Valley Boy Scout eases navigating Carson canyons

It doesn’t help those visiting Carson City’s Carson River Canyon Open Space that its main access from the capital is Brunswick Canyon Road.

Brunswick Canyon heads upstream into the Pine Nuts while the river canyon passes through the mountain range on its way to Dayton and points east.

But thanks to a Carson Valley youth’s Eagle Scout project, new signs help visitors travel what can be confusing, and sometimes dangerous, terrain.

“I heard from people that being out in that canyon can be dangerous,” Troop 33 Boy Scout Chris Collins said. “Toward dark, people get lost or die out there. For my Eagle Project I wanted to make that area somewhat safer and easier to navigate.”

For the signs to be helpful, Chris talked to the guy who wrote the book on the area, author and historian Dan Webster.

Webster wrote “Mills Along the Carson River,” and has a long history helping Scouts with their projects.

Before the signs were installed to help visitors navigate the area, Chris got some help navigating Carson City’s approval process.

Carson City Parks & Recreation Trails Coordinator Gregg Berggren and Ranger Tyler Kerver served as guides, providing Chris the requirements, helping with a site survey, potential vendors and going before the city’s open space committee.

“They were very willing to let me do that,” Chris said of the process. “It went pretty well. I had a slide show that talked about the area and the history behind it, and showed things that can be made better.”

No Eagle Scout project is a lone effort, and Chris said he had a lot of help along the way.

“It took a lot of work to execute,” he said. “You have to have people willing to show up and help.”

Chris has aided other Scouts with their projects, but it was the first time he served as supervisor.

 “I was always helping out, so it was kind of weird being on the other side of it as a supervisor,” he said. “I’m so used to doing the work myself, I felt pretty bad because I wanted to work.”

Fellow scouts Samuel and Matthew Gaskell were among those who pitched in.

It was hot work over the weekend of July 15-16, even for the director, with the high hitting 105 degrees.

Carson officials said that the signage will help speed emergency response for both the Carson City Sheriff’s Office and Fire Department.

In addition to the signs, there is also a kiosk map near the entrance and signage directing visitors to the day use areas and a downloadable visitors guide people can access by a QR code on the signs or at www.carson.org and clicking on open space.

Chris returned home Friday after attending the Boy Scout Jamboree.

After attending Douglas High, he’s finishing high school through Edgenuity, which he said should allow him to graduate in December.

The Collins family lived in Carson Valley part-time since 1996, and full-time since 2018, Chris’ father Doug said.