Trail Karma Opportunity:

• Carson Valley Trails is holding trail work days on the Lower Clear Creek/Indian Hills expansion project this weekend and Monday (Feb 5-8). To register your interest in volunteering to help, they are asking you to sign up on their volunteer page linked here.

Weekend Events:

Here are the events that are on the radar for this weekend:

• Thursday, February 03:

  • 5:45pm

    • Silver State Striders will be running hills in southwest Reno. Departing from the Eclipse Running, this is ~8-10 miles of pavement and hills. Lights and reflective attire required. More details on their website.

• Saturday, February 05:

  • 8:00am

    • Silver State Striders are running a long primarily dirt route heading West out and back along the Steamboat Ditch Trail from Horseman’s Park on Skyline Drive. Up to a 23 mile long options available since it is out and back. More details on their Facebook Group Page.

• Sunday, February 06:

  • 9:00am

    • Kurstin Graham is organizing another gravel ride out in the wilds of Nevada. This one featuring areas east of the Walker River and South-West of Hawthorne. The long route is lollipop shaped so can be shortened into an out and back if 70+ miles is more than you have the appetite for. Riders are expected to be self supporting and you can always expect some degree of adventure on Kurstin’s rides as well as a fun hole in the wall food stop afterward. For route details and to RSVP, check out the Facebook Event Page.

Trail Outlook

If warm and dry January is June-uary, does that make a warm and dry February Febr-uly? Doesn’t matter what we call it other than great for being outside. Not a lot of change in conditions from the past few weeks. The cold snap is now past us and this weekend might see temperatures approaching 60f. That means more melt water but also more trails drying out. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the last wet spots at Sierra Vista firm up as well as the N jump line and Keystone Canyon and maybe a loop or two on Peavine open up. And we aren’t the only species enjoying the warmth. Keep your eyes open for some early blossoms. I’ve seen Beckwourth Violets and Longleaf Phlox blossoming near the Keystone West trailhead. Lots of greenery at lower elevations will likely make for an extended, though may not so intense, wildflower season this year. Be aware, there was some runoff control excavation done this week along the 4wd road climbing uphill from the Keystone West trailhead. It looks like the road is entirely accessible, but a few hundred feet are reshaped, there is a new berm and ditch on the uphill side, and there was still heavy equipment parked alongside the road as of Wednesday evening.

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. Plenty of surface level facets over hard crust going on at the moment. 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 Hoge Road Trailhead and North Valleys Regional Park.

Be kind, be safe, and enjoy.