This is part of a continuing series of Dad getting out for a few hours in the
afternoon
following a morning of estrogen-fueled volleyball, this time at the Reno
Convention Center. Luckily the area offers a number of fine options for hiking,
taking anywhere from ten minutes strolls to all-day adventures. Today's
collection was found on the north side of town, around the areas of Hungry
Valley and Spanish Springs. The summits I visited were on a collection of BLM,
Open Space, Indian reservation and possibly private property, spending
about 4hrs on 4 hikes. The weather was quite nice following a day of unsettled
weather that brought some rain to Reno and snow to the higher elevations
above about 7,000ft.
Juniper Ridge/Coyote Ridge
These are the highpoints of two minor ridgelines on either side of County Rd
165, aka Matterhorn Blvd. Parking along this road is somewhat skimpy. I parked
at the
to the archery range found on the east side of the road
allowing me to make a loop of the two summits without moving the car. After
crossing the road I started up a gated dirt road heading west that in hindsight
I could have followed to the ridge above. Instead, I aimed to the right for a
more direct, cross-country ascent towards Juniper Ridge through low scrub that
offered no real obstacles. At the ridge I found an l
running along the crest. Old
suggest parts of this ridge may be private property, but
it looks to get regular traffic. It took about half an hour to climb to the
modest summit offering unobstructed views around the area. Lemmon and Antelope
Valleys lie to ,
Freds Mtn rising in the background. To
spreads the communities of Lemmon Valley-Golden Valley with the seasonal Swan
Lake looking as full as I'd ever seen it. The slightly lower Coyote Ridge
rises to .
My route between the two summits was fairly direct, starting to the northeast
along the OHV trail before dropping
some 500ft to the pavement,
careful to avoid passing through homestead properties that dot the west side
of the road. The east side of the road has less development, but property
ownership/management is equally unclear. I passed through a steel cable fence
that appears designed to keep OHVs out, but not necessarily people. More
cross-country through a juniper-peppered landscape led to
of Coyote Ridge where I found
similar to those on Juniper Ridge. There are
OHV trails in this area as well, but none were heading in the directions
I took. On my way back to the car I passed through the northern edge of the
archery range.
indicated this might not be a good idea, but I wasn't much
worried about getting skewered. Though there were lots of informal trails in
the area and lots of colored flagging, I didn't see any targets are other signs
that this part of the range was in active use. Without seeing another soul on
the entire route (save for the occasional passing car along Matterhorn Blvd), I
returned to the van by 4:30p, taking about 2hrs for the outing that covered
under 4mi.
Peak 5,503ft
I drove back south to Lemmon Dr, then east on Chickadee Dr, the southern access
road for Hungry Valley, a popular OHV area (coincidentally, CA has an OHV area
near Gorman by the same name). Chickadee's pavement ends at a
for
Hungry Valley just northwest of Peak 5,503ft. I parked here among a few trucks
and trailers before starting up to the summit only half a mile distance. A
very steep motorcycle track runs up the NW side, others climbing from other
directions on the mountain. I followed a cross-country path east and parallel
to the motorcycle track, climbing to a false summit before finding my way to
the highpoint, using the OHV track for the last segment. It took but 20min to
climb from this direction. A trio of vintage
were flying noisily in
formation overhead just before I reached the highpoint, traveling south to Reno
from parts unknown. There was a good view of Hungry Valley to
, a smattering of lingering clouds dotting the sky overhead.
Swan Lake and Peavine Peak dominate the view to .
The stump of an old utility pole marks
the highpoint, but no register on this or the other points I visited.
Scattered bits of refuse can be found at the
summit and elsewhere around the mountain - Wilderness this is not. On the return
I followed the motorcyle track down the NW side, finding it both steep and
loose, not the safest way up or down the mountain.
by 5:15p, it had taken less than 35min for the roundtrip. The next two summits
would be even shorter.
Peak 5,508ft
This small peak lies along Hungry Ridge, separating Hungry and Spanish Spring
Valleys. It is found at the south end of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony. Noting
that it was only 3mi from where I'd parked at the Hungry Valley OHV staging
area, I thought it would be easiest to simply drive the main OHV roads to
the northeast to reach paved Eagle Canyon Rd adjacent to Peak 5,508ft. This
would save me the roundabout 20mi drive it would take by sticking to the
pavement. I
managed it, but barely, as the dirt roads had been considerably rutted from
the recent rain and subsequent mud-fest that ensued. I don't think I saved any
time in driving the 3mi, barely managed in the van. A high clearance vehicle of
course would have no problem. Once at Eagle Canyon Rd, I parked just outside
the to the Indian Colony and made a direct
cross-country ascent up to the summit only 1/3mi away. Nice view of the Indian
Colony to and the bustling community of Spanish Springs
to . Roundtrip time was about 15min.
Sugarloaf
This small volcanic plug is found at the northeast end of Spanish Springs. There
is a 2mi, one-way public access trail starting from the west off Paradise View
Dr near Pyramid Hwy (SR445). I chose to use a much shorter approach from the NE
at the end of Capistrano Dr. There are two homesteads on
either side of a cul-de-sac found here, but one can thread between them by
heading south, cross-country up a ridgeline. A barbed-wire runs
N-S across the ridge which must be crossed at some point to reach
less than half a mile away. The summit offered views of an
unusually green Spanish Springs Valley to , fashioned by an El
Nino season of above-average rainfall.
Roundtrip time on this one was about 25min.