[K-max]

Now that were just 3 weeks away, it's time to start planning this ride. Those with more accurate info, please correct me and I'll edit.

The Ride
BIG RIDE
Ride the TRT from Spooner Summit on the east side of the lake to Kingsbury Grade. Continue on TRT, past Heavenly, up near 10,000', past Armstrong Pass and finally descend the Saxon Creek Trail, aka Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

Length: 38 miles
Spooner to Kingsbury: 1600'
Kingsbury to Toad's: @ 6600'
Total Elevation gain: @ 8200'

Here is a GPS plot from Kingsbury to Hwy 89:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.mb?episodePk.pkValue=276136

+++

NOT-SO-BIG RIDE
Spooner to Kingsbury out-and-back. For those not interested in an all-day adventure. These riders will be in charge of driving the designated shuttle vehicles to the bottom of Toad's.

Length: 24 miles
Elevatin gain: 3500' ?

The Details
This ride is open to anyone interested. You should, however, know your abilities, and feel okay with a long, technical all day ride, and be self-sufficient. This will not, however be a race. We'll move together at an easy pace and make sure no one gets dropped. There are a few bailout options along the way, though, in case bonking occurs. The goal is to get to toad's, not to survive it, but rather ENJOY it! Riders will meet at the bottom of Mr. Toad's (accurate location to come) at 7 AM to stage vehicles and consolidate riders into shuttle vehicles. Morgan Fletcher has volunteered his Land Cruiser which can take 8 riders and 8 bikes, so if anyone else can do the same, that may be enough. The fewer the better. We will then drive to the Spooner trailhead and get going sometime between 8-8:30 am. The out-and-back group will then drive the shuttle vehicles back to Toad's and hang out/leave/take a shower/nap/whatever, while the rest of the group rides on. The BIG RIDE group will be a few hours behind the NOT-SO-BIG-RIDE group, but not much more considering the loading up and driving time.

Individual TRT section maps are found here.http://www.tahoerimtrail.org/trailmaps.htm#three

Needs

• We need some solid commitments from riders and shuttle owners, so we can confidently move bodies and bikes and focus not on logistics, but having a GREAT RIDING EXPERIENCE! The quality of trail and scenery are unmatched. Let's try not to overcomplicate this.

• We'll need trail condition updates. This ride is hinging on the trail being snow-free at 10K'.

• Everyone needs to bring REAL food. Your body will need it. Pack a roast beef sandwich or two. Clif bars aren't that appealing at high altitude. Gummy worms are, however.

• At least a few water filters. I'll bring mine. Bring yours if ya got one.

Wants
Food and water drop at the Kingsbury trailhead. If anyone can do this, it'd be a huge help to the ride and very appreciated. It's possible that this could be done on the way to Spooner, but it'd need to be done early so we can start the ride on time. We'll want to be at 10K' feet by 1 pm-ish, to avoid any unsettling weather.

Or better yet, we can stop at a store at the beginning of the Kingsbury climb.

++++++++++++

If all goes as planned, we should all be done in time to change/shower/rest and meet somewhere for dinner. We'll be spent like a dirty dollar in Vegas, with maybe just enough energy to lift a fork.

Who's in?

 

[Ogre]

Oh man...

Length: 36 miles
Elevation gain: 6000' ?

Who's in?

I just don't know. I think I can hang for that distance. You've ridden wit me Kyle, You think I can hang? I'm familiar with a lot of the trails up there. Anywhere I can crash post ride? I might just want to spend Saturday night up there and go home Sunday AM.

 

[grrrah]

hmm... I am a maybe.. I was planning on doing an easy one-way mt. rose to spooner the same day and spend the afternoon with the gf pool or lakeside. I will try to swing being gone the whole day, but if not, it would be cool to meet up for the dinner regardless.

 

[K-max]

yep.

You think I can hang?

Dude, with the best of em! You know you can do it. It's a matter of how well you can manage a bonk. Because ruling out the 5% that can smoke this ride, the rest of us will be riding pretty conservatively to not hit that proverbial :madman: wall. Plus, I'd love to have you along. I just sent you a PM about accomodations.

 

[K-max]

...I will try to swing being gone the whole day...

Sweet. Yeah, that's your call. Your Gf would appreciate your original idea, but if you can work it, you'd be in for a monumental ride. Regardless, definitely hook up with us in the evening.

 

[Wherewolf]

A+ only

First of all the ride is 38 miles and it climbs to near 10,000 ft. Since you first mentioned it I've heard from a few locals. They say even just Kingsbury to Toads is pretty tough and it might not be a good idea to string these two rides together if you haven't already done both. One said "This [Kingsbury to Toads] is a much more intense ride than spooner - kingsbury (by far)." Bay Area people who haven't ridden at Tahoe have to take the altitude very seriously. I've seen people have problems just on the Spooner- Kingsbury ride and that's more than a 1,000 ft lower. I have little doubt you hammerheads can do this ride but I suggest caution for those that haven't ridden at Tahoe.

Here is a suggestion for an A- ride. I could "accompany" some on my Mt. Rose to Kingsbury via The Flume Trail epic, which is 35 miles, but much easier. With a group it would probably take 7- 8 hours. We would leave half the vehicles at Kingsbury and self-shuttle to Mt. Rose. You could stash some supplies at Kingsbury in the vehicles left there.

BTW, Cohenfive and I are doing Spooner - Kingsbury round-trip this Saturday (7/8) at 8 am for those who want a preview. However, if Mt. Rose melts out (which isn't likely) we will do the Mt. Rose - Kingsbury epic.

 

[d-bug]

If all goes as planned, we should all be done in time to change/shower/rest and meet somewhere for dinner.

Who's in?

That "somewhere" should be one of the buffets in Nevada. I think it's Harrahs that has the best one. $18 a person, but the food quality there is good.
After 36 miles, a buffet would be the appropriate thing. Stuff your face with a huge variety of food. That alone would make me want to join this ride.

A practice ride of this length would be a good idea IMO. Maybe a Nisene>Demo 2 loops and back.

-Dan

 

[K-max]

This [Kingsbury to Toads] is a much more intense ride than spooner - kingsbury (by far)." Bay Area people who haven't ridden at Tahoe have to take the altitude very seriously.

Good point, Steve and I'm glad you bring it up. You have to be able to acclimate to this elevation fast. It will be a grind. Doable but difficult. I'm fairly confident that those who are up for it will understand the conditions. That said, there are bailout options if anyone is having problems, me included! No one will suffer needlessly, unless they want to. There will be a natural weeding out process. We can do an assessment at Kingsbury and see if anyone is having issues. If they are, they can either ride back to Spooner or drop down to lake level. I'm sure most everyone will ride the Spooner-Kingsbury section fine. We'll hopefully eat some staged food there, then prepare for the 5.1 mile climb to Monument Pass, a 1300' climb. If the group was feeling okay at Kingsbury, this part should go fairly smoothly. From Monument Pass, we'll ride 3.7 miles with only 300 feet of ascent to Star Lake. We'll have lunch at Star Lake and allow ourselves to acclimate a bit. From Star Lake will be the most difficult section of the day, a climb from 9100' to 9730'. It'll be a death march. But from there, we descend to Armstrong Pass, where if anyone is having problems, can descend Corral Trail. From Armstrong Pass there's a 5 mile rolling ride to the top of Toad's. I'm sure many of us will be dragging our tired asses by this point, but the allure of the final descent should be enough to keep us going.

We would leave half the vehicles at Kingsbury and self-shuttle to Mt. Rose. You could stash some supplies at Kingsbury in the vehicles left there.

That could work out. We can use this as a back-up if no one can do a drop. Thanks for the offer!

 

[fourarm]

Snow at the pass...

Now that were just 3 weeks away, it's time to start planning this ride. Those with more accurate info, please correct me and I'll edit.

• We'll need trail condition updates. This ride is hinging on the trail being snow-free at 10K'.

• Everyone needs to bring REAL food. Your body will need it. Pack a roast beef sandwich or two. Clif bars aren't that appealing at high altitude. Gummy worms are, however.

• At least a few water filters. I'll bring mine. Bring yours if ya got one.

Who's in?

I really think there is going to be too much snow on the north facing slopes at the high points to make it through but give it a try anyway. Even if there is only a little snow, you will probably be the first ones of the season to travel this TRT section and that can make for slow going even where there isn't snow.

I'd like to try this sometime around Labor day.

 

[CHUM]

I'm in - I'll go ahead and tacle that "not-so-A+-ride". Gonna be fun :thumbsup:

 

[Plim]

I am angry. ANGRY!!! :madmax:

I can not make this ride.

Dammit.

:madmax: ANGRY!!!!! :madmax:

 

[jdubsl2]

Count me in!!!



Justin

 

[Ebo]

Don't miss the Harveys $30 seafood buffet either. 7 nights a week. Go straight to the sashimi and work your way from there. Good stuffing after a huge ride. Wish I could make and/or survive a true "epic" like this. Good luck.

 

[imjps]

I'm climbing Shasta that weekend, otherwise I'd be there.

Good luck and have fun,

jps

 

[K-max]

Yep, and this is something were going to rely on a local for up-to-date info. TahoeBC has given me some current trail reports and it sounds like it may or may not be snow free 3 weeks from now. It'll be a wait and see situation. I've considereed what you mentioned: just try to push through. Pretty sketchy with a group considering we may have to turn around at a certain point. Let's hope it melts! If not, there are plenty of other ride options. We'll be up there no matter what...

 

[rensho]

Saw this link that may help with trail conditions.

www.tahoerimtrail.org

Looking at the topos, seems like the footies are a lot, but not sure if we're talking 10k.
http://www.tahoerimtrail.org/trailmaps.htm#four

This calls for super Frogger...
Bugger, i can't go.

A+ group = Punisher Posse.

 

[TahoeBC]

I'll chime in more with some pic's, etc later this week. Actullay think the timing will be perfect as far as snow melt goes, did spooner to Star lake on Friday snow free with the exception of 3 small hardly worth mentioning drifts. Freel is buried still but I think it will be passable in a couple weeks. Toads is a blast right now!!!!!!!!

You might consider instead of leaving a food car at Kingsbury, there is a store right on the way you can refill your bottles, get expresso, beer, whatever, before catching the TRT again at StageCoach.

 

[Impy]

Hey this sounds fun, I think I might try and make part or all of it.

 

[morganfletcher]

I'm in. I'll probably go up Friday night and sleep on my roof near the bottom of Mr. Toads Wild Ride, meet you all at 7 Saturday, drive the A group to Spooner, do the ride, get a ride back and then eat a big dinner with y'all. If I knew where to put it, I could hide a cooler with food and drink somewhere on Kingsbury Grade Friday night. I have a water filter. I'd be driving home to Oakland Saturday night. Let me know if you want to carpool.

My bike mount situation is a roof rack (7'x5') with thule cross bars and four bike mounts on top of it, and a thule 4-bike hitch mount rack. The Land Cruiser has seating for eight, but it could be snug if you're all as big as me. Two seats only have lap belts. There's room in the way-back for camelbacks and wheels and stuff. It's possible to fit four grownup mt bikes on the trailer hitch rack, but it is snug, and might require the removal of pedals. I've done it with two grownup mtn bikes and two kid bikes and it all just barely fit. Some scratching may occur. (Heavens!)

OK, let me know if there's something I didn't get. PM me if you want to carpool.

Morgan (in Hawaii, doing lots of fun road rides and hanging with the family)

 

[K-max]

You might consider instead of leaving a food car at Kingsbury, there is a store right on the way you can refill your bottles, get expresso, beer, whatever, before catching the TRT again at StageCoach.

Hey, now that's a great idea. Much less hassle. We'll do that instead.