OUTDOORS: Canyon hikes make an impact

Slot canyons are always enchanting to hike through.

With their narrow walls, towering to neck-wrenching heights, standing within them can be a humbling experience, making you realize just how small you are compared to the earth. These canyons, dramatic results of erosion, are more commonly found in Southern Utah and Arizona, but there are a handful of excellent ones in Southern Nevada if you know where to find them.

One of the finest in our area is Arrow Canyon, just northwest of Moapa, about an hour's drive from Las Vegas. Here, you'll not only find the delightful Arrow Narrows, but an opportunity to see petroglyphs and visit an old dam. Because the hike has minimal elevation gain with no high drop-offs, it is suitable for children, but at a distance of almost five miles round trip, much of it walking on a rocky surface, the entire trip is long for younger ones.

The hike begins at the parking pullout at the wilderness boundary signs. Although it appears that you could drive farther, motorized travel past here is illegal. Walk up the easy-to-follow rocky road through a broad canyon for about a mile, where you will find the obvious entrance to the narrows. If you didn't notice the petroglyphs before the entrance, backtrack about 20 yards to the rock outcropping on the left, or southeast, where you'll find panel after panel of them.

Arrow Canyon is the namesake for the Arrow Canyon Wilderness. Its northeastern border runs down the middle of the canyon. The wilderness, designated in 2002, encompasses a total of 27,530 acres.

The Arrow Narrows are in some places only 20 feet apart with walls towering 400 feet in areas. This is one of those hikes where you might get so eager to see what's around the next bend, you could easily miss some splendid things along the way. If you take it slow and look around, you'll be treated to a multitude of surprises. Look for a hole or window, set within a high cliff wall on the left. There are also many smooth, rounded depressions on the walls, telltale signs of tanks or natural water catchments, many accessed with some easy rock scrambling.

There is more rock art within the narrows, some you might not notice until your return. You probably won't miss the more obvious panels that have been sadly damaged and scarred. Most of these seem to have been done long ago, and we can hope today's visitors will refrain from such inexcusable vandalism.

After about three-quarters of a mile, the walls widen and you will come to a fork. The rocky surface, that you have been traveling along, heads left or south and this is a good direction to explore, if you have the time. To travel to the upper canyon and dam though, head right. You will find a striking difference in the terrain from here on up the canyon. A well worn dirt path meanders its way up stream through a highly vegetated area. The trail has uneven footing and as you make your way up, you'll find plenty of slippery grass and mossy areas.

About one third of a mile after leaving the narrows you'll arrive at a large alcove which runs about 50 yards long, set in the left wall. Look above for evidence left from rock climbers who had placed hardware here to aid their way up the steep canyon wall. Climbing is a totally appropriate use of this area but installing such protective devices is no longer allowed, because of the wilderness status. But what was already there, The Bureau of Land Management has left in place, because removing it would actually cause more damage to the canyon wall.

Continuing up the canyon you'll find the area becomes densely vegetated and you will have to do some light bushwhacking. Watch out for the hundreds of mesquite and catclaw bushes. Their thorny branches seem to jump out at you, attaching to any available surface; stealing a hat, ripping a shirt and drawing blood from bare skin.

After almost two-and-one-half miles from the trailhead your progress will be blocked by a 38-foot-tall dam, with a smaller 6-foot dam below, which serves as a water catchment. The dams are thought to have been built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933. Earlier this month the catchment, at its deepest, had about a foot of water in it. If it doesn't check out the mud here for animal tracks to see who might have visited this valuable resource.

Deborah Wall is the author of "Great Hikes, A Cerca Country Guide," published by Stephens Press. She can be reached at Deborah@hikingthewest.com.