Up relatively early for the time of the week, but probably not early enough.
Nevertheless, out and over the Valley, up the slope into the Sierras -- the typical drill: Auburn Ravine,
the hydrollicked cliffs of
Gold
Run,
stream-capturing near
Bear Valley,
Emigrant
Gap,
the
Yuba
territory,
Castle
Ridge and
Peak,
Donner
Canyon and
Pass,
Martis Valley,
Brockway,
Crystal
Bay,
up
28
and
431,
via
Hairpin View,
beyond 8000 feet to
Upper Grade
Parking,
the Toiyabe National Forest boundary, and
Tahoe
Meadows to
Mt. Rose Summit.
Thinking about the real Summit... c. 2000 feet higher... but, knowing that 2pm's cumulous can lead to 4pm's inclemency, elect to continue the route northeast,
biking down to
Mt. Rose (Slide Mountain, actually)
Ski Area,
then
walking
back up the grade, with views of Reno Valley and a
strange-ominous
eastern
cloud
build-up --
past No-Trespassing-Closed-For-Your-Health Road,
Horseshoe Meadow,
and
Avalanche
Cliffs --
to
the
Visitor
Area,
where
an emergency contingent has been deployed,
for reasons unknown,
yet time does not tell.
Neither is it ever learned as to whether the weather truly turns bad here later in the late afternoon,
as
downslope
we
go
into
Reno
Valley,
where
the clouds to the east definitely look beautifully threatening,
driving
up
Business
395
into
the
hazardous-to-so-many-purses of downtown Reno,
remembering Megan and her departed beloved,
and
watching
the
animate
and
inanimate
dramas
playing
out
below
and
above.
West on 80,
back
up
into
the
Sierra
via
Truckee
Canyon,
near
Verdi
back
into
California,
past
Farad and
Floristan
stops and
starts,
up
and
over
Donner
Summit,
down grade towards Blue Canyon,
past Colfax and
Newcastle,
aiming for the
Coast Ranges,
to
scheduled musical endeavors of the evening.
