July 13 2023
Growing up in southern California my dad would watch Jerry Dunphy deliver the news each evening. Of course this was back when news was reported and not spun into something designed to elicit emotional response. Anyway, Jerry's opening line was always "From the desert to the sea, to all of Southern California, good evening, this is "The News." During my ride of this route I kept thinking of this catch phrase. In the same vein comes my name for this route.
With this post I will also try to start including a link to where you can find a copy of the .gpx, .kml, and other formats that you can download to your own device should you wish to navigate the route yourself. I rode this route from my house but have changed the route to start in town so it's a few miles shorter than what I rode. Typically the route can be ridden mid June - mid October. The elevation goes up to 8200 ft though so will be somewhat snow dependant.
Description: Sample the desert riding on sandy 2 track. Cross Carson City on pavement. Then tackle some great single track climbing up to and around Lake Tahoe, descend single track back down to the valley floor and finish up on pavement back to your starting point. Opportunities for expansive views are abundant. The single track is mild technically, and the route can be done as an overnight. There are plenty of opportunities for water, the first being King's creek at roughly mile 30.5.
Note: I recommend climbing back up snapdragon single track rather than Tunnel Creek rd (nick named "hell for sure") after the Red House Flume trail. Be extremely careful with major hwy crossings at hwy 50 and hwy 395. There's no protected crossing. At hwy 395 you can deviate into town for a safer crossing. Mountain bike with or without front suspension recommended. I used plus tires and I recommend them for the sand behind Hot Springs mountain but could be done on 2.3. The route traverses the traditional lands of the Washoe people.
Finally, treat this as bear territory. Although I didn't see any, bears are common and I took appropriate food handling precautions.
On this ride the snow was finally gone and the flowers were still in bloom. In particular Sunflower Hill was absolutely over-the top-beautiful. Water was plentiful after our big snow year. I camped twice because, well, I wanted to. First camp was a mile or so up the new Capital To Tahoe trail. I camped early after a very early start from my house because from my ride a couple of weeks earlier I didn't remember good camping opportunities higher until near Snow Valley Peak road. Turns out there is though. The second night I camped a mile or two down the Clear Creek Trail from Spooner summit. I used Gaia private land overlay to make sure I was on public land both nights. Everything is 100% ridable with the exception, at least in my case of 'hell for sure'. A steep 400ft climb up Tunnel Creek road. Take Snapdragon single track instead. I got home about 11:30 am after taking a long shade break in Mormon Station State Historic Park in Genoa. A great ride.
My ride stats: 100.9 mi, 7357 el gain.
Bike Setup: Binary Bicycles Kinetik - hardtail, dropper post, 3.0 tires, rack w/bikepacking bags. (Not panniers.)
The route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/43728101.
Video
Scenes from the route:
