This has been one of my favorite bike camping overnighters over the last
couple years. Truckee/Donner area is BEAUTIFUL, and riding through the old
train tunnels is FUN!
The Details: Park at the Safeway in Truckee CA. We roll out at 10am sharp,
then promptly open a magic portal to a beautiful dirty stinky world where
time and capitalism no longer exist.
This was originally a Truckee Bikepacking Collective route that Callie then
tweaked a little bit, and holy smokes it’s a good one, with some mellow
singletrack, a couple beautiful little lakes, an amazing campsite in the
shadow of Devil’s Peak, and the longest abandoned railroad tunnels I’ve ever
ridden through! This ride starts with a kicker of a climb, but only totals
40 miles and +3353 feet of climbing over Saturday and Sunday.
This will be self-supported dispersed camping near Cascade Lakes (6700ft
elevation), following LNT principles, so bring: food, sleep system, a water
filter, a bike light for the tunnels, and a way to bury your own poop
(trowel). As always, this is a casual open-invite trip. No sag, and no
registration or money required, but we’ll try to make sure nobody is left
behind or stranded. We all wear helmets and ask that you do as well.
These rides are at a conversational pace, and we stick together. If you want
to KOM your Strava or impress people by being first up the climb, don’t
bother coming, as the best of the party is at the back of the pack.
Be sure to download the route for offline navigation before the trip, as
cell service can be nonexistent in this area, and if something unforeseen
happens, we want you to be able to navigate back to your vehicle safely. Hit
up @californiatravis on Instagram if you have more questions, and we hope to
see you there!
I carpooled up to Truckee with Doug, who I'd met at the last overnighter. We'd
since become friends, and we've been talking about an October, 4-day trip to
lap Corral de Tierra, Carmel, Big Sur, Burro Ridge, Ventana Wilderness,
Indians Road, Carmel Valley and back. He lives in Oakland, and we share common
interests. As we approached Truckee, he pointed at a mountain, in profile, and
remarked how interesting it looked. Neither of us knew the name.
View from a gas station in Auburn, CA
The meeting point at the Truckee Safeway meant that I'd have to park
overnight. I wasn't sure if that was allowed, so I parked in an out-of-the-way
spot, adound the side of the complex. My car was there the next day. Most people
parked near the entrance to the parking lot.
Visions from Safeway
Doug and I did a bit of light food shopping, I used the rest room, then we
met all the people. I counted 45! Travis gave a little talk - No one's in
charge. Make sure you have the route. I have a QR code on the back of my helmet
that will get you to the route, come get it from me if you need it. Who here is
bike camping for the first time? (hands go up) This is a chill ride. If you need
something, say something. Who's got a first aid kit? (hands) Who knows how to
use one? (hands) And then we were rolling, west, along the northern shore of
Donner Lake.
AJ, and his magnificent, colorful Meriwether bike
Panorama of the crew, in the Safeway parking lot; I counted 45 riders!
Looking across at Schallenberger Ridge, and the train tunnels
After following the northern shore most of the way west, we began
climbing, first pavement, then on singletrack, up the Wendin Way Access Trail, a
series of switchbacks that gain altitude, from the lake at 5966' above sea
level, up to the Donner Lake Rim Trail, (DLRT) where we topped out at 7465'
altitude. I could feel it, living at 900'. Near the high point, we stopped at
Summit Lake, a pretty spot where many of us went for a swim, I did, swimming out
to a rock, where, within a span of about 15 minutes, two people recommended the
same book to me, The Dawn of Everything, by
David Graber and David Wengrow. I'll read it. I traded a recommendation with one
of those people, Sergio,
Boyhood days, Ygnacio Villegas' reminiscences of California in the 1850s, by
Ygnacio Pedro Villegas & Albert Shumate. (In case Sergio reads this.) We also talked about
Ishi and
Ursula K. Le Guin.
I ate a sandwich and drank a beer. I was getting better at this hang-out
game.
Travis' beautiful Sklar PBJ, at rest, his friend made the frame bag
Riders sheltering in the shade, after crossing under Hwy 80
Getting on the Donner Lake Rim Trail, AKA Wendin Way Access Trail
DLRT
Someone told me this is sour cherry.
Regroup, view
California Travis
Lunch at Summit Lake - no pictures of it, but we had nice swims and a
good hang.
We continued west along the DLRT to the Castle Valley trails, crossing the
PCT, then crossed Hwy 80, to a dirt road, to Donner Pass Road, where we stopped
at the Soda Springs General Store. There was a guy playing guitar and singing,
with speakers hooked up. The music was a little too loud for me, I couldn't
easily hear, or be heard, but I was also parched, and with almost a gallon of
lemonade and sparkling mineral water, which I combined as a emptied the
lemonade, and a bag of dill pickle chips, I satiated my thirst, maybe a little
too aggressively. The guy at the register was delighted with the inrush of
customers. A common question all weekend was "What is the name of your group?"
The guy at the register asked "Who's in charge?" While Travis is the organizer,
he declines to assume any ownership.
The sun was bright, the music was loud, and I think I refueled a little
too aggressively. I felt dizzy and bloated. I refilled my big water bottle, and
sat down to rest. Soon it was time to go. I hadn't, couldn't finish my fizzy
lemonade. I didn't want to carry it to camp - could have - so I left it and the
remaining drink in the trash. No recycling in Soda Springs. We rolled out. For
the next hour of riding I felt kinda bad. Slow, uncomfortable, stomach feeling
like it was cramping. It got better. We were on the Memorial Overland Emigrant
Trail - rocky singletrack, Sierra terrain of granite, decomposed granite,
conifers, mules ear. I was in my happy place. I felt better. A lot of the people
I was riding with were perhaps not mountain bikers first, and some struggled
with the terrain. I'd give the people in front of me a gap, then charge the
technical sections. Many stepped aside, and I was happy to flow across this
section. The Hudski Dualist does well in this terrain, even without
suspension.
At some point I looked down, and my big water bottle was gone. Oh no! Either
it fell out, or more likely, I'd left it at the store. I was kind of out of
it, and I didn't remember putting it back in my bottle cage, after I filled
it. I had two little ones, and a filter, so I wasn't worried, but I was sad to
lose it.
On the way to Long Lake
Devil's Peak at sunset
Sunset on Long Lake
Exiting on to dirt / granite roads, we continued west on Kidd Lakes Road,
rolling on terrain past Deer Lake, Kidd Lake, Cascade Lakes to our destination
of Long Lake. So pretty! Such a delightful spot. And there, above us was that
same mountain we'd seen on our drive to Truckee. I checked the app on my phone
that I'd purchased for just this purpose; it was Devil's Peak. We all set up
camps, swam, cooked dinner, talked until dark. These rides bring together
interesting people. A person glided by our shore on a paddle board, after
dark.
I found my way back to camp sometime after 9PM, still enough ambient light to
see my way to bed. I'd brought a bivvy, 30ยบ bag, bag liner. I put on a few
layers, shimmied into the bag and tried to count three shooting stars before I
fell asleep. My eyes were heavy. It was a day after the peak of the
Perseids meteor shower,
and I counted two big ones before I rolled over and went to sleep. Even tho it
was clear, and I could see the Milky Way, condensation made the bivvy exterior
wet. I woke up in the night, and saw my third big shooting star, then fell
back asleep until dawn briefly woke me. I covered my eyes as best I could,
until voices, and bright sunlight finally got me up, I'd slept until 8:30AM!
I'd been trying to cheat at sleep, by taking melatonin, cbd/cbn,
and diphenhydramine, all of which backfired. I'm back to just closing my
eyes, and it worked best.
I snapped this photo from my bivvy at 5:50AM, about 40 minutes before
sunrise
I snapped this photo from my bivvy at 7:55AM, time to wake up
Ben had a companion in his sleeping bag
Oatmeal and trailmix for breakfast
Many of us took a morning swim in Long Lake, before departing. It was
delightful.
Luckily for me, this crew is not in a hurry on these rides. I had time for
breakfast, business and a swim, before hopping on the tail end of the group as
they rolled out. We regrouped at Soda Springs, where I learned that a guy named
Clinton would be going to the store from yesterday to get a lost glove. My
traveling companion Doug and I agreed we'd go to the store, hoping to find my
water bottle. As we rolled down to the store, Clinton was coming back up. I
shouted, "Is the store open?" He replied "Yes," and gave me a wave. When I got
to the store, the bottle wasn't in the trash, or where I left it. I unclipped
the carabiners holding the doors of the dumpsters closed, (bears) but didn't see
my water bottle. I went into the store, bought a beer from the guy behind the
register - same guy as yesterday, and mentioned that I had left a big, green
bottle, and asked if he'd seen it. "That guy that just left has your bottle." I
was delighted! It's just a piece of plastic, but I hate to lose things. I
thanked him, he thanked us for bringing so much business to his store, and Doug
and I rolled back to follow our group.
THE ROAD WAS ROUGHER... IMMENSE...ROCKS. ...UP & DOWN HILL; ONE IN
PARTICULAR, ABOUT 5 MILES FROM STARTING, WAS SO STEEP AS TO HAVE TO LET
OUR WAGONS DOWN BY ROPES...PASSED 6 LAKES...COMMENCED ASCENDING
A...MOUNTAIN...TWO MILES,...THIS PEAK [DEVILS PEAK]...IS REMARKABLE FOR
ITS...SHAPE - WAKEMAN BRYARLY, AUG 23, 1849
Tylor, who works at AMG Cyclery in Seaside, CA, aboard his Stooge
Tracker. Such a cool bike, and a nice guy. He and another student
started the Salinas Cowboys high school mtb team in "year zero."
Regrouping at Soda Springs
Clinton hands me my water bottle, which he retrieved from the General
Store, knowing it had to belong to one of us. Thank you, Clinton!
Entering the train tunnels. You can see the light at the end of (one of)
the tunnel(s) in the distance.
The route diverged from at Soda Springs to return on the southern side of
the lake. We climbed fire roads by Norden, and below Donner Peak until we caught
the tail end of the group at the first of the abandoned train tunnels. There I found Clinton. We exchanged stories, and he handed me my water
bottle, full of cold water that I'd filled the day before. I was so happy.
Thanks, Clinton.
I zoomed way in, to take this one. I'm happy with how it came out.
This was a distant blot of light, at the end of the tunnel, to my
eyes.
I'd
never been through these train tunnels before, and I was really looking forward to it! I
turned on my dynamo lights, said hello and "Choo choo!" to all the people on
foot. I also turned on my Timber bell, which makes ambient sound, so that I
didn't spook any hikers. It's dark in the tunnels, with occasional shafts of
light from openings overhead, and every now and then an aperture that
provides a view. There are gaps between the tunnels, with longer and shorter
sections of "sheds." I really enjoyed this part. The surface is rough rocks,
bigger than gravel, which move around under your tires. I filmed the big
tunnel one-handed, holding my phone to record video of the 6:14 ride through
it. That was exciting. At the end of the last tunnel, a bunch of us
scrambled up the slope onto the roof, and enjoyed the view of Donner Lake. I
had a sandwich (from Safeway, the day before) and a beer and enjoyed myself.
AJ's toes
Sabor!
Travis
The Davis crew, Oscar and K.L.P.W.
We dropped down a rocky and dusty fire road to lake level, then found
a community beach, and most of us went for a swim. I was in the water with
Doug and a guy named Brian, originally from Colma, who had another book
recommendation I'm going to follow up on,
Black Elk Speaks. Thanks, Brian, Sergio and Doug. Travis had turned into a mystery and
disappeared, so Adam, from Czech Republic, and Grass Valley, assumed the
leadership role and rolled out. It's funny how this group devolves, when
absent a leader figure. Very quickly we were smaller and smaller groupings,
until it was just Doug and I, riding back to Safeway in wet, then dry swim
trunks. It was a warm, sunny day, and we said goodbye to a few people in the
lot, before beginning our drive home.
Next month, Travis will organize
one in Quincy. I'm
already thinking about it. I like to ride from my door. Driving hours to
do a bikepack feels weird, but this crew is so fun. I just might.
This was my eighth "Bivvy a Month" of 2026,
ninth
in a row. I'm happy with keeping the streak going, and I'm committed to
it.
I lost a little reflective hanging sign I'd put on my saddle, on the drive
up. I have a persistent creak, which I think comes from my front thru-axle.
I think it loosens, allowing my Dynamo hub to rotate and disconnect its
coaxial wire connector. I don't yet know how to solve it, because every time
I tighten it, the bike is quiet, and then I go on a bikepack and it returns.
Otherwise bike and gear worked great.
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