Sutcliffe, Nevada
Distance: ~12 mi / 19.3 km (Round Trip)
Elevation Gain: None
Highest Elevation: 3,796 ft. / 1157.1 m.
Dogs: Allowed
Difficulty: Easy
Fee: $6/vehicle for day use (+ $1 processing fee)
As part of training for the PCT Chris and I needed to find a long hike that was relatively flat for our first 12-16 mile hike. We originally planned to do an extended version of Golden Eagle State Park, but I was feeling a little bummed about that, cause it's just dreary high desert hills, with nothing to see and a high probability of running into people with guns.
Then a thought popped into my head. Pyramid lake.
I'd heard some good things about Pyramid Lake from our friend Jan and her kids. It was apparently beautiful, an easy drive from Reno, and NOT dreary hills. So I google imaged it and the photos did not disappoint. After some additional searching we found out that Pyramid lake is the largest natural lake in Reno and is part of pre-historic Lake Lehontan which was actually a salt-water inland sea originally. Apparently you can still find fossils in and around the lake, and the saltwater, geysers and minerals in the rock combine to make this crazy cauliflower looking rock. That can shave your skin off like a cheese grater. Seriously. It's apparently amazing for fishing and has several type of trout and bass in it, which I imagine come in from the Truckee River, which feeds the lake. The lake also sits completely on tribal land, which made me happier to pay for the permit in a white-guilt kind of way.
When Chris got home from volunteering I told him to take a look and headed off to class. During the middle of class I got a text: "I have a pyramid in my pants." My professor wanted to know why I was giggling. "NO REALLY IT'S NOTHING!!!"
There was a pretty good probability of rain, but we went out anyways. Afterall, we've been hiking in the PNW for years. If we let a little rain deter us, we'd never hike. So off we went. The drive out there was gorgeous, with all the clouds gathering for rain the light did some crazy stuff, and the mountains along I-80 going east are pretty cool all on their own.
Then the lake came into view.
It seemed almost other worldly. A feeling that increased the closer we got.
Town sort of We picked up our permit from the Ranger station and headed up the highway a ways to park and start on the trail.
Initially we were just struck by how beautiful everything was. It seemed like every 10 seconds we were taking pictures. Then the rain hit us. Cold and needle sharp. At this point the terrain got a little rough too. Lots of rocks the size of bowling balls, so we were having to be especially careful picking where to step. Finally we found an access road that ran parallel to the lake, which was awesome, since it meant we could actually look up. This almost perfectly coincided with the rain stopping.
We looked up and there was snow all over the mountains around us! There were also some really cool rock formations, including the Needles. Massive stone spires that stick out of the lake, but are currently inaccessible to the public. Across the lake we could also see steam jetting up from the geysers.
It was a gorgeous hike, definitely a spot we'll be heading back to for fishing, camping and more hiking adventures.
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