Hiking a canyon in Reno NV May 21, 2011

My family and I moved to Reno NV 7 years ago and out our back door to the east we have a view of the hills that surround this area. Within these hills is a canyon/large wash that cascades down towards a local high school. In the evening the light hits it just right creating shadows and definition that has held me captive these last 7 years. Upon first laying eyes on this I have wanted to climb and/or hike it. 3 weeks ago this goal was accomplished.

My fellow co-worker Eric Peterson moved to the area a couple of years ago. After talking about
our mutual love of hiking he told me he had been looking at this canyon as well. This is my record of the hike.

On this day we were joined by my daughter Daisy (9 years old), Eric's wife Sara, their 2 year old daughter Bella and his 19 year old nephew Taylor.

 The day was partly cloudy, in the low to mid 60's with a slight breeze. The conditions were perfect.

We met at Eric and Sara's home. After loading into Eric's Jeep we drove to the trail head. We parked by the water tower that started the hike. After strapping on our backpacks we proceeded. The trail started on a gravel access road which ended after a few hundred yards. We broke trail up the spine of the hill that took us to the crest of summit and lead us into the canyon.

The trail we broke was lined with wild grass and sage. Small rocks dotted the hill. It became steep. After about 45 minutes we took a quick break for water and a look at the view. Below us a lone wild horse stood alone.

(View of Reno Looking North)

                                     

(Lone Wild Horse)

                                            

We continued up the spine. Sara had Bella strapped to her back. Neither one voiced a complaint. Periodically Bella would look back and point and say "Daisy" making sure we were still there. At some point we came to another steep section and Daisy looks at me and says "Daddy should I run up the hill"? Of course I say yes. Taylor joins her and they make the couple hundred yards without problem. Got to love the energy of youth.

We come to a stand of fragrant pines that are lined with mountain lupin, indian paintbrush, desert mules ear and these yellow flowers that smelled of vanilla. There is nothing better than seeing ones child discovering new ascetics and sharing them with others. After Daisy had Taylor smell the yellow flower she placed one into her hair.

(Daisy with Indian Paintbrush)

                                           

The higher we climbed the hill became steeper and the rocks larger. The gout in my knee was throbbing and I was moving slow. At 44 years old I was slightly shamed to be bringing up the rear. The rocks became head high and taller. Daisy, Eric and Taylor climbed a few. I did not dare with the bad knee.    

(L to R Daisy, Eric and Taylor)

                                       

The hike became steeper requiring us to traverse in a switch-back progression. The views afforded us vistas of downtown Reno and the snow covered Sierras. Finally we crested the hill. Eric tells me we have only travelled 1.5 miles. I question this and he tells me it is accurate. His wife Sara has brought her pedometer and the reading is correct. We have been hiking for more than a hour.

(Snow covered Sierras looking towards Mt Rose)

                             

(Deadwood House)

We start to head north on the ridge. To the east we are greeted with views of mountain tops, sage covered valleys and jeep trails. I see quite a few lines that we need to hike. Eric and Taylor are ahead of us. Sara continues to carry Bella without complaint. Impressive! A few minutes prior to this Eric and I stand on a ridge and he tells me if there was snow here it would make for some great ski lines. I agree. Eric and Taylor climb a small hill and come back down to tell us we need to see this. We hike the small hill and are awarded with the sight of a man-made structure put together with deadwood and large rocks that have been collected from the surrounding hills. The house is approximately 15X15 with 4 walls and two entrance points. There is a pair of blue jeans stuck in the southeast corner of the building. A couple of branches hold 2 cans of beans and a sleeping bag. This is recent. Someone lives here. Taylor finds a few discarded bones, which Sara (who is a science teacher) tells us they are from a horse. The west entrance has a grill and small fire pit for cooking. Daisy holds a bone and asks me "Can I keep this?" I tell her no.

As we travel more north I hear Taylor say "Eric you think I can clear this?" Eric says " Go for it." I look to my left and see Taylor standing on a large rock, launch himself over a dead tree and land on the slope before completing a somersault and landing on his feet. The jump was about 3 feet high and 6 feet long. Oh the beauty of youth! My first thought was that would kill my knee! I suddenly feel winded.

Daisy and I bring up the rear with Sara and Bella slightly ahead of us. The terrain is now becoming steep and rocky on the downward climb. My knee is of no use. It throbs and slows me. The group has to keep waiting for us. I am too old to be embarrassed. We travel  on.

As we top another hill we see the canyon below. To our south is a stable of wild horses. We take a few moments to watch them.We count about 15 with a few new borns in the mix.

(Stable of Wild Horses)

                                   

Leading into the mouth of the canyon, it becomes steep. My knee looks down and screams STOP! We continue on. The canyon starts at the crest. There is a narrow birth full of thorny thicket and rocks. We break for water. Eric, Sara and Taylor go ahead with Bella still strapped to Sara's back. Daisy and I proceed with caution. Desert lizards scurry about. We view the walls to our left and right getting taller. The rocks become boulders. Taylor travels ahead and then back to tell Daisy and I the best path to take. Bella looks back and points before saying "Daisy". We continue with no trail broke before us.

(Daisy and Taylor entering the canyon)

With rocks underfoot, sized from pebbles to softballs, we trek on down. The bushes thorns scratching our legs we continue on. Eric, Sara and Bella keep a good pace below. Taylor bounds about without effort. Daisy and I move slowly due to age and my knee. The trail or lack of one, keeps our pace slow.  My brain keeps asking for a pre-broken trail. There is not one. Every step I keep thinking it will get easier. This is not the case. The rocks are getting bigger. We enter sections that require bouldeirng skill. I step quietly from one to another. Daisy holds my hand as she steps delicately down the boulders.

After about a hour we come to a small clearing. We stop for water and strawberries which were bought at the local 7-11.

We enter sections that are rock covered and steep. I climb down a boulder, wait for Daisy and lift her down. We can hear Bella below discover the beauty of echo as she says "DAISY"!

We cherish the very small sections that are dirt covered. The smell of the mountain desert is intoxicating. The senses are alive with dirt, rocks, sage and discovery. My right shine is now bleeding from a climb down of a boulder. It does not hurt. I pour a little water to clean the wound without the sting that was expected.

Eric, Sara and Bella are now out of our sight.

The canyon turns to our left. The walls are now several stories high.

(Canyon Walls looking up into the canyon)

 Daisy is now getting very tired as would be expected from a 9 year old on a hike that was made for those with much more skill than the two of us. I briefly get a glimpse of Eric and Sara about a 1/4 mile below. Eric is now carrying Bella in his arms through the thorny thicket and over and down the boulders. At this point I have one of many fatherly proud moments that I have been lucky to experience. Daisy looks at me and Taylor and says "Are we the first one's to be here?" I tell her I am not sure. She says " I don't care if we are, cause I think we are just like all the other discoverer's. We are not afraid to try something new." At this she just keeps on walking with the contentment that a 9 year old possesses.

We come to another bouldering moment and after climbing down a 6 footer and lifting Daisy down, my phone rings. I feel John Muir, Bernard Devoto and Edward Abbey roll in their graves. I answer it. Eric tells me he is taking his wife and daughter to the car and will come back for us. This is during a point in the hike where I felt we may not make it out. My knee is killing me, the shin is still bleeding and poor Daisy looks exhausted.

We continue on.

Taylor is now with us. We come to a steep section and he shows us the easy way down. To my right are two boulders about 12 feet high and separated by about 6 feet of empty space. He asks me if he should "Parkour" this. I tell him no. He climbs down without jumping. I regret this. We travel on.

At the start of the hike we had noticed a couple of cars that had been rolled down from a jeep trail onto the mountain side. We enter a section of the hike where the cars are now visible. Taylor tells us he wants to inspect further as he perches himself on a large rock.

(Taylor on a large rock)

At this point Daisy and I take a moment to have some water and watch Taylor climb the hill. As he climbs Daisy becomes worried he may get hurt. His climb is very steep. As we watched him go up all I could see was a young man climbing on all fours. This was not hiking it was mountain climbing. Daisy kept calling after him as he disappeared behind large walls of rock. We heard her echo in response.

After about 30 minutes he returned with a car part not one of us recognized. There was a flat bed truck with no dead body up there he told us.


We continued on.

My phone rings and it is Eric, the 3 were still rolling in their graves. He told us he was headed back up. Daisy and my bad knee were beyond exhausted. My head was full of sweated hair and Daisy just wanted to end this. About 20 minutes later we see Eric bounding up the hill. He looked like he was ready to start the hike again.

The canyon opened up. We saw his car at the bottom of the hill. There were a few red-ant hills we had to negotiate. A man and his dog were just starting up the ridge to our right. He told us to stay on the horse trail. We did.

This hike was 4.5 miles. It took Daisy and I 5 hours to finish. A hike for the hardened. My little girl made me proud. She accomplished this with little complaint.

(The Canyon)

We made our way to Eric's car. Loaded ourselves in. He dropped us off at our car and as we get in Daisy says to me, "Daddy are you proud of me?" As I chocked back tears I managed to tell her yes. "Cool." She says, "Can I have a Slurpee?"