Our Expedition Of Genoa Peak & The Great Sierra Canyon "June 14th 2012"

The hike up to the top of Genoa Peak through the Sierra Canyon will always hold a special place in my heart. I have never seen views such as this surrounding Tahoe and the Carson Valley all at the same time so having that opportunity was larger then life.

I have done some research and found out that many years ago before housing was built at the base of the Eastern Sierras Bigfoot sightings occurred more regular here. As man moves in it pushes these creatures deeper into the sierras although they may at times come onto mans turf if they need a food or water source.

Jarrod and I would head on into Genoa its truly one of Nevada's first town first established by the Mormons who built a fort here. The town sits below many majestic peaks and they also make great hikes. We were excited about seeing nature and finding anything we could that was strange.

Its hard to believe that one minute you can be in town and the next you are traversing the mountains in an instant as the town fades behind you. My goal would be to take a switchback trail with a 4,000' elevation gain to the top. Then at the top we would eventually make are ascension to the peak which was many miles away from Genoa it would be the adventure of a lifetime for us.

We would leave early in the morning which would take us hiking into the evening its just how it is when you are on these expeditions. Their are no little nature walks its all about blood, sweat and tears. I would get the coffee going as it was cool in the morning as it always in along the sierras. Our adventure would begin here to one of the most magnificent peaks in the region.

Genoa Peak and Sierra Canyon

The Sierra Canyon is a large deep gash that overshadows all of Genoa to its right is the peak that sits very far off in the distance. When we arrived we had to take the trail behind some homes some resident was watching us which never ceases to amaze me how nosy people are its like dude have you ever seen hikers before.

It did not take time for the woods to really thicken as unlike the Sage Brush of Jobs Peaks foothills these ones have a considerable amount of trees and other foliage. I did notice that the first thousand feet their was allot of desert wildlife such as blue and green lizards. I also seen many new butterfly species I had never seen before and a wide variety of wildflowers.

We were following a small creek and ravine at times their were beautiful waterfalls. Their were other times other run offs crossed our path and we would have to jump over them. Sometimes our feet got wet its all part of the hike. What made the hike hard is the switchbacks would go all the way up into the canyon then back out overlooking the Carson Valley. Everytime I seen Carson Valley Genoa looked just a slightly bit smaller.

We found this downed log it was covered with millions of ants I never seen so many in my life. Their was also at times areas where the foliage was so thick it blotted out the sun which helped make the hike cooler for us.

The creek crossed over to our left not far from that my son seen something big, tall, hairy and black standing up staring at him. I was busy taking photos so I did not see it but he sounded really spooked. I told him maybe its a bear but at the same time this part of the creek is where a sighting occurred many years ago so I thought it was a bit odd. Besides the fact that I found two large tracks less then a half of mile from here it was obvious something lurks these woods.

That is when we came up on some tarp that had pick axes and construction hats. I sort of joked around in the woods with the equipment then put it all back neatly. My son was laughing so hard he fell to the ground and moments later we seen a deer running through the woods. Its moments like these that make what I do worthwhile.

I did find other tracks including a log bridge it was hard traversing the Sierra Canyon as their were many steep edges and along the way some really awesome rock formations which I strayed off the path to search. I wanted to be as thorough as I possibly could!

As I went deeper up into the canyon to our left was very steep cliffs and it was a long ways down. We would eventually read a path then went right up into the canyon where it starts to go up to the very top. It actually crosses parallel eventually with Genoa and the valley below.

Prior to this however in a very overgrown part of the woods Jarrod and I heard some very strange sounds. It sounded like nothing I have ever heard and their was allot of movement in the trees. It sounded like a gorilla or primate the noises followed us nearly all the way out of the canyon. I did not hear screams it sounded like something muttering ape like sounds and you could hear the sounds bellowing out of its chest. I have a feeling that we were being followed and my son was as white as a ghost because whatever it was we could not shake.

When we finally went up this trail where the canyon narrowed I could see down the entire split below as behind me Genoa Peak would finally appear. Yet so close but still very far away and we had to continue pushing on.

Also in the woods my son found an arrow head although the tip is broken this one is large and amazing. He also found gold up here no lie he is an amazing kid that's why I bring him. I have trained him to be meticulous and honestly he is beyond that which makes him a contender to be one of the greater investigators of our next generation in this field.

Finally reaching the top of the canyon it was some very level ground as we came across a dirt biking road. I went to lay down a bit half in the bushes when two guys on dirt bikes came up to me and asked if I was okay. They both called me admirable they couldn't believe that I came from Genoa and crossed up into the sierras they were like man that is a steep climb.

After I talked to them awhile they didn't know where this old homestead was so I followed the dirt road which led me to my final climb which was Genoa Peak. We would follow this bike trail for about a good mile along the way we also found near a tree a grave site. The area would eventually open up to the peaks final cap which is composed of a bunch of loose rock thus it would take us allot of time to get to the top.

Once we stood up on Genoa Peak we could see it all the entire Carson Valley, Carson City the state capital of NV, Lake Tahoe and other peaks such as Jobs across many other canyons. The winds up here were whipping their was some sort of station that was built at the top of Genoa Peak perhaps for radio waves and cell phone signals. We ate our dinner at 9,400' above having subs and some pretty good food it was great.

With the sun going down we would not be able to spend no more then about an hour on the peak. Everything seemed deadly silent afterall you cannot hear cars up here and their are no people around. If I had more energy I probably could have hiked right down to Lake Tahoe it was within a stone throws away really perhaps another six mile hike.

I had called Tammy for a pick up I figured she could get the truck back onto the dirt road we were on. Of course the part we were on was smooth and fairly easy to traverse. Jarrod and I hiked for miles down this road on occasion a rock would be labeled with a number and it would split. I followed the road south parallel with Lake Tahoe. We really didn't know how far we would have to go and Tammy took a wrong dirt road getting lost.

I found this hollowed out tree and another tree that looked like a sculpted face pretty cool. Things were not doing well for me I had no more water left we carried all that we could unfortunately I didn't plan on hiking over 15 miles. Tammy eventually retraced the dirt road and we were talking as I was hiking. She told me the wrong was nearly impossible to traverse I laughed because where I was at it was a good road. However I was going to camp if we could not get back to the main road as I was not sure if Tammy could find us as she told me via phone a good mile of the road is nearly impassable so all we could do is that walk of shame.

When she came around the bend with water I never felt so glad in my life. I had her beep her horn and heard it a distance away telling her that she is very close to us thus it worked otherwise she may have ended up looking elsewhere. For a few miles she took me down the road that's when we came across this massive steep hills, bumps, giant holes etc basically it was nearly impossible to not bottom out or even get stuck if you didn't do it right. So Tammy did get us out of there I was so drained from the hike I let her have her own first four wheeling experience. This road is made for dirt bikes people who do stunts not for vehicles a few times we hit the bottom of the road it was bad. We lost a piece of our fender on this trip hell when doesn't something break on these expeditions?

Tammy took me to Genoa that is where I picked up the car as she switched it out for the truck earlier. Its such a vast area between the Carson Range and Tahoe. When she drove us back down the Kingsbury Grade into the valley I realized then how far we really hiked and she realized I was crazy lol.

All in all this is a beautifully done scenic expedition with allot of great nature photos, Bigfoot excitement, videos, team shots and scenic views. I think most of you are going to enjoy seeing this expedition on our site it was a very admirable climb that very few ever achieve. Although I ended up getting dehydrated on the journey it did take me 5 days to recover that is how bad it became. I am a big guy that needs allot of water when hiking and unfortunately being shorthanded we just do not have the resources to carry everything.

Little do most of you know it or people in NV but the Genoa Fault which runs through this canyon and peak is one of the most dangerous. Although its active so mildly you may not feel quakes it is capable of producing an 7.9 magnitude quake if it does it could lead to devastation for the locals and it might even cause a Tsunami to occur in lake Tahoe due to the close proximity. These mountains are still shifting, full of faults and rising to the sky.

I had came to the conclusion that their is something living in this lush canyon as their are areas that are impossible to get back into such as steep cliffs, ravines and along with that a bountiful food source. The water is clean running yearly through the canyon and whatever roams it could go right up into the sierras to a vast wilderness that very few men have ever seen. I celebrated this expedition with a beer and a cigar thousands of feet up it doesn't get any better then that even if Bigfoot is chasing YOU!
Lord Rick
PGS Founder