders with at least fifty ounces of water in each.

Water is heavy and weighs about eight and three-tenths pounds per gallon, but is worth the extra burden. And you can take some consolation in the fact that the more you drink, the less it weighs. However, relying on water alone to get you by is a danger in itself, so be sure to have lots of salty snacks and other types of food to eat.

Flash flooding

One of the biggest dangers of hiking this region is flash flooding. Even a small amount of rain can quickly become a raging torrent when the runoff of a large area is concentrated into a narrow canyon or wash, taking everything in that wash, including the occasional hiker, downstream with it.

Flash flooding can happen quickly and without warning in desert washes and canyons.

Be aware that it can be a cloudless day where you are, but be raining upstream from your location. Having weather information is one of the most useful functions of visitor centers at state and federal parks; always ask there about the flash flood danger before setting out.

Taking such signs seriously can save your life.

In this area the summer monsoon season is July and August, but storms and flash flooding can occur any month of the year. Since so many good hikes are up canyons and washes, form the habit of constantly looking for signs of past flooding episodes on their walls and on any trees growing in them. Sometimes you will have to look dozens of feet high up to see where water levels have reached in the past. Look for pieces of wood, twigs and other debris, which are often wedged into the cliff walls or stuck in tree branches, marking the past flood level.

As you travel along, keep a constant eye out for an escape route or easily accessed high ground that is above the highest water mark. Always be alert for rumbling sounds and, when hiking in sight of running water, be aware of subtle changes in the stream. Either of these could warn you of an impending flood, and is cause to seek high ground that very moment.

Never set up camp in a wash or in the low area of a canyon. And if you see water flowing in a dry wash or rising higher in a wet one, do not attempt to cross it. Climb to higher ground and wait it out. It usually doesn’t take long for the water to recede.

Hypothermia and how to dress in cold weather

“But it was surprising, the rapidity with which his cheeks and nose were freezing. And he had not thought his fingers could go lifeless in so short a time. Lifeless they were, for he could scarcely make them move together to grab a twig, and they seemed remote from his body and from him. When he touched a twig, he had to look and see whether or not he had hold of it.”

— From Jack London’s “To Build a Fire,” 1908

In this classic short story, London realistically describes a case of hypothermia, frostbite, and other horrible consequence that can happen when an ill-prepared person faces prolonged exposure in freezing temperatures. These hundred years later, spending time outdoors can be safer, for we have much better weather forecasting, as well as more suitable equipment and clothing. But you’ll need to take advantage of them.

Hypothermia can begin when the body’s core temperature falls even a few degrees below its norm of about 98.6 degrees (this varies somewhat from person to person). What you might not know is that it doesn’t even take freezing temperatures to make that happen. Spending a prolonged time outdoors on a rainy and windy day, even at temperatures in the fifties, can easily lead to hypothermia.

When heading outdoors for a winter hike or a snowshoeing excursion you probably know to bring the essential items including water, map, compass, sunscreen and sunglasses, extra food, extra clothing, headlamp, first-aid kit, fire-starter, and a knife. What is also crucial is to be well nourished and hydrated, to have the proper clothing, and to avoid getting wet or exposed to excessive wind.

Dress in layers of clothing and at all costs avoid cotton, which loses its insulating qualities if it becomes wet. A well-thought-out layering system for your body’s core will keep you warm for even extended periods of time outdoors, even in freezing temperatures. Depending on the conditions you expect to encounter, choose the weight of these layers in light, mid or heavyweight fabrics.

Your first layer should ideally be a synthetic wicking fabric like Capoline, Coolmax, polypropylene, or some other man-made fabric; second best would be silk or wool. This layer is crucial in keeping you dry because these best fabrics won’t absorb moisture from perspiration, but rather lift it out to evaporate.

The second layer should be something like a synthetic fleece jacket or vest; wool is the second-best choice. This is your insulating layer, which will hold in body heat. For extreme low temperatures, a down-filled jacket will also work well — as long as you can guarantee it won’t get wet.

Your outer layer should be some sort of a shell jacket or coat. This serves two purposes: It keeps the wind, rain or snow out, but still allows moisture to escape. Ideally find one that is a longer style so when you take that well-deserved break in some situation like sitting on a snow-covered rock, or while riding a ski lift, your derriere remains warm.

For winter hiking, snowshoeing or skiing, I have found the same layering system also works well for the lower body. In wet weather my outer layer is full-length side-zipped pants of Gore-Tex or other waterproof fabric. Side zippers are handy because if the weather clears up, you can take off the outer pants easily, without removing your boots. In heavy snow or rain, add some knee-high gaiters.

Don’t forget good waterproof hiking boots and proper winter hiking socks — again, no cotton, but a polyester, acrylic, or wool blend that will wick moisture. Add good gloves that are insulated and waterproof. When you return home from the outdoors, store those gloves in your pack or in your jacket pockets at all times, because gloves are what people often forget. Top it all off with a warm fleece or wool hat, or even better, a balaclava.

I have seen even the most seasoned outdoorsmen neglect to bring some crucial layer, usually the outer shell, knowing they will warm up just minutes after beginning strenuous activity. It is best to at least carry along all the clothes you might need in an emergency. You might be carrying more bulk and a little more weight, but if some unforeseen event keeps you in the weather longer than you expected, it could save your life.

Consider how many ways that could happen: A day hike could take much longer than expected and force an overnight bivouac; you could get lost; some member of the party might get sick or hurt, requiring that person and another to stay outdoors while someone else went for help; your friend who is to pick you up at the far end of a through hike might get delayed. These and more all happen.

Encourage all members of your group to learn the early warning signs of hypothermia, and watch for them in each other. Knowing the symptoms will help you take action before hypothermia advances past the early stages. Initial symptoms include shivering, numbness in limbs and some lack of coordination.

If you suspect even a mild case of hypothermia take it seriously. Find shelter and a heat source, remove all wet clothing and replace with dry, and help the person move around to warm his body. Offer the victim warm sweet drinks, non-alcoholic. If the victim begins to appear drunk, confused, or non-responsive, these are worse symptoms. You need to seek professional medical attention immediately, as the treatment changes in every stage of hypothermia. Hypothermia can rapidly become life-threatening.

No matter how prepared you are, a fall into cold water will bring on hypothermia even quicker. You will lose body heat about twenty-five percent faster than in cold air, and the longer you are in the water the lower your chances of survival.

Hikers head out on the slickrock in Zion National Park, Utah.

It’s worth knowing that disposable butane cigarette lighters will light even after being immersed several minutes in water, while traditional fluid-filled lighters, and of course matches, will not. And it’s worth knowing that a two-inch stub of ordinary dining-table candle, placed inside a miniature teepee built of wet twigs and then lit, will dry the wood enough to ignite it. Your teepee fire will sustain itself even in steady rain, burning from the sheltered inside and drying its own fuel as you add even wet wood to the outside.

Many years ago I was part of a group of four, out for what was supposed to be about ten hours of midwinter canyoneering. We had to take an unplanned yet necessary ten-minute swim in a canyon pool complete with small icebergs. After this, things went downhill quickly.

One disoriented person in our party wandered away and simply vanished. Unwilling to abandon our lost friend, the rest of us used up the daylight looking for him, and had to spend the night huddled together, uncertain that we ourselves would survive.

All of us heard voices that weren’t there, became delirious, and had trouble standing. If not for our essential emergency equipment, being properly dressed and in top physical condition, we probably wouldn’t have lived through it.

With much difficulty the next morning, two of us were able to stumble out many miles to seek help, and the two others, including the one who had become separated from the group, were rescued the following day. Some of us lost toenails, which seemed uncomfortably close to losing toes, and one of the survivors said he couldn’t feel the ends of his toes for years afterward.

Nowadays setting out on a hike, I’m no longer too shy to ask a casual acquaintance what kind of underwear she, or even he, is wearing.

Rattlesnakes

When it comes to rattlesnakes, the world is divided into two groups; those who have a healthy fear of them, and those who become completely unglued even seeing a picture of one.

Mojave green rattlesnake.

Since I moved to the West in the 1990s, I have come across a few dozen rattlers but only once, down by Lake Mohave, have I seen one try to attack. One of my daughters, who was twelve at the time, reached up on a rocky ledge, without looking first. This startled a rattlesnake, which lurched out at her without any warning.

To this day, I have never again seen my daughter fly, or felt the horror of seeing fangs come within an inch of a person’s face. Not surprisingly, she is still terrified of rattlesnakes.

The most important rule to avoid getting bitten is to never put any part of your body anywhere that you haven’t looked first.

Rattlers enjoy temperatures from seventy to ninety degrees, so in this region, late spring and fall are the times you’re most likely to encounter them. By day, you might stumble upon a snake sunning itself on a boulder or in a wash. Once the sun goes down your worries are not over; these creatures hunt at night.

Learn to recognize the rattlesnakes in the area you will be hiking. If you ever did get bitten, the doctors would want to know what kind bit you. In the more likely event you just see one, you’ll want to tell others what you saw, simply to share an outdoor experience.

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area at sunrise.

Around Southern Nevada there are the sidewinder, Mojave, speckled and the western diamondback, but throughout the areas covered in this book there are many other varieties. Identifying the different types is easiest from photographs, or a book like the National Audubon Society’s Field Guide to North American Reptiles & Amphibians.

Look at the unique patterns and colors, and keep in mind the adult size of each type. Of the four in southern Nevada the sidewinder is smallest, never more than a couple of feet long, but the western diamondback can grow to well over six feet. Mojave and speckled rattlers reach lengths somewhere in between.

Mojave rattlesnakes, which often have a green tinge to their skin, have a more dangerous poison than others, but are said to be more reclusive and therefore less frequently encountered.

Although people bitten by rattlesnakes sometimes die, most do not. One reason they don’t is that most bites are not charged with a full dose of poison, because one fang or the other often fails to penetrate. About half of bites are entirely dry ones, meaning no venom has been released. And most bites are to legs or hands, giving victims time to seek treatment before the poison spreads to vital organs. They have excellent chances of survival if they keep their heads and get to the nearest hospital promptly.

In getting there, however, they should avoid increasing blood circulation, because that will spread the venom quicker. That means the victim must not run a half-mile for help. Walk. Even better, if time and circumstance allow, is to bring a vehicle to the victim. Otherwise, if the person bitten is small enough, consider carrying him or her.

Never use the old-fashioned first-aid technique you see in Western movies — cutting the flesh and trying to suck the poison out. It’s ineffective.

According to many experts the best method is to use constriction bands, like tight Ace bandages, between the area of the bite and the heart. Do not make them as tight as a true tourniquet, which would cut off all the blood flow and possibly lead to losing the entire limb. You just want to constrict the flow somewhat.

The majority of my rattlesnake encounters have been while hiking in desert washes. Most of the critters heard me coming and I watched as they slowly slithered away under a bush or other shelter. Some can be more stubborn and stand their ground, in which case I am happy to make a wide detour around them.

A few years ago while I was aboard a boat, also on Lake Mohave, a fellow passenger noticed a rattlesnake floating in the river. He had the bright idea of scooping up the dead snake with a paddle to show us what it looked like. This snake turned out to be very much alive. This is approximately how most snakebites occur — meddling with snakes. Leave them alone and they’ll usually return the favor.

Pictographs were painted on rock.

Petroglyphs and pictographs

Petroglyphs and pictographs, or “rock writings” as some call them, can be found on natural rock faces throughout our area.

Long ago, people pecked, carved or etched designs through the desert varnish, a dark coating that forms naturally on rock surfaces in dry climates. Where the varnish was scraped away, the lighter rock surface beneath showed through and made the design, called a petroglyph, visible at a distance. Pictographs were painted on rock and today, survive mostly in caves, alcoves, and other places sheltered from weathering.

Many of the images are easily recognizable as mountain sheep or human beings, but others seem less representational, perhaps standing for concepts rather than objects. Despite years of study, scientists understand relatively little of the writings’ meaning and context. It is believed many were made by ancestors of the same Native American peoples, who have occupied the Southwest in recent history. But other writings in Nevada are as much as 6,000 years old, and are associated with cultures that vanished long ago.

Both petroglyphs and pictographs are very fragile and are irreplaceable. Never touch rock art as the natural oils on our hands will damage it. Also, don’t climb or sit on boulders that contain rock art. Many boulders are unstable and could easily dislodge, not only displacing an important part of history but also endangering you and other visitors. If you want a closer look, bring binoculars.

Defacing a petroglyph, or taking one for a souvenir, is irresponsible and seriously illegal. Many were so lost in the past, but in recent years people have faced federal prosecution for such offenses.

Personally, I feel too reverent toward petroglyphs to even consider harming one. To look at some petroglyphs is to ponder a message from people who lived before the rise of Rome! What did they mean to tell those of us who came after? Whatever the intended message, the one I always read Is this: That our culture is only a steward of this land, and not its owner. We are not the first, and perhaps may not be the last, to hold dominion here.

Hiking with Children

Giving your child an outdoor lifestyle

One of the greatest gifts parents can give their children is an appreciation of the outdoors, and one of the easiest ways to do this is taking them hiking. You won’t put many miles on your boots, but you will be laying a foundation for a lifetime admiration of the natural world. The key is to go at their pace, allowing plenty of time to go short distances, so they can take pleasure in the details like wildlife, flowers, plants, and rocks.

Up to the age of three or so, hiking with kids is fairly easy. For the most part they’ll walk a short ways on their own and get tired, whereupon you can put them in a child carrier-pack and be on your mutual way. Once they are too heavy to carry, the real work begins. You’ll want to keep them moving and interested in their surroundings, so the trail becomes an exciting adventure.

Desert tortoise.

Besides an eagerness to explore, children need a few things for hiking. Most you already own: comfortable yet rugged clothing that you can layer, a hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, a whistle to hang around each child’s neck, and either hiking boots or sneakers, with good tread. Add their favorite snacks and water. Many kids will have more fun if you bring each one’s favorite small stuffed animal or doll.

Parents have better luck when they select trails based on their children’s interests and abilities. Best bets are short loop trails that have a variety of things to see, or hikes to some rewarding destination, such as a waterfall, a great view, or even a field of boulders to play on.

Walking a quarter-mile trail could easily take an hour with kids who really like looking at rocks and lizards, but others just zip along, focused on the destination. Setting unrealistic goals is a mistake I have made many times, and I have paid for it by carrying a heavy and unhappy child miles back to the trailhead.

Boredom may kill any hike but can be beat with a few tricks. Older kids might want to learn how to use a compass or global positioning system, or read a map. All ages enjoy a contest such as seeing who can find the biggest cactus, rock, or tree; or who can spot the first jackrabbit, raven or lizard.

A laminated regional field guide to Southwestern desert life may have color pictures of familiar plants and animals in our area. No matter where you hike you will find at least one cactus, plant, or bird listed. When they identify something on the sheet, mark the date and location with a Sharpie and after just a few outings your child will have a simple diary. These field guides fold up flat and are available at park visitor centers and bookstores.

Consider buying your child one of the water hydration packs now used by nearly all seasoned hikers. If you’re not already familiar with them, they include bladder-style reservoirs that are filled with water or some other liquid, and inserted either into a traditional backpack or a backpack built for the specific purpose. In either case a tube with a valve runs from the top of the pack over your shoulder and lies on your chest. You bite down on the valve and the water flows freely.

Children (adults, for that matter) will drink more often from the convenient drinking tube than if they had to unscrew a canteen lid, so they’re less likely to become dehydrated. Furthermore, hydration systems keep your child’s hands free for safer climbing, or to break a fall if the child stumbles. Hydration packs come in dozens of sizes and have pockets for extra items like binoculars, food, and extra clothing.

It’s a good habit to repeat the family’s standing safety rules, and announce any new ones for the specific hike, at the trailhead before taking the first step. Some good standing rules are always staying on the trail, no running ahead, always wearing a whistle, and never putting hands and feet into holes and crevices. In my experience, discussing rules with a child leads to better compliance than simply decreeing them. Ask the child why such-and-such behavior isn’t a good idea, and the child will usually articulate a need for the rule.

The patience you’ll need to hike with children is great but the payoff is worth it; before you know it, your child will be willing and eager to head out on the trail at the next opportunity.

Leaving no trace

Visitors to public lands and even private ones are often encouraged to follow the “Leave No Trace” principles designed to maintain, for future use, the same lands we enjoy. The author agrees with this trend and the principles are reprinted here (courtesy of www.LNT.org) for the reader’s convenience.

The Leave No Trace Seven Principles

1. Plan Ahead and Prepare.

2. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces.

3. Dispose of Waste Properly.

4. Leave What You Find.

5. Minimize Campfire Impacts.

6. Respect Wildlife.

7. Be Considerate of Other Visitors.

The Southwest is famous for brilliant sunsets.