By Janet Carter

After the long shutdown, the Southern Nevada Group has finally begun Outings again! A small but enthusiastic group of hikers joined leader Jason H. on a five mile trek around the White Rock Mountain Loop in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The weather was perfect and everyone had a great time!

Our next scheduled outing is a visit to the Corn Creek Visitor’s Center of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge north of Las Vegas. This family-friendly event will feature a ranger-guided tour of the loop trail at the center, as well as a visit to the pond that is now home to some relocated endangered Pahrump Poolfish. The walk is about a mile long. Children are welcome as long as they are accompanied by a parent or guardian, and there are always many great opportunities for wildlife viewing at the reserve! The DNWR is the largest wildlife refuge in the lower 48 states, and was established in 1936 primarily to protect the desert bighorn sheep. Southern Nevada Group outings are open to all free of cost; you do not have to be a member to join. You can sign up for the event here or at our Southern Nevada Group Meet Up page.

We are hoping to have a wide variety of outings over the next few months, and hope to have something for everyone! There should be some overnight camping/hiking trips coming as well! Our summer outings will be to locations where hopefully you can escape the heat a bit and enjoy some of the beauty of the mountains that surround the region. Please join us! If you are interested in training to be a local outings leader, you can contact our Toiyabe Chapter Volunteer Coordinator, Teresa Bell, at tbell100@yahoo.com.

Please know that previous Covid restrictions by the Sierra Club have been lifted as of February 2023, and replaced by a general Outings communicable disease policy that asks for common sense precautions such as isolating individuals who have symptoms of illness and asking those who are not well to not attend the outing.  If you attend a Sierra Club Outing, please be aware that there are no vaccine, mask, or testing mandates in place.  Obviously, it is your choice on whether to attend the outing knowing this information, but please stay home and rest if you aren't well!  We promise there will be more fun trips to look forward to!