- You ever have anybody tell you to just go kick rocks?

Well, this time on Wild Nevada, we're gonna take you to a place where doing that is actually a good idea.

- And if you're wondering why we're just sitting on a big slab of cement on a hilltop, we'll show you why.

And that's all up next on Wild Nevada.

- [Narrator] Support for PBS Reno and Wild Nevada comes in part from the William N. Pennington Foundation.

Bill Pennington was an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and gaming pioneer who built a legacy of community service in Nevada.

- [Narrator] Travel Nevada helps provide travel inspiration and experiences for those interested in creating their own wild Nevada adventures.

For more information, visit travelnevada.com.

And by Millie Hopper and Millard Reed, Charles and Margaret Burback, Sande Family Foundation, Kristine Perry, Thelma B. and Thomas P. Hart Foundation, June S. Wisham Trust, the Hall family, Dillard and Meg Myers, Sara and Leonard Lafrance, in memory of Sue McDowell and by individual members.

(bright acoustic guitar music) (upbeat acoustic guitar music) - Well, this trip we're going not too far outta town for a change.

We are on the road to Verdi, which is only about 10 miles west of Reno, but it's a town with its own history worth exploring.

- You know, it's so easy to overlook a community that's this close to a bigger city, but Verdi really does have its own personality and its own charm.

And we're gonna be discovering some of that this trip.

Verdi is split between California and Nevada, and on the border we meet Kurt Gensheimer, who explains just where we're standing.

- This is the Allexey Von Schmidt obelisk that marks the border between Nevada and California.

There was a lot of controversy around Allexey Von Schmidt's surveying of the California Nevada border.

There were disagreements about where that line was over the course of, well, more than 100 years actually.

- They didn't just use Google Maps?

- Yeah, no they didn't.

I guess they were just, like, trying to do it old school, you know?

Today we're going to explore a little bit about the history of Verdi through trails.

Verdi originally was established as a lumber town.

They were processing lumber from Dog Valley and points between here in Loyalton and Sierraville and Boca and bringing that lumber down to here, processing it and putting it on trains.

One of the ways that they brought the lumber down, was on a narrow gauge railroad that went up Dog Creek Canyon.

And today we'll hike the old Verdi Lumber Company narrow gauge railroad down Dog Creek.

- [Dave] From the Von Schmidt monument, it's about 3 1/2 miles west on Dog Valley Road and then north on a dirt road following Dog Creek.

It can be a bit gnarly with rocks and dips.

So high clearance four wheel drive is definitely recommended.

We're going to see Kurt in his element.

He works with the Sierra Butte's trail stewardship team to keep trails all over the region in shape.

His nickname, the Trail Whisperer.

What's all the stuff you're carrying?

I'm just carrying water and snacks.

- [Kurt] Today I got my loppers and my hedge trimmer.

I figure if we're walking down the trail, I might as well bring some tools, 'cause it always needs maintenance.

(Dave and Chris chuckle) - I feel underdressed now, you know?

I didn't bring my- - You didn't bring your garden tools?

- I didn't bring anything to cut or smash or anything.

- I got extra.

- Oh, good.

(bright acoustic guitar music) So there's a first little artifact we can see of the old railroad grade.

There's a foundation wall there and the cut of the railroad is right in front of us, and it wraps around the other side of the meadow here.

All of this was being logged in Dog Valley here.

So a lot of the lumber here was being transported down the canyon into Verdi where the railroad hooked up where the Transcontinental Railroad was.

This railroad operated from about 1901 to 1926.

I believe it's shut down because Verdi actually burned down multiple times.

They eventually moved the town to Reno.

- [Dave] I thought railroad grades were flat, Kurt.

(Kurt chuckles) Now we're on the grade.

Now we're on the grade.

- [Chris] It isn't long before Kurt sees an opportunity to demonstrate some trail maintenance.

- [Kurt] This is a, you know, trail saw right here.

This is called the silky big boy.

This is a multiple use trail.

Motorcycles use it, mountain bikers use it, and we want to be able to improve sight line as much as possible.

It makes it safer for the user.

It also makes it safer for, like, other people.

So you can see someone coming because you have a good sight line on the trail.

All right, now you can see.

- Oh, yeah.

- And now won't get hit in the head.

- Hey look, there's a camera guy over there.

What the heck?

- [Kurt] Hey, what, where'd he come from?

(Dave and Chris laugh) - [Chris] Kurt periodically revisits this trail to check for areas that need help.

- [Kurt] Trails need constant attention.

So here's a great example of an area in need of work.

There's a spring crossing and actually the spring is supposed to cross the trail below us, but somehow over time the spring overreached its bank and now it's coming down into the trail bed.

So we either need to make another crossing here to get the water off the trail.

We need to figure out how to get that water back in the drainage to where it can cross where it's supposed to cross instead of eroding the trail beds.

- It sounds like a lot of work.

What does it take to do all that?

- It's just a lot of sweat labor with the digging tool.

Yeah, digging, you know, creating drains.

Trail users talk about, like, well, the horses do this or bikes do that, or motorcycles do this.

But the biggest enemy to any trail is water.

- And of course the trail is one of the lower points.

So the water's naturally gonna- - It's gonna wanna stay in the trail.

Yep.

And that's why we create drains.

- [Dave] This is not a one person job, right?

- [Kurt] No, this, I could do this.

Yeah.

This is a one person job.

- [Dave] Really?

- [Kurt] Yeah.

- [Dave] You just made me feel so pathetic.

(Chris and Kurt laugh) This trail is part of some big plans for the area known as the Lost Sierra.

- Well, the Lost Sierra, originally the name came from a mail route and the mailman, because the terrain was so remote and rugged, they'd always get lost.

(Dave laughs) So that's where the name lost, at least that's how the legend goes.

So the Lost Sierra comprises of primarily Plumas and Sierra County, California, but this Sierra Buttes Trail stewardship trail project called Connected Communities, it runs throughout four counties in rural California connecting into Reno through Verdi.

So part of this trail that we're walking today is one of the proposed connectors that will link Verdi and Reno into the greater Lost Sierra.

(bright acoustic guitar music) - [Chris] This trail really is pretty flat, so it's easy to manage and it allows for us to look around.

- [Dave] At any point, you might see an artifact from past days like railroad ties or rusted metal objects.

It's like the trail wants to remind you of what it used to be.

We hit an overgrown area and Kurt jumps into action.

While Kurt and the Sierra Buttes trail stewardship team do a lot to maintain trails all over the region, Kurt reminds us that we can all chip in.

- [Kurt] If we all moved one tree branch laying in the trail or rock in the way or whatever, the trail would be better for everyone, you know?

Don't assume that somebody else is just gonna come and get it out of the way for you.

If you have the means to move it, move it.

- [Dave] A little over two miles into our hike, we hit the end of the trail.

For now, anyway.

- [Kurt] We're looking at Verdi, we're pretty much at the mouth of Dog Creek as it goes into Verdi here.

This is a proposed route to connect Verdi into the Connected Community's Lost Sierra route.

I think it would be a really great connector.

You know, it's a nice grade.

It has some great views and it brings us right into town.

And you know, the one challenge that we have to sort out is there is private property here at the end of the canyon.

Because of the checkerboard nature of the land around here from the railroad days, we still have to figure out that puzzle.

But you know, trail building is constantly solving puzzles, you know, figuring out puzzles, and so we're optimistic that we can make that work.

- [Dave] For people who live in Verdi, you could come out, do some amount and then get back to town without having to go all the way around.

- Well, and as beautiful a trail as it is, both in just the landscape but also how well maintained it is, it's definitely a venture worthwhile to allow people to be able to access it.

It makes for a really nice day.

- [Kurt] Yeah.

I'm glad you guys like it.

- [Dave] We are hopeful about that trail's future.

Next we return to town and a place that celebrates a part of Verdi's past.

Bud Mosconi is helping to turn the old Verdi Public School into a history and event center.

- Welcome to the Verdi Public School built in 1926.

- Oh, thanks.

This is a great looking old building.

- Yeah, this was the third school.

The other two burnt down during the lumber fire when it destroyed all of Verdi.

Come on inside and I'll show you around.

- [Chris] Sounds good.

- [Dave] It's nice.

This seems like a pretty well maintained walkway here.

- Well, this was all brand new.

The tree roots had brought up everything over the years.

So we poured a new walk.

- [Dave] Okay.

- And then we embedded it with some marble that was from the Inyo Marble Works that was located up the canyon.

It was actually called Marmol, Nevada.

- [Dave] Marmol.

- [Bud] M-A-R-M-O-L. - [Dave] Marmol.

So this was not originally here.

When you were in school this was not here?

- [Bud] That was not here.

It was just a walkway.

- So what made you think about putting these here?

- It's part of Verdi.

- That's really cool.

- A piece of history.

- [Bud] It is.

- [Dave] Nicely done.

You're an artistic man.

- [Bud] Well, not really.

(chuckles) This rock was originally here in 1899.

It's carved with all the initials.

I don't know who they are, but it has the VPS, Verdi Public School.

- [Dave] It's fascinating.

- [Chris] That is really cool.

- To imagine who carved all these initials.

- And perfectly.

(laughs) - [Dave] They look good.

Yeah, they're, I was gonna say their penmanship, but what do you call it?

Their- - [Chris] Chiseling?

- [Dave] Their chiselmanship was really good.

- [Chris] A little bit of Verdi Public School petroglyph.

- [Bud] Right.

The rock's been here since 1899.

But nobody can really see it or knew it was here.

So when they took the bell out of the tower when they closed the school, we thought it'd be cool to put it up here to draw attention to the rock.

- [Chris] It's so cool, using the old railroad ties, right?

- [Bud] Right.

- [Chris] That's really neat.

- [Bud] Because the railroad's part of Verdi.

- [Dave] When you were a student, what did this bell represent?

What happened with this bell when you were in school?

- It was up in that tower and you were really privileged.

You had to do something really special to be able to go ring the bell for the beginning of school or after recess, you rang the bell, and it's time to get your butt inside.

- [Dave] Did you ever get to ring it?

- Oh, yeah.

I was a good kid.

(group laughs) - Does it still ring?

- It sure does.

And it's very loud.

Here, lemme show you.

- Okay.

I want to hear this.

(bell reverberates) - That has a good sound to it though.

- It does.

It gets your attention.

- It's definitely a school bell.

- All right.

I want to try.

(bell reverberates) (group laughs) - Does that mean you were a good kid today?

- [Dave] No.

No, it just means I could reach it.

(group chuckles) - [Chris] When they began the restoration, some of the trees had to be removed.

But to acknowledge that history, these chairs were carved out of the stumps of those original trees.

- Well, here's what we did with the old windows that were original in the school.

Our class pictures when I was here from '51 to '58.

- [Dave] Where are you, Bud?

- Right here somewhere.

There.

There it is, right there.

- [Chris] Which one is you?

- [Bud] Right there.

- [Dave] And it says Buddy Mosconi.

Did they call you Buddy?

- I was Buddy even through high school, and they still call me Buddy, my high school friends.

- [Dave] What grade was this?

- [Bud] First grade.

- [Dave] First grade.

- [Bud] That was first grade.

- [Dave] So that's six or seven year old Buddy.

- [Bud] Yep.

- [Chris] Where's your favorite one?

- [Bud] Well, my favorite one here.

A little more cocky right here.

(group laughs) - [Dave] You look pretty happy with yourself.

- [Bud] And then when I had to wear glasses, I didn't like that.

- [Chris] What a difference a year makes, right?

- Yeah.

But I was the last eighth grader out of here.

- [Dave] The last eighth grader.

- [Bud] The last eighth grader out of here.

And there was five of us in eighth grade.

All boys.

(Bud and Chris laugh) - [Dave] Boy, I bet the dance sucked.

(Bud chuckles) - [Chris] Bud and the project volunteers have made progress restoring as much as possible from the original building.

Like this, the rope that rang the bell when Bud was a school kid here, and the classroom where he sat and learned along with four other grades at the same time.

- Well, this is the auditorium where we used to have Christmas plays and graduations, and originally there was a stage across there.

We're trying to get this back the way it was and put the stage back.

- [Chris] So did you go through graduation up on that stage?

- [Bud] The last one.

- [Chris] Oh, that's great.

- [Bud] And what we did, we put our initials on the backside, the graduating class.

We painted them up there and they're still there to this day.

I never thought that, what, 65, 70 years later I'd be back here looking at that.

- [Dave] The community has donated a lot of pieces of Verdi history.

Now Bud is raising money to help complete the restoration and as he puts it, "Keep Verdi Verdi."

We end our day dreaming of coming back to a fully restored event center.

(gentle bright music) In the morning, we're back in Verdi with a date at Crystal Peak Park to meet Gabrielle Enfield, the community reinvestment manager for Washoe County, who introduces us to the Washoe ArTrail.

- This is the beginning of the Washoe ArTrail.

What we wanted to do with the ArTrail is we wanted to provide an opportunity for Washoe County residents and visitors to have a participatory experience of places, cultural, historic, and artistic places that already exist.

There's already so many great places throughout Washoe County.

- It's a great idea.

- Yeah.

- [Gabrielle] And then the next 19 sites are existing sites that have always been around and that we want people to know about and to be able to go and visit.

We have a museum, we have sites on the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, at City of Reno, city of Sparks.

We have eight sites that are in parks.

So it's all kinds of different sites and experiences that people may have never gone to.

(gentle bright music) This first site is Crystal Peak Portal.

Washoe County partnered with Burning Man.

And Burning Man conducted the artist call for us and did a national, and actually international, artist call.

And of all of those entries, the chosen artist team was a local artist.

- That's wonderful.

That's great.

- [Dave] What a nice story.

- [Gabrielle] It's the rammed earth structure.

- [Dave] Rammed earth.

- [Chris] What does that mean?

- [Dave] What does that mean?

- [Gabrielle] Yeah, it's a different kind of construction.

It's a very, very old kind of constructions that's been used for thousands of years.

- [Chris] Gabrielle played a big role in making the ArTrail happen.

She's part of a team that secured a national endowment for the arts grant that made the ArTrail possible.

So this is a passion project for her.

(gentle bright music) - [Dave] I love the way they've created these pavers on the way.

- [Gabrielle] Yeah, a little path.

This was all part of the artist's design.

- This has an ancient look to it.

And I'm assuming that's by design.

- Right.

The soils are from here.

So it's local, built to fit in this space and with this park and with this natural area.

- In the park, but also of the park.

- [Gabrielle] Right.

It really does invite you in, doesn't it?

Come into the sculpture.

You can see the sky.

- [Dave] Oh, that's so cool.

Come inside and look at the sky.

- [Chris] Oh, how cool.

- [Gabrielle] Stand in the doorway.

- And peer through.

- [Gabrielle] You can peer through can peer through and see the peak.

This is Ladybug Peak.

When we constructed it, we needed to ensure historic preservation.

So we work with the Washoe Tribe as well as the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony.

And when we work with the Washoe Tribe, we ask them about the name of this place.

And this word is in the Washoe Tribe language the name of this place.

And it means the place of my mother's sister.

- [Chris] That's beautiful.

- It's just so subtle and so organic feeling in the piece.

- Yeah, and it's so much more elegant than just saying my aunt's house.

(Chris laughs) - Exactly.

It is.

- Or Tennessee.

- Yep.

- [Dave] Tennessee?

- [Chris] That's where my mom's sister lives.

(laughs) - [Dave] We set out for the next stop on the ArTrail.

From Crystal Peak Park, we go east toward Reno for a few miles on Interstate 80, then West 4th Street, Woodland Avenue and White 1st Street to the Tom Cooke Trailhead, where Gabrielle leads us to the starting point for our adventure.

- Our second site is right up this trail.

We're gonna head up to the historic Airmail Arrow.

This is our most challenging.

- So challenging because it takes a little to get there, it looks like.

- Takes a little effort.

- I know this trail.

- I'm not surprised.

This is your territory.

- I run and I hike this trail all the time, so I know where we're going.

- Okay.

- We're gonna follow you because this is the first time I've done this hike.

(Dave laughs) - Excellent.

- I know.

I'm gonna be the guide this time.

I'm excited by this.

- Don't be obnoxious.

(Chris laughs) - Does that mean I get to set the pace?

- Go for it.

We'll just catch up to you later.

(Chris laughs) (uplifting electronic music) The first challenge we face is this hill with its series of switchbacks.

As we begin, we see a number of others on their way back from a morning on the trail.

- [Chris] This is officially called the Tom Cooke Trail, but hikers commonly refer to it also as the or ditch trail.

It's very popular.

So if you come out for a hike, you almost certainly won't be alone.

(bright uplifting music continues) - Well, now we see a bunch of trails in different directions.

Which way do we go?

- Well, I think when you have a trail this close to town, you end up with a lot of different social trails.

So I'm gonna stay on what I know is always been here and is more official trail.

- [Dave] Oh, that's good.

- [Chris] Because I think it's always just better trail etiquette to stay out of the plants and stay out of the brush and stay on the trail.

We're headed to that clump of trees and then up from there.

- [Dave] Is it less fun when you already know?

- [Chris] No, it's more fun.

(Dave laughs) - [Dave] From the start of the trail to the top of the first hill and beyond is very exposed.

So we're happy to have a cloudy day.

This trail is almost three miles to the arrow, which makes it nearly six miles round trip.

So sunscreen is very important, as is a hat, food and lots of water.

- [Chris] A little over half a mile into the hike, we find water as the trail begins to parallel the ditch.

(uplifting music continues) Just over two miles in, we reach the trees and enjoy a brief but very welcome dose of shade.

Do we head up and do another climb and continue to challenge ourselves?

Or do we stay a little more mellow and just enjoy where we've been?

- [Dave] We came here for the challenge, right?

- [Chris] We came for the challenge, so- - [Gabrielle] We came for the Airmail Arrow.

(upbeat acoustic guitar) This is the challenge part.

- [Dave] Gabrielle's not kidding.

The clouds have moved on and this climb is in the heat of the day.

So we are feeling it much more this time.

It's important to be aware of how you feel when hiking in the heat.

Go at your own pace and rest whenever you feel a need.

It helps to find a natural stopping point like here when we look at the source of the water.

This area was called hole in the wall for years because the water just used to come right out of the rock wall.

(spirited music) - [Chris] One final turn and it's a straight shot to our target.

(energetic uplifting music) - [Dave] We made it.

Now challenge met.

- [Chris] Challenge met.

- [Gabrielle] And you can still see that it's an arrow pointing right into Reno.

- [Dave] These arrows were an important tool for the pilots carrying mail across the country during the 1920s and 1930s.

It's funny to imagine the need for these today, but back then the arrows and beacon lights kept the mail on route and hopefully on time.

- [Gabrielle] We love to be able to highlight the history along the trail.

And this is just one great example, and also combining it with a great outdoor hike.

- [Dave] Gabrielle, thank you for introducing us to the ArTrail today and giving us yet another reason to go out and look at cool stuff outdoors.

- [Chris] And now we know the reason to get up here.

- [Gabrielle] Thank you so much for inviting me.

- Well, that is a strong way to end a trip.

We're gonna feel this one for a couple days.

It was really a good hike.

Well done on the lead.

That was nicely done.

- I love giving you guys a challenge.

- Got us here.

- This was fun.

- Got us here safe.

So we're all good.

Now that this trip is over, what's gonna stick with you from it?

- You know, as much as I loved sharing a trail that I'm familiar with, I also loved getting to try a little bit of new trail out in Dog Valley.

That was, took me a lot of fun to explore.

- Yeah, and I'm always gonna remember those moments where Kurt just whipped out a tool and cut down more of the trail to clear it and I just thought, "Wow, that's a guy who has passion for what he's doing."

He loves it.

And I love seeing that with people who have passion for what they're doing.

It rubs off on us, I think.

- And communities that are passionate about their history, like Verdi.

So it's been a lot of fun.

- Yeah, it was a lot of fun.

Really enjoyed it.

So hope you've enjoyed traveling on this trip with us.

- And if you wanna learn more about this episode, stream any of the Wild Nevada episodes.

You can visit our website at pbsreno.org, or use the PBS video app.

- [Dave] Until our next Wild Nevada trip.

We're hoping you get a chance to go out and explore on your own.

Alex is doing some, oh my God, he's doing some pushups into the water.

- This is the way to cool yourself down when you're in the desert.

- [Dave] It's harder to do this with camera gear than it is just walking up the hill.

How do you feel?

- I feel tired.

I'm ready to tumble down.

(laughs) - [Dave] Oh, the prospector dance.

I like it.

(Dave chuckles) - [Narrator] Support for PBS, Reno and Wild Nevada comes in part from the William N. Pennington Foundation.

Bill Pennington was an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and gaming pioneer who built a legacy of community service in Nevada.

- [Narrator] Travel Nevada helps provide travel inspiration and experiences for those interested in creating their own Wild Nevada adventures.

For more information, visit travelnevada.com.

And by Millie Hopper and Millard Reed, Charles and Margaret Burback, Sande Family Foundation, Kristine Perry, Thelma B. and Thomas P. Hart Foundation, June S. Wisham Trust, the Hall Family, Dillard and Meg Myers, Sara and Leonard Lafrance, in memory of Sue McDowell and by individual members.