Trail Mix

     Editor's note: This story is the third in a five-part series about the development of a regional trail system in Southern Nevada. This week's installment: Trail preservation.

     A vandalized signpost off Interstate 15 near the Moapa Valley northeast of Las Vegas denotes a section of the Old Spanish Trail that passed between the Muddy River and the Las Vegas Springs.
      The marker -- one of many tall, slender concrete posts commissioned by the state of Nevada -- was erected along the historic trail to recognize its significance in the development of Southern Nevada. At least as early as 1829, traders, horse thieves, explorers, trappers and pioneers used the dirt path to find their way from one water source to the next along an arid stretch zig-zagging between Santa Fe and California, both part of New Spain.
      Travelers once passed through the unsettled Las Vegas Valley to stop at the Las Vegas Springs, three artesian wells in the middle of a huge meadow which formed the last oasis for northbound travelers until the Moapa Valley -- 60 miles to the northeast. When explorers John C. Fremont and Kit Carson came through valley from California in May 1844, they made explicit comments about their stop at Big Spring, which was just east of where the Meadows mall stands today, according to Frank Wright of the Nevada State Museum and Historical Society.
      "When (Fremont) came back (to the East from California) in 1844 and published his map with his wife, that's when this trail becomes known as the Spanish Trail," Wright said. "He had skilled, professional map makers with him and he specifically mentioned this site, so we know he came through here."
      Later in the century, settlers built ranches along the trail northeast of the springs, which would serve as the foundation for the city of Las Vegas.
      But like many of its commemorative signposts, the trail has deteriorated, and long segments are in danger of being lost forever to development and damage by vehicular use, according to Hal Steiner, the author of a book on the trail and president of the local chapter of the Old Spanish Trail Association, a multistate organization dedicated to preserving the trail and its history.
      Steiner is working with the Southern Nevada Regional Trails Partnership to re-establish the trail's place in the history of Southern Nevada and to foster public awareness and appreciation for what he considers one of the most important developments in the city's history.
      "One of the objectives of the regional trails group is to preserve some of these historic places," Steiner said.
      The condition of the 33 commemorative signposts underscores the difficulty of his goal. Many have been stolen, damaged or destroyed. According to Steiner's book, "The Old Spanish Trail Across the Mojave Desert," there are indications that gunfire and off-road vehicles have taken their toll on the 35-year-old monuments.
      The Old Spanish Trail is one of several routes through Southern Nevada that is worthy of special recognition, according to Wright. Other early pathways included the Arrowhead Trail -- which would become the first paved road to carry cars into town -- and the Mormon Road, which overlapped the Spanish Trail and led to Salt Lake City. A more recent one is the "Four Miles" stretch near present-day Boulder Highway, which was known during the Great Depression for its saloons and brothels -- businesses which were strictly forbidden to Hoover Dam workers in the 1930s.
      Another historic route linked to the dam is the railroad leading to Black Canyon. Officials with the Lake Mead National Recreation Area plan to convert the route to a paved multi-use trail under the National Park Service's "Rails to Trails" program.
      Jim Holland, management and program analyst for Lake Mead, said the route would follow the one that brought men and materials to the site of the dam. Recreational users could pass staging areas and storage yards littered with massive pieces of equipment used in the enormous project.
      "That railroad route definitely has a history," Holland said. "Those old boneyards are pretty neat to go walking through."
      Steiner's vision for the Old Spanish Trail is to see it re-marked as it was in 1965, and to incorporate its history along the way. He cites other states' efforts to preserve their segments of the trail, which also passes through New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and California.

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