Finding new places to hike between the time I get off work and sundown is always challenging, but recently on my way back from the bay area, I noticed that a trail runs a long distance beside the Truckee River far below I80 and just west of the Nevada-California Border and Reno. After a little online research, I discovered that this is actually a bikeway connecting Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake, essentially following the route of the river as it carries melting snow from the mountains to the desert.
My friend Brent decided to join me on this little exploratory hike. I picked him up at his house and we drove the twenty or so miles to the Farad exit off of I80. There we found a parking lot and the trail. The route actually covers the entire distance I described, but as I was looking for some good views of the raging river, the canyon that the Farad power station sits in seemed like a good starting point.
We quickly hit the trail and followed it along the river. We passed the old power-station and continued on the trail along it's path. After a short distance, we came across a pipe directing water off the mountainside and into a ditch lined with a brown plastic canvas and a perimeter made of piled rocks. Someone has fashioned a hot tub from a flowing waters of a hot spring above us on the hill, or with the distance the water must travel, more of a 'warm tub'.
Bent and I hiked another mile or so before finally reaching a locked gate, we could have gone around or under it, but with the sun setting, it seemed a good time to turn back and return to the jeep. We put in right at 4.5 miles this evening. It was a decent hike and close to home.
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