Bikepacking The Lost Sierra and Garson Road-Lake Tahoe-Tahoe Pyramid loop.
Finding adventure in new ways has been a heck of a time recently. For a couple years I focused so singularly on running that I forgot about the many other ways I can enjoy the mountains. I did so because when I got into the sport my main goal was to run a 100 mile race. I have done that and want to do more but training so vigorously for the sport left me feeling a bit fried. With that said, I am running Silver State 50/50 50 miler race in Reno this weekend and stoked as hell to see how my new approach of cross training will work out.
Most of April was spent ski mountaineering in the Eastern Sierra but the May thaw around Reno had me yearning for some warmer adventure and camping. So hey, I figured what the heck and spent some money to get my Salsa Fargo ready to go for some bike-packing.
Good choice because over the last two weeks I think I have realized this is a sport that could last a lifetime.
Two weekends ago Cale and I set out on the first mission. We (mostly Cale) basically looked at a few maps the night before and decided on Henness Pass out of Reno and into the "Lost Sierra" of Northern California. We knew little about it but we did know that it was a historical route into the Sierra that was used long before the Eisenhower Interstate System was developed. In fact, it was actually the way that the Donner Party got out of the Reno area because this one small spot along the Truckee River which I-80 runs through now was too treacherous to pass then.
On Friday afternoon we set out but low and behold after a flat tire only 15 miles in, you could say we got a little held up. By 3:30pm though, we were well on our way up Henness Pass and very stoked out on the quickly changing ecosystem. The way the mountains pop out of the desert always amazes me.
It's a short but steep 9 miles from Verdi, NV up to the top of Henness Pass and before you know it, you are bombing down the dirt road into the Truckee area with nothing but pine and the snowy Sierra Crest in front of you. Once we reached the bottom of the pass on the California side, we decided to take a quick tour around and see where felt right to lay it down for the night. We ended up circling back after finding too many mosquitos ahead and cowboy camped just off Henness Pass. Full stars overhead, no wind, and just below freezing temps for the low. Hell of a night.
In this photo: Cale Rogers and I sleeping in the dirt.
We woke up stoked, and decided we would cruise on to Sierraville first, all on dirt roads, then head to Loyalton on paved CA-49, then back to Henness Pass via Shipneck Road (dirt), and finally into Reno the way we came in. Basically, one hell of a ride with very little adversity other than the late day thunderstorm that caused the temperature to go from about 75-45 in the blink of an eye.
It was a great trip and all, about 110 miles of fun, but I am cutting this story short because the real adventure was this past weekend. Once again, it seemed like planning was a bit laissez faire. Granted I bought multiple maps, we just couldn't decide on a set route and figured screw it, the weather will be fine for whatever we decide on.
In this photo: Cale Rogers beneath a behemoth.
Trip 2, Garson Road:
This time we made sure we had all the extra's that we failed to bring the first time around and popped out of town around noon without a hitch. We chose NF Road 100, also known as Garson Road, which climbed steeply out of Reno all the way up to about 8,000 feet. First starting with a hot desert ascent, no tree coverage, a very rocky road, and a few creeks which won't last long into the summer. It was a doozy and I was wondering what we got into. However, the thirty deer or so that we came across near the streams seemed to help and before I knew it we were watching bears in the meadows with aspen trees around us.
By about 5:00pm we reached our first obstacle, the first main ridge where the radio towers sit was covered in snow, and our route led south up the north-facing ridge and into higher terrain. The northern route would simply just bring us back to where we came from so decided to stick with it and if it didn't work out, we could always turn around.
Well well well, some 10 miles or so later of hiking our bikes over snow we finally got back on the saddle for about 500 feet and rolled into camped on the nearest sheltered, dry ground, we could find. It turned out to be a killer site next to a creek and we made a fire, ate, then fell asleep on the ground. I made the mistake of turning my headlamp on and when I did, I noticed a tick the size of a skittle on my biv, then a spider, then another one twice as big. Thats what happens when you stir up the duff. Rookie move, I know better.
In the morning we woke up and cruised our way down the mountain into California and followed the road all the way into Glenshire, then up Martis Peak Road, and onto a lower NF Road that turned out to be just an absolute slosh of a grind through wet snow. We really had no option. We had rolled the dice on this road and figured we would hike-a-bike, but damn it was annoying and it really tested our attitudes. Finally after pushing on snow under the hot Sierra sun we got to CA-267 and rolled down to Kings Beach, then around the North Shore over to Tahoe City. I got a flat but it turned out to be an easy fix, we ate some lunch, and then planned to roll down to Squaw to meet Julia who was to give us a ride back down to Reno. However, after a meal, we were feeling strong and decided that the 45 miles down to Reno wouldn't be "that" tough.
Mostly we were right. We cruised paved roads all the way back to Truckee then finally hit the newly developed Tahoe-Pyramid Trail which technically goes from Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake (the start and end of the Truckee River). The trail was fun but definitely very "Nevada." Interpret that as you will but regardless, it gets you where you need to go and it follows a beautiful river.
We totaled the miles to about 125-140 and the following day I definitely ate like we did that much. All and all, one hell of a trip and I feel prepared for the race this weekend. There is something to be said about long days and adversity, even if its in a total different sport, that helps you prepare for an ultra marathon.