Washoe Lake (Washoe County, Nevada)

For quite a while, I have wanted to visit Washoe Lake State Park, which sits between Reno and Carson City, alongside it's namesake body of water. As I just picked up a new pair of hiking shoes that needed to be broken in and having a couple of hours to spare this afternoon, it seemed like a great destination.

The park is easy to access from US 395, but once inside the small park, the maps are few and far between. Navigation is made all the worse by the vanishing lake itself. I had intended to hike about 2.5 miles up the Beach Trail and then cross over to the Dune Trail, but seeing a boat ramp with no water within half a mile of it, made me understand why it's difficult to find the actual trail heads.

Eventually though, I did manage to stumble across a trail head and began my stroll up the sand-covered former shoreline of the lake. Far in the distance, I can see that some water remains, but soon I think this lake will be a dry lake bed. Even now, the old shoreline is cluttered with shells of various water-dwelling creatures. I knew the drought we have been in for a few years now was bad, but seeing this level of effect brings a whole new understanding.

Sand is never an easy soil to hike in. It grabs one's foot and makes removing it to take the next step that much more difficult. After a mile and a half or so of this beach sand, I decide to try to cross-over to the Dune Trail, which sits slightly above the beach on a series of parallel sand dunes lining the desert perpendicular to the shoreline.

Trails up here are somewhat difficult to navigate and more than once I end up following a creature trail rather than something blazed by humans. This area is beautiful in it's own way, even with so little sign of green flora. The dunes are littered with the foot prints of smaller desert inhabitants and I even have the opportunity to see a few beetles and rabbits as I make my way back to the start. 

After just over an hour, I arrive back at my jeep. Today's was a short hike of only about 3.1 miles, but at least I got a little exercise and got to try out the new shoes.