Ballardini Ranch Loop (Washoe County, Nevada)

A few weeks ago, I hurt my foot running a 5k. I attribute the injury to the route being mostly on sand, which I hate running on. Anyway, that ailing foot has limited my recent hiking, but as it is starting to feel a bit better, I figured it was time to start hitting the trails once again.

On the southwestern side of Reno, a trail system was build a couple of years ago around what was once the Ballardini family's ranch. This is just one of many such projects that have been build in and around Washoe County, but this one had not been on my radar until recently. Listed at a modest 2.2 miles, it is really only something I would consider when I didn't have a lot of time (or was recovering from an injury). Both of those happened to be the case today and so, I decided to check it out.

A nice trailhead, complete with pit toilets, awaits hikers here. This time of year (and most of the year for that matter), the foothills around Reno are covered with a golden-yellow grass as far as the eye can see. Right now, however, the few trees along the creek and in the neighborhoods below are in the peak of their autumn coloration and add to the gorgeous pallet of fall. 

The easy trail meanders through the hills offering views of the neighborhoods to the north and of canyons leading into the Mt. Rose Wilderness to the south. Air temperatures are hitting the mid-70's, a bit warm for this late into fall, but good hiking weather. As I round the far end of the loop, I note that my foot really isn't bothering me at all. 

Eventually, I make my way down to the creek and the trail parallels it most of the way back to the trailhead. It's a nice and easy 2.3 mile trek, but it's nice to be out on the trails again.

Kings Canyon North Loop (Ormsby County, Nevada)

As winter approaches each year and the daylight hours grow shorter, I'm always hard-pressed to find short hikes doable before it's completely dark outside. For a while, my friend Chris and I have been trying to get together to hike the Kings Canyon area just east of Carson City. It's a short drive and a short hike, which will hopefully, allow us to complete it before it's pitch black outside.

Driving down to Carson, I meet Chris at his house and we quickly head over to the trailhead. After quickly reviewing the map, we head up the moderately steep incline. In the distance, we can hear the lower waterfall, but the trail we intend to take doesn't take us by that until the return trip. The trail here is actually a forest service road that uses switchbacks to traverse the steep hillside. Eventually, we find a side trail that appears to head deeper into the canyon and decide to take it.

This trail follows the creek that is responsible for carving this canyon. The leaves of the small quacking aspen have turned yellow, as they do every October, but it makes for a beautiful scene. As we cross a small sturdy bridge across the creek, we turn back towards the trailhead. The trip back is uneventful as night falls, but we take a quick detour to see the waterfall before returning to the truck. We hiked just shy of 2 miles, but it was nice just to get out on a week night. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera and so these shots were taken with my phone.

Red Run VI: Bloodline (Storey County, Nevada)

Note: All Photos in this post courtesy of Red Run

For the second year in a row, I and some friends decided to save the world from the zombie apocalypse during Virginia City's annual Red Run event. This year team Whiskey Rebels was composed of Lacey (who joined me last year) and her boyfriend, Josh. We had all three put time into researching and building study guides in the days leading up to the event. Red Run combines a run with an escape room with a few brain-craving zombies thrown into the course for good measure. Last years event was a tremendous amount of fun, and after taking third place, we decided to actually put some effort into it this year in the hopes of winning it all.

I met up with Josh and Lacey about an hour before our launch time. Enjoying some beers in the Virginia City Brewery, we went over strategy and got our bibs and flags attached. As launch time approached, we headed over to our starting location and were directed into a large shipping container as zombies above banged on the roof and sides while dumping red corn starch on us for effect. As the seconds ticked down, the zombies grew more restless until finally the doors at the other end sprang open and we, along with a few other teams, made a mad break down C-street through the zombie horde. From the sidelines, a number of guns fired and red smoke filled the air. Only Lacey lost a flag to the undead in this first section. 

Once we reached a safe zone, we re-read our clue as we walked downhill and towards the city's sports fields. As we soon discovered, this year's event was more focused on running and less focused on the puzzle. Upon reaching the field, we again had to jook and spin our way through a horde of brain-hungry zombies all trying to grab our flags, but we made it through safely. Signs direct us to go one direction while some other teams are directed to go a different route. As we will later find out, all teams must do both parts, but some teams do the blue route first followed by the white, while other teams do the reverse order.

Along the route, symbols are placed in sometimes obvious and sometimes less-than-obvious places. Our immediate goal is to collect symbols numbered one through five. As we proceed down the jeep trail away from the field, we encounter a very narrow section with a number of zombies just waiting to grab our flags. In this narrow choke-point, it's practically impossible to escape the undead without some loss. We lost a total of four flags in this section, leaving us with only one flag remaining attached to Josh. We take a quick water break before continuing on to find the final three symbols. After collecting those three, we figure out the clue and learn that we need to go to the Delta Saloon, where we find a key to the cipher. It's a simple replacement alphabet and our symbols spell out the word 'black'. 

With our password at hand, we return to the Game-master. Here we learn that we must now run the second half of the course. We decide to visit the second half's key before collecting symbols this time. As Lacey is struggling with all of the uphill, we decide that she will stay behind and function as central command while Josh and I collect the next five symbols. We make a bit better time with this strategy. For one of the clues, Josh has to go into one of the old abandoned silver mines. I would go, but I'm wearing prescription sunglasses. If I remove them, I loose my distance vision, but if I leave them on, I won't be able to see anything in the dark mine. Josh goes in and quickly returns with the symbol.

After collecting a couple of symbols, we determine the second letter is 'i' and the fifth letter is 't'. We call Lacey and she begins looking at all of the possible five letter words that fit this criteria. The cell service in Virginia City is not very dependable and while Josh and I make our way to the next symbol, I start to think that perhaps the two words are somehow connected. We had already considered that most of the words that fit the criteria of word two are those in the 'ight' family (fight, might, wight, etc.). As last year's puzzle had us applying black-lights to our clues to find hidden notes, I'm forced to wonder if that may be the second word, "light'. 

My hunch turns out to be right and Lacey has already confirmed it with other teams, we make a mad break for the game-master, who provide another clue that must have black lights applied to it in order to read it. When we finally get to the crypt where the facilities are set up to do this, we learn the location of the survivor who we are looking for. We make a mad break for it and finally get the antidote. As it turns out, Lace and Josh both think I'm faster than they are and since I have the official tagged bib, it makes sense that I make a break for the finish line with the antidote. As soon as we clear the boarded sidewalk, I sprint at full speed down the center of C-street for the finish line. As I have no flags left for the zombies, I don't fear the dead and dying. Lacey and Josh cross the finish line just moments after I do and we are all given our award medal and take advantage of our free beer.

Staying for the awards ceremony, we learn that we didn't place this year, but also figure out that several teams sort of cheated by trading the passwords between them instead of figuring both out for themselves. While still a great deal of fun, Lacey and I both think that last year's event was substantially more fun, as the puzzle was much more difficult and there was less running. In total, I think we ran about six miles, but since it isn't a constant run, I didn't bother to time myself. Hopefully, next year they will tweak the event to be less cheatable and have a more challenging puzzle.

Unseen: Anne Brigman Art Hike (Nevada County, California)

In the early twentieth century, Anne Brigman became one of the premier photographers of her time. The subject of most of her work was the female form in harmony with nature, specifically, the twisted trees and mountain-scapes of the Sierra Nevada range. Some of her most famous pieces were taken in and around Donner Lake. Recently, I learned the Nevada Museum of Art in partnership with the Trails & Vistas organization were organizing an "art hike" in celebration of Mrs. Brigman's work. While I admit being unfamiliar with her work until very recently, the idea of an art hike intrigued me and I decided to see what it was all about.

Arriving at the Donner Ski Ranch a few minutes before the start of the hike, I checked in and began chatting with others also waiting for our hike. It was a fairly diverse group in terms of age, from a mother with her young son to several apparent retirees. As our guides spoke a bit about what to expect along our two or so mile trek, our curiosity only intensified. 
The spiel was short and we quickly departed into the granite hills above the ranch. 

The views were already amazing, as we looked out over Donner Lake to the east and toward Mount Judah and Donner Peak to the west. We quickly came upon our first performance. A woman sat on a rock and read a few stanzas of nature-focused poetry while playing a sort of percussion instrument, which was composed of a couple of stretched skins over a thin cylinder (much like a native american hand drum filled with seeds or husks). From behind a couple of nearby rocks and boulders a pair of dancers, suddenly appeared and began moving and undulating with the wind in harmony with the landscape. After the short performance, we silently moved on through the forest to our next stop.

The group approached a nearly dry creek bed and in seated in a rock on the far side, a woman dressed in a earth tone robe began to sing while playing a sitar-like instrument. Her voice in conjunction with the haunting sounds of the strings creates an amazing ambiance and a very enjoyable and reflective experience in such a beautiful location.

As we continue through the forest, our guides take turns reciting poems at various stops. In addition, we encounter several other performers along the way, including talented dancers and musicians. The entire experience has the feel of a Midsummer Night's Dream, with druids, dryads, and nymphs. In the past, I have often thought that modern humans always seem out of place in nature. This art hike has unexpectedly made me reconsider that position. Perhaps true to the composition of Anne Brigman's pieces, the performers not only seem to blend in with the gorgeous vistas of the surrounding landscape, they seem to enhance it, which I wouldn't have thought possible.

The final performance is by a harpist sitting in a stand of pinyon pines. The harp seems somehow perfectly at home in this natural landscape. As the artist finishes her piece, a bird begins to sing, as if on queue. The timing couldn't have been more perfect and it was the perfect explanation point to a perfect experience. I'm very glad I made time to learn what the museum meant by an "art hike".