The wind was blowing pretty good when I left the house early in the morning to meet my brother in Fernley, where we'd carpool the rest of the way. It was pretty cold and drizzly but our spirit was still good and we were looking forward to a possible summit. The drive out E. Coal Valley Rd., just east of Lovelock (off Interstate 80) was really beautiful and I'm always amazed at how green the Nevada desert can be. The range was enveloped in low clouds but there didn't appear to be any snow on the mountains...yet. After about a 45 minute drive from I-80 we arrived at our starting point near Walker Pass in a steady rain.
As we changed into appropriate gear the rain turned to snow and the wind began to pick up. We weren't all that discouraged as it still seemed like a fun adventure so we set off up the ridge line. We knew the climb would be substantial as we had to gain 3,000+ feet in a 4.5-5 miles. Within minutes it was snowing pretty good and the temps were dropping.
The trail was good and the snow actually made it kind of fun, for a while. Even over steep terrain traction was never an issue, which was good cause I told Craig that there was no need for his yak trax on this adventure. Up we went for about two miles until the point where it appeared we'd gain the true (more exposed) ridge line for the summit. We talked it over here and decided it looked like it was going to get worse and it would be a better choice to turn back now. Good call! In 30 seconds to a minute after starting our descent back down the storm really kicked in. We cussed and laughed our way down hiding behind scrub whenever the opportunity presented itself. This video half way down sums it up pretty well.
Untitled from Darren Young on Vimeo.
Regardless of the outcome, it was a fantastic way to spend a Sunday morning and I had a blast. Still, I felt a bit guilty for the short run in the morning so when I got back home to Reno I went for a windy run for a little over 5 miles (Evans Canyon, a staple run for me).
A pretty short week mileage wise (30 miles) but, as I mentioned in my last post, it just nice to be running. I'm a little nervous about running 50k this weekend. The knee might be okay but I don't know if I have 50k in me right now! Heck, it's only three 10 mile runs, right? That's easy.
