Weekend Outlook 4/2-4/4, 2021
You think the uncorking of the Suez had anything to do with the arrival of this damn fine weather?
And outdoor activity weather it is! Sunshine, seventies, and a stiff afternoon breeze each day this weekend. Heck, overnights won’t even get below the freeze line…. at least down at trailhead level. Speaking of warm mornings, I got out for my dawn patrol ride and damn if I wasn’t chasing someone up Keystone in the dark! Y’all are early risers! Way to go.
This past week, we got reports that Total Recall and Colpo are now good top to bottom. This opens access to Scrub Brush, BobSled, and Lingel’s. Three Trees is also one I haven’t heard about recently. If y’all get eyes on any of these, let me know and I’ll get the front page squared away. Browsing through the Tahoe Fire Cams, it looks like the shaded sides of slopes are still protecting that snow. If I had to bet, I’d say Mahogany Forest still has snow on it but we may make a serious dent this weekend with the heat and wind.
That heat is likely to bring other trail users out as well. Hungry, slow moving, and slithery ones. And no, I’m not talking about the local college students emerging from a cold winter in the dorms… I’m talking about nope ropes, aka snek, aka snakes. Up on our sweet little hill we have three species. Around ponds and streams you may come across the harmless Common Garter Snake. Along the dry trails, you are more likely to find the Gopher Snake (pictured below) or the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. Both have their place in the desert ecosystem but the former is non-venomous (read: not harmful to humans) and kills the latter, and the latter is venomous. (read: give this one plenty of space) None of these three want to be around humans, or dogs, but being cold blooded (slow) and viewing the world from a quarter inch off the ground (effectively blind) means that fast moving tall things are likely to come as a surprise. If you do surprise one and don’t want to stick around to find out what it is, just give it a wide berth and it will be just as appreciative to be done with you. Regardless of the species, please do not chase or harass these locals. All they want is a snack and a warm spot for a nap. I think we can all connect with that.
Shout out to Spencer over at the Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation for his post about making mountain biking more accessible. It’s a nice little beginner’s guide and features this little community project as a resource. :) (-Yes, I’m not above flattery. It works.)
As always, if you get out on the mountain, submit a trail report and let us know how it is. I’ll update the front page as reports come in.
Friendly Snek enjoys trails… and kills rattlesnakes.