Weekend Outlook 1/13-1/17, 2022 (MLK Holiday Weekend)
Trail Reports:
Wednesday 1/12/22 4pm:
Took the dogs for a hike from the Middle Keystone trailhead up Poedunk to the Fisticuffs junction. Descended Fisticuffs to Keystone and returned out East Keystone trailhead. The Keystone Connector to the east of the saddle junction with Poedunk was drying but still showing some peanut butter stickiness. Poedunk was alternating between firm and a mucky mess or pure ice/snow as it alternated between sunfacing South slopes and protected North-East slopes. There is plenty of snow on the trial or on the slopes above anywhere where there isn’t direct afternoon sun exposure. The junction with Fisticuffs is still partially snowed over and the topmost section of Fisticuffs is still saturated. Otherwise, Fisticuffs is clear and firm to the bottom. Keystone Canyon still has water running in the trail in multiple places above the Fisticuffs junction but is firming up below. - Patrick S.
Thursday 1/13/22 6am:
Headed West on the Keystone to Kings connector from the Keystone West trailhead early while the mud was still frozen. Climbed Las Brisas from Kings Row trailhead and then turned west to the Las Brisas traverse and descent to the road. The connector was showing signs of firming up but still had running and standing water in places. The Kings Row trailhead access road had running water and showed signs of significant mud in multiple places. Las Brisas was mostly looking really good up until nearly the big tree junction with only limited signs of softness and running water in the last few hundred feet approaching the tree. Beyond the tree was much worse. Long stretches of puddles, running water, or boot holed snow. This continued throughout the traverse west and required some significant hike a bike where the snow was so uneven it was unrideable. The Las Brisas descent to the road was mixed. At the top of the descent snow has drifted over 2’ deep in places over the trail for a hundred feet or so. The middle portion was firming up but showed sign of recent serious mud. The bottom 300 or so feet of the trail are snowed over or have standing water and the snow is heavily boot tracked making it nearly unrideable. Looped back to West Keystone via the Upper Peavine dam. Everything looked firm and dry from the dam up to the Kings Row trailhead. -Patrick S.
Weekend Events:
Here are the events that are on the radar for this weekend:
Thursday, January 13:
5:45pm
Silver State Striders will be running hills in southwest Reno. Departing from the Eclipse Running, this is ~8 miles of pavement and hills. Lights and reflective attire required and traction aids a strong suggestion due to winter conditions. More details on their website.
Saturday, January 15:
8:00am
Silver State Striders are running the Virginia City Highlands fire station loop. This loop is roughly 16 miles. Meeting at the Virginia City Highlands Fire Station. Traction aids a strong suggestion due to winter conditions. More details on their Facebook Group Page.
Monday, January 17:
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Trail Outlook
Slowly improving. The weather is expected to be stable and very nice for the holiday weekend. If you stick to sun exposed and low elevation routes, you are likely to avoid most of the mud and snow. You can push your luck on routes that climb south facing noses, but don’t be surprised if you hit snow or peanut butter before as soon as the trail switches to a more easterly facing slope. Given what I’ve seen around the Keystone and Las Brisas areas, I would expect most of upper Rancho to be reasonably firming up excepting upper N, Powerline, and Reno Vista. Keystone Canyon has water running in the trail so expect peanut butter and slippery conditions near any water crossings.
If you are swapping the running and riding for a little back country sliding, check out the latest avalanche conditions over at Sierra Avalanche Center. The sunshine and moderate temps are making for isolated spring conditions in the backcountry. Knowing where to look can make the difference of coming home.
If you get out, let us know what you saw by submitting a trail report. I’m particularly interested to hear about areas around Sierra Vista, Hoge rd, and North Valleys Regional Park.
Be kind, be safe, and enjoy.
Sunrise over a frozen and snowy Las Brisas trail. January 13, 2022