Re: The Old Spanish Trail

Destination: Old Spanish Trail Distance from Point of Origin: 26 miles Estimated (One Way) Travel Time: 40 minutes. Directions:  Head southwest on S Las Vegas Blvd go 1.7 miles and turn right onto Spring Mountain Rd. G .7 miles and turn left to merge onto I-15 South. Travel 5.5 miles and take exit 33 to merge onto NV-160 W/Blue Diamond Rd/SR-160 (aka Pahrump Highway) west toward Pahrump. Heading west on NV-160 go past NV-159, the turn to Red Rock Canyon.  The location of the historic marker for this portion of the Old Spanish Trail is at milepost 17, on the left side of NV-160. Turn left onto a dirt road just before the historic marker and drive about a half mile to the parking area. General Description:  Explored, in part, by Spanish explorers as early as the late 1500s, this historical trade route has often been called the most arduous pack mule caravan route in the history of America. The trail saw extensive use by pack trains from about 1830 until the mid-1850s. The map below outlines the trail from its beginnings, near Santa Fe New Mexico to its conclusion at Los Angles Plaza in California. Approximately 1,200 miles long, it ran through areas of high mountains, arid deserts, and deep canyons. During this period, Mexican and American traders took woolen goods west over the trail by mule train, and returned eastward with California mules and horses for the New Mexico and Missouri markets. The following was taken from the historical marker found at this location – “This portion of the Old Spanish Trail was discovered in January, 1830, by Antonio Armijo during his first trip from Santa Fe to Los Angeles. The spring just north of this marker provided excellent water and fed meadows of luxuriant grass for draft animals. Two days were required to travel between Las Vegas and Mountain Springs Pass. The trip was broken at Cottonwood Springs, the site of Blue Diamond, where an early start was usually made in order to climb the pass by nightfall. Early travelers often referred to the area as Piute Springs, but the present title has been used for over a century. The altitude made Mountain Springs one of the favorite camping spots on the trail.” Special Attraction or Points of Interest: Great desert vistas and spectacular views of the the Wilson Cliffs inside the Red Rock National Conservation Area and the eastern cliffs of  the Mount Potosi range to the west. Primary Activity: Hiking. Secondary Activities: Photographing. Elevation: 4,270 feet. Best Time To Visit: Available for visitation and hiking year round, the best time to make this hike would be in the cooler months of Fall, Winter and Spring. Difficulty: Easy. Most of the terrain here is flat easy walking. Facilities: None. Estimated Round-trip Time: 3-4 hours. Personal Trip Notes: On 04/21/2011, I hiked the Old Spanish Trail at milepost 17 on NV-160 as part of a daytrip with the rock hounds from the Heritage Park Senior Facility.

Both of these shots (above and below) were taken looking northward on the return of my hike through this valley. If you look closely, you can see that the above shot is a close-up of the Wilson Cliffs shown in the center of the distant shot below.

Realizing that it is still early spring, I was still quite surprised to see how green the overall area appeared. I was able to view several desert plants and wild flowers in full bloom (above) and found grasses and lichen (below) growing of many of the rocks in the wash that ran parallel with the trail.

As you follow the trail south, the view west across the desert floor provides a great view of the eastern cliffs of Mount Potosi, which turned out to be the second stop on our journey. If you look closely at the far ridge just left of center in the above picture, you can just barely make out the half dozen radio towers located at the very top of the mountain.

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