r/NevadaNature

Hi!!! I opened up new slots for my sunrise hikes on Airbnb experiences, if you’re a local or visiting Vegas this summer/fall and are looking for a cool, de-stimulating outdoor activity with fresh, authentic Sicilian breakfast bites and 1-of-1 views overlooking Las Vegas, check it out! ☀️

Feel free to reach out with any questions or special requests. This is one of my favorite hikes in the world, and a place I find peace in such a busy city. I hope to share it with you!

I was passing through town on a road trip, and last night I slept at Water Canyon, I think it was campsite 1 which was at the corner of a turn off and the main road. At around 4am, after already being awake for about an hour (insomnia!!) I decided to get up to pee. I heard my neighbors at the site like 50 yards away stirring a little bit, and I knew they had their labradoodle in the tent with them, too. Honestly I thought my shuffling around might've woken them, the sound carried easily.

Before peeing I go around to the backside of my tent to close the rain fly zipper, and then I look up and literally 30 feet away from me, just beyond my car, walking away from my neighbors and toward the main road, a giant, dark canine. Shape I could best describe as a large German shepherd. I freaked out and got back in my tent as it rounded the corner onto the main road, which passed the backside of my tent with only like 5 feet of bushes in between. I heard it panting as it passed and I yelled to scare it off.

I talked to my neighbors this morning and they thought a weird person was maybe stalking around, but they said their dog was growling, and then they heard me yell. BLM guy drove by this morning as I was packing up and I told him the story, he was super surprised. I was planning to call the Dept of Wildlife when they opened but he called them up for me. Guy came out and I told him my story, he said he would look around.

Wondering if anyone else has seen/heard of any lone wolf sightings in the area! Obviously not impossible... though there aren't any established groups, there's cattle nearby and plenty of deer and other available prey.

Just freaked me the fuck out. I didn't sleep again until well after it got light out.

TLDR; camping at Water Canyon, left my tent to pee in the middle of the night, saw a huge canine that really could only have been a wolf pass me at 30 feet, reported the sighting to NDOW in the morning.