Trail Highlight: Church's Pond Trail

Chruch's Pond at sunset. Photo by Jake Weinberger

If you are motivated to hike a moderate to difficult-level 6-mile path then the journey to Church’s Pond via the Jones-White Loop Trail is worth your time! Although it is heavily trafficked, it offers beautiful scenic views while being engrossed entirely in a well-shaded forest. This trail is journeyed by hikers, nature trips, and snowshoers. The first half a mile up the trail offers the calmest leg of the journey, along a peaceful creek, before ascending the mountain side via multiple switchbacks. If you turn around at 2.5 miles of the trail into the clearings you can see the full range view from Reno to Washoe City. While most people do stop here and turn back, you can continue on another 0.7 miles and reach Church’s Pond, if you are the more adventurous-type.
Church’s Pond is named after James Church, who was a University of Nevada-Reno professor that figured out how to measure the water content of the Sierra Nevada snowpack in 1909. The pond is a still, small snow-melt basin below Mt. Rose that sits on top of the 2,000+ foot trail. Even though this peaceful pond may look somewhat inviting from a distance, if you dare to get in, watch for leeches! 

Sources: 
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/nevada/churchs-pond-via-jones-white-creek-trail
https://allaroundnevada.com/churchs-pond/

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