PHOTO BY
JEFF DOW
PHOT
O BY
ABNE
R KIN
GMAN
COME BAG A TRAIL OR MORE
C a r s o n Va l l e y, n V
Trails dart across Carson Valley's high
desert adventurescape, roving over
rolling plains and shooting back and
forth up lush mountainsides, carrying
navigators from shadow to sunlight,
flatland to forest often in a matter of
moments.
In this place, this gem of a year-round
outdoor paradise tucked away against
the majestic barrier retaining the east-
ern shores of lake Tahoe, the condi-
tions can run the entire spectrum of
seasons in a single afternoon. What-
ever the whimsy of the weather,
though, these trails -- traveling more
than 50 miles across rideable terrain
and epic views --have been etched
as deeply and concretely as the
roots put down by those that built
them.
Valley native and self-professed
mountain biking addict Kate Blake
knows these sierra nevada pas-
sageways like the back of her hand.
she was there for the sweat and toil
as some of Valley's the most popular
routes were laid out. "everyone
jumped on board with the effort,"
said Blake. "We got an e-mail asking
for volunteers to help build trails, so
my parents, my brother and I went
up one saturday and helped put the
Clear Creek Trail together." The trail
was built in sections by volunteers
from the trails association and local
businesses.
Words by Joey Crandall
A moderate-for-all-levels
trail, Clear Creek runs
approximately 10.5 miles
from bottom to top and back
and is rideable year-round.
The trailhead is located next to
Jacks Valley elementary school just
south of Carson City. In trail speak,
it's "not very technical," but worth
every mile. Clear Creek opens in a
high desert environment, sparsely
populated by trees which allows for
year-round sun.
Adventure Outdoors | Spring 2018 | 61