All-purpose Lake Tahoe thread

I think Big Chief Trail will be on the menu during the first week of September. This trail is new, and it's rad. Still being worked on. MTB-specific, solid black with almost no mandatory drops. Extra chunky with many, many features like rock jumps, berms, log ride, rock bridges, rolling rock drops (yep, lotta rocks). If you like that stuff with a little spice, remoteness, and views, it's a must!!!!!!!
 
kingaucho said:
Met up with @mike last night and told him about my grand plan over some beers at Alibi - 06 Road, up Lower Big Chief, up Upper Big Chief, Tahoe Rim Trail to Brockway Summit, across 267 Hwy to Dry Lake and the singletrack there. Basically trying to just make a biggish loop from my in-laws’ house without driving anywhere. Well, it was a good thought! Me and my local riding buddy Peter went up Lower Big Chief. This is a doable trail going uphill, but most people just ride the fire road to the top and drop in. We wanted a challenge though! Some amazing views, riding, experience - pretty much what you always get here in the Tahoe area. Started riding up Upper Big Chief and about a mile or so into it decided that it was not exactly rideable in that direction without constant HAB, so we turned around and enjoyed the amazing downhill we had just earned! Did just under 22 miles, but man I grinning ear to ear and hooting and hollering through the berms, rock features, log ride... My little Giant Anthem 29er was just enough!

Had a blast and stoked I brought enough water this time to complete Big Chief this time!

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Oh.... Right now.... on this Monday morning at work? I lovingly hate you. :mad: (Heavier on the love! :inlove:)
 
FWIW, a short area trail list I can vouch for:

Big Chief
Armstrong Pass/Armstrong Connector/Corral
Tahoe Rim Trail (a few sections between Big Meadow and Tahoe Meadows, and more up NW from Baldy Peak to Tahoe City/River Rd. Shuttle or not.)
Clear Creek from Spooner Summit down
Sierra Canyon to Genoa NV
Saxon (Mr Toad's)
Kingsbury Stinger

I hear both Coldwater and Chimney Beach are fun ways down to the Lake from the rim. Notice...no mention of Hole in the Ground or the Flume. Good, but in context, overrated.
 
mike said:
FWIW, a short area trail list I can vouch for:


Tahoe Rim Trail (a few sections between Big Meadow and Tahoe Meadows, and more up NW from Baldy Peak to Tahoe City/River Rd. Shuttle or not.)
Clear Creek from Spooner Summit down
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I was out there last week. Sorry I did not hit you up. Thought of you often and wish I could have shared some dirt and grass with you.
My Best Friend's lil sister got married, and his son (my Godson) turned 1. So I had a full itinerary and had to get rides in when I could.
I shuttled these two and they are both top notch!
I also got some early morning pedaling in at a trail network behind my Air B&B in King's Beach. I love how you can finish a ride at the lake take a quick dip and skip the shower. The cold water is magical for muscle recovery.
 
MrGreedom said:
I was out there last week. Sorry I did not hit you up. Thought of you often and wish I could have shared some dirt and grass with you.
My Best Friend's lil sister got married, and his son (my Godson) turned 1. So I had a full itinerary and had to get rides in when I could.
I shuttled these two and they are both top notch!
I also got some early morning pedaling in at a trail network behind my Air B&B in King's Beach. I love how you can finish a ride at the lake take a quick dip and skip the shower. The cold water is magical for muscle recovery.
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Ryan, I figured you were on a tight timeline – glad you got in some dirt anyway! We'll hit some stuff next time we're in adjacent counties or closer. Keep stoking the passion. :thumbsup:
 
Looks like I have the haul pass for circumnavigating Lake Tahoe next weekend. :thumbsup: Planning three nights out. A lollipop from Truckee, enclosing the Lake at Martis Peak on the north rim. Mileage prolly 140.

The Lake Trail last year and other exploits have informed me decently, so I’ll be following my nose along whatever way seems best. Really looking forward to the big east side stretch from Big Meadow to Rose. (Kind of a backwards Rose-to-Toads.) Probably resupply once around the south end of the lake.

I’m superstoked, it’s been weeks since I’ve slept in the dirt; a year since I’ve bikepacked.
 
Looks like a dump of rain starting after 11am today, and some lingering low pressure with chances of showers the rest of the week.

The Tahoe Rim is the most likely place to get rain IME.

@mtbMike, @pdqmach26 and @pperrelle, stay warm out there – Mount Rose is a local epicenter of wintry weather.

A good sketchy-weather ride is to park at the bottom of Clear Creek Trail on Jacks Valley Rd, pedal up 14 mi to Spooner (or as far as you feel like), turn around and DH back to the desert and your car. A couple miles before Spooner it gets flat and downhill slightly on the way up. (Extra credit: From Spooner Summit TH, head south on TRT to the Bench ~6 mi then reverse all of it, ~20 mi DH.) You could also out-back Sierra Canyon Trail from Genoa NV the same way. Look for signs directing you where on the street to park for SCT (Trailforks). Probably 20 degrees warmer down there than on the rim, not as windy. East side base of the mountains (Carson Valley/Genoa) in the 70's this week.
 
mike said:
Looks like a dump of rain starting after 11am today, and some lingering low pressure with chances of showers the rest of the week.

The Tahoe Rim is the most likely place to get rain IME.

@mtbMike, @pdqmach26 and @pperrelle, stay warm out there – Mount Rose is a local epicenter of wintry weather.

A good sketchy-weather ride is to park at the bottom of Clear Creek Trail on Jacks Valley Rd, pedal up 14 mi to Spooner (or as far as you feel like), turn around and DH back to the desert and your car. A couple miles before Spooner it gets flat and downhill slightly on the way up. (Extra credit: From Spooner Summit TH, head south on TRT to the Bench ~6 mi then reverse all of it, ~20 mi DH.) You could also out-back Sierra Canyon Trail from Genoa NV the same way. Look for signs directing you where on the street to park for SCT (Trailforks). Probably 20 degrees warmer down there than on the rim, not as windy. East side base of the mountains (Carson Valley/Genoa) in the 70's this week.
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Rain, we didn’t hit any rain. Just a couple inches of snow! The pics below are before it got too cold to remove my gloves and take a picture. The snow got deeper. The last pic was us trying to warm up in a pit toilet before finishing the ride down to Spooner Lake.

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mike said:
Excellent!!!!! No wetness, you guys hit that just right!!! :thumbsup:

Just how much snow is in Mike's hood?!? :eek::cool:
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@mike There was probably 3" on the ground as we climbed out of Marlett Lake towards Chimney Rock. By that turnoff, it was so deep that the climb up to the Chimney Rock DH was questionable so we played it safe and rode out to Spooner Lake. The owner of Flume Trail Bikes was nice enough to come out and shuttle us back and even brought hot chocolate.

I also have no idea why we're smiling as we shared the trailside pit toilet. We were cold as hell and Bob had so much snow in his hair, it looked like dreadlocks.
 
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mtbMike said:
@mike There was probably 3" on the ground as we climbed out of Marlett Lake towards Chimney Rock. By that turnoff, it was so deep that the climb up to the Chimney Rock DH was questionable so we played it safe and rode out to Spooner Lake. The owner of Flume Trail Bikes was nice enough to come out and shuttle us back and even brought hot chocolate.

I also have no idea why we're smiling as we shared the trailside pit toilet. We were cold as hell and Bob had so much snow in his hear, it looked like dreadlocks.
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Props to you badasses!!!! :thumbsup: Way to deal with it and not miss a vacation day :sneaky::cool:. I was looking outside thinking about conditions up there, sipping tea... :gotnothing: TFPU!

Forecast looks decent :geek:
 
Kit for a lap around Lake Tahoe. It looks like a lot of stuff, but it's not much more than I take on any trail ride. (I probably take more than most or many riders.) Mostly add a sleeping bag, food and a stove.


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My bike will look something like my previous Smash, plus a 22 l backpack, not full.

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mike said:
She’s at it again...

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We found some features on an alternate on (trail name). (@rossage and @Luis, we missed this by taking that vague right to connect the ST.)

That rock drop had some buck to it, but the weez hung on like a champ. She might be a little drunk on 29er rollover...
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That's so cool. That rock drop pic you posted yesterday looked formidable as well. :thumbsup::thumbsup: :cool::cool:
 
herzalot said:
That's so cool. That rock drop pic you posted yesterday looked formidable as well. :thumbsup::thumbsup: :cool::cool:
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Thanks, bud. :)

The divide between our abilities continues to shrink. She has always gone everywhere I have on MTB, but now she cleans almost everything. If I’m not on point I’ll get weezed at least once on every ride. It takes effort to reel her in on most terrain. Sometimes a little scary. Good team building, tho. :geek:

No BS, the bike is helping. A bigger bike/wheel with aggro geo and tuned squish is a perfect platform for the skills she worked on the Bronson. The frame numbers comparatively are hugely different. She’s on a different size bike now and says it fits her perfectly. And the riding speaks for itself. We don't have the right fork on it yet but she’s riding harder terrain on this bike than the Bronson only four rides in. :inlove::thumbsup:
 
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Drink em up, folks, head for the doors. Show’s over.

The last squall spared Truckee, but Tahoe Rim is done. All white, with a new dump coming and cold temps. Winter is on its way.

It was a fantastic season, if short due to melting out late. Riding and climbing (two separate things, yo) goals for meself and the weez were met if not exceeded. But missed Downieville.

Great to see a couple of you up here, sorry I missed a couple more.

PS: Any you want to smash South Mountain and other venues in Phoenix after Thanksgiving, LMK. Hope to see ya, @schillingsworth, @tortoise, @singlespeedrider.
 
mike said:
Drink em up, folks, head for the doors. Show’s over.

The last squall spared Truckee, but Tahoe Rim is done. All white, with a new dump coming and cold temps. Winter is on its way.

It was a fantastic season, if short due to melting out late. Riding and climbing (two separate things, yo) goals for meself and the weez were met if not exceeded. But missed Downieville.

Great to see a couple of you up here, sorry I missed a couple more.

PS: Any you want to smash South Mountain and other venues in Phoenix after Thanksgiving, LMK. Hope to see ya, @schillingsworth, @tortoise, @singlespeedrider.
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Keep me posted and I’ll see what I can do. I have lots of family in town sucking up my free time.
 
mike said:
Drink em up, folks, head for the doors. Show’s over.

The last squall spared Truckee, but Tahoe Rim is done. All white, with a new dump coming and cold temps. Winter is on its way.

It was a fantastic season, if short due to melting out late. Riding and climbing (two separate things, yo) goals for meself and the weez were met if not exceeded. But missed Downieville.

Great to see a couple of you up here, sorry I missed a couple more.

PS: Any you want to smash South Mountain and other venues in Phoenix after Thanksgiving, LMK. Hope to see ya, @schillingsworth, @tortoise, @singlespeedrider.
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@mike @singlespeedrider Sorry, been absent from this forum for a while. Been kinda off the bike way too much these past few months, but that's a whole nuther story. Not sure how much free time I'll have in the coming weeks, but I am planning to ride the AES Pleasantville event on Sat. Dec. 7th. 61 miler around Lake Pleasant, roughly 40 miles of it are singletrack trails. Shoot me a text if/when you're in town: 48Zero - 2ZERO3 - 18Zero4 (I think you can crack the code)
 
I'm happy to report it's again time to rev up this thread. This year there won't have much waiting for the higher stuff to melt out. Sierra snowpack @ 50% of normal for the season.


But this is about you, not me. :geek: What contingent can I expect up there this year? @kingaucho, @Luis, @rossage, and @herzalot seem likely. The McGs trying to slip through again? I'll be up for most anything (Northscar is all you and Vince, @Grego), but for sure repeating Rose to Toads and the Lake Trail – two gluttonous and memorable routes along the big lake. Day stuff on the north shore, Tahoe Rim etc, hard to go too far wrong. Anyone who hasn't done Big Chief trail needs to. Love to try for a day at Lakes Basin or D-ville.

You've been warned. See ya there...
 
mike said:
I'm happy to report it's again time to rev up this thread. This year there won't have much waiting for the higher stuff to melt out. Sierra snowpack @ 50% of normal for the season.


But this is about you, not me. :geek: What contingent can I expect up there this year? @kingaucho, @Luis, @rossage, and @herzalot seem likely. The McGs trying to slip through again? I'll be up for most anything (Northscar is all you and Vince, @Grego), but for sure repeating Rose to Toads and the Lake Trail – two gluttonous and memorable routes along the big lake. Day stuff on the north shore, Tahoe Rim etc, hard to go too far wrong. Anyone who hasn't done Big Chief trail needs to. Love to try for a day at Lakes Basin or D-ville.

You've been warned. See ya there...
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Nooooo.... OK Yes. See you there in late June for the IB conference. I may need to tack on a few days, y'know.

EDIT: IB Conference not happening for me (and who knows if it will be happening at all). The strand I need is not being offered at this particular conference.

Sooooo, that means I should plan my Tahoe trip in July! :thumbsup:
 
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I’ve planned a McCall - Tahoe trip again this summer. Will be there 7/21-7/26. Just me and the boy riding every morning. A few north* and a few others. All are welcome. If we survive lol.
 
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