The Trails
to Red and Purple Hands and More
August , 2008
By John Evanoff
Around 1953 thru 1963, our family would take hikes
along the many ditches beginning from Verdi around Crystal Peak
Park to west Reno around where the old Mayberry Bridge crosses the
Truckee. Most of the many little creeks, ditches, flumes and springs
along the southern side of the Truckee River were bushy with wild
rose, willow, cattail, elderberry, gooseberry and chokecherry. We
would fill gunny sacks full of these edible wonders and take them
home to produce fantastic pies, syrups, jams and jellies. Before
the growth of Verdi spread down the river and major floods occurred
throughout the last five decades as well as Reno building west into
the hills, you could walk along the Quilicy Ditch, Coldron Ditch,
Orr Ditch, Belli’s Ditch, Steamboat Ditch, Garson Ditch, Hunter
Creek, Fleish Creek, Mogul Creek, Roberts Creek and Alum Creek and
pick these wondrous edibles to your hearts content. There are few
stretches left but for some trails not widely known that still exist
for those wishing to find more than a handful of chokecherries.
One way to find out though is just get out and start hiking these
areas in late August and all of September. Depending on how dry
the spring and summer were, you will usually find enough berries
and cherries to make a dozen or more jars of jelly. There are a
few places in Northern Nevada, especially around Winnemucca, that
are always great for chokecherry hunting, but the cherries around
both the north side of Hunter Creek and the north side of Peavine
Mountain are the most plump you will ever find anywhere.
For more than sixty years, the Belli Ranch near
Mogul was one of the largest cattle and dairy cow ranches west of
Reno. I spent many a day in my early years riding my horse along
the southern ridges of the Sierra and along the Truckee River hillsides
in that area. The Belli’s were always pleasant and often found
time to speak with my father and I on many occasions. The fishing
was outstanding in all the creeks and ditches and many of the German
brown trout I caught and released on flies I tied myself were in
the three to four pound range all along the river from Lawton’s
Hot Springs west to the Quilicy Ranch. Hunting was exceptional all
over the hills and up to Hunter Lake. I especially liked the fact
that you could hunt quail, partridge, rabbit and deer within just
a few miles of the edge of town. One year, I was lucky enough to
fill my bag with all four of those species in one day. The buck
was a seven point and we had sausage and venison for the whole year
from that one huge muley.
One of the trails I used to hike most frequently
in the fall was the Hunter Creek canyon all the way from the river
to Hunter Lake. The hike is not a short one. You should expect to
leave early in the morning at the crack of dawn and begin the ascent
knowing you will be at the top in around four hours. The trek back
is quick though, especially if you take the south trail from the
south end of Hunter Lake which goes down the hill and meets up with
a gurgling little spring which turns into Alum Creek and then follows
the Alum Creek canyon down to the top end of South McCarran Blvd
just a mile south of where Cashill Blvd. crosses it. The hike up
Hunter Creek begins at the base of the canyon near the Steamboat
Ditch trail. This trail at this point now has the distinction of
being part of the Tom Cooke Trail to Hole in the Wall. Hole in the
Wall is named after a water pipe sticking out of the canyon wall
used years ago to move water from a spring higher up on the other
side of the hill. The Truckee Meadows Trail Association just recently
designated this trail and volunteers are needed from both Mountain
Bikers and Hikers alike to keep the track in good shape. For now,
I’ll leave Hole in the Wall for another column if you wish
information on it and instead focus on Hunter Creek just because
it is a true trekker’s challenge.
So as you head up Hunter Canyon along the creek,
take your time once you get about a couple hours into your hike.
Occasionally look around and down the hill towards Reno. It’s
a fascinating vista. As the canyon moves south up into the Mount
Rose Wilderness, the walls of the canyon become steeper. In the
fall, the colors are most enjoyable as you move through the upper
reaches of the creek. The aspen turn golden yellow and the countryside
is full of lupine and bluebells. Several small falls along the way
make for good pictures, so take along your camera to capture these
vivid expressions of the Sierra Nevada. Once you are at the lake,
which usually dries out almost completely by the fall except for
a small marsh at the south end, sit back and have a picnic. From
here you can take the canyon back the way you came, go down the
old Hunter Lake Road along Alum Creek to South McCarran, go further
south to Evans Creek which is a nice trek all of itself or go just
west of your position to Deep Canyon or Mystic Canyon and down to
Fleish at the Truckee River. There is also a road that leads from
southwest of Boomtown all the way up to Big Meadows and a small
jeep trail to within a short distance of Hunter Lake. Just go west
on I-80 to the Garson Exit and go south past the Forest Service
Fire Station through a gated area and up the hill. Call the Forest
Service before taking this route since it might be closed due to
fire danger. Once you are at the top, take your trusty topo map
and GPS and head towards Hunter Lake. It’s about a twenty
minute walk from the end of the road which was impassible by vehicle
the last time I was there a few years ago.
If you hike down the Alum Creek or Hunter Lake
Road route, the views of the city are spectacular, especially in
the early evening. The trek to Hunter Lake and the Evans Creek hike
are by far my favorite, but most rigorous day hikes. The best two
day hike is the leisurely hike up Alum Creek through Dutch Louie
Flats and to the old Hunter Lake Road to Hunter Lake or Big Meadows
and then just south to Davis Meadows. You can stay over at either
Big Meadows or Davis Meadows then head south on the Mount Rose Trail
all the way to the base of Mount Rose and then either up then down
to the Mount Rose Highway on the Mount Rose Trail or down the Galena
Creek Canyon all the way to Galena Creek Park. The hike from Hunter
Lake or Big Meadows down Mystic Canyon or Deep Canyon to the Truckee
River is exceptional too.
All of these hikes are fun and long so take plenty
of food and water. Please don’t drink the creek or spring
water for it might have some bacteria or Giardia in it that can
make you very sick. If you do need to drink the water, be sure to
boil it for five or more minutes and then let it cool covered before
filling your water containers. There are wilderness-type portable
water filters on the market good for ridding the water of impurities.
It might be best to invest in one for long hikes. Always take lots
of fruit and nuts because they are full of energy for your trail
hike.
On picking the wild fruits of fall, be especially
careful of the area you plan to hike into for the day. Some of the
ditch and creek areas are now on private land and any access is
by appointment or the property owner’s access privileges only.
My advice is to get with the Forest Service and Truckee Meadows
Trails Association for a good map and instructions on what is available
along these trail routes. If you don’t know what the berries
and cherries look like, go on the internet and view as many pictures
of them as possible. None of them are very good raw, but when cooked,
pressed and filtered through a sieve and adding sugar and pectin,
you will end up with syrup, jam or jelly to die for. There are many
recipes for these wild fruits and all are deserving of being attempted.
My own is actually quite simple. Take all the chokecherries, elderberries
and any gooseberries you find and clean them with cold clear water
overnight. Strain them and then add one clean cup of water for every
three or four cups of fruit. Use a large pan with a cover and turn
on the heat to just simmer the mixture until the fruit comes almost
comes away from the seeds. Take the pulp of all the fruits and put
it through a sieve and then add the deep purple watery contents
of the large pan. Boil and stir the contents including a bit of
pectin carefully as you add sugar to a thickening consistency. If
you want jam, add more of the pulp without the seeds and if you
want syrup add more sugar. Sterilize some jars during this thickening
process and when the consistency meets your demands, ladle it into
the hot jars. Cover the concoction immediately with screw caps or
wax. Put the jars in an oven or a large canner with boiling water
for about twelve minutes and then remove to cool on your kitchen
counter. I love to use the syrup on Swedish pancakes or waffles
almost immediately, but it’s great as an addition to draw
over strawberry ice cream or sweet cornbread. The jam is spectacular
for use the entire winter and as special gifts for friends and family
during the holidays. The jelly can be used as a spread or glaze
on just about anything you want including venison, duck, pheasant
and rabbit. If you’ve made some Fallon Hearts of Gold bread
and spread some of this Northern Nevada chokecherry jelly on it,
I promise you, no other bread and jelly connection can ever come
up to those two wonderful tastes coming together.
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