Issue #14: The Road Less Traveled

Gravel Social: Camping and camaraderie in the Lost Sierra

By Miles Cooper

Three days of riding in the Lost Sierra, with some camping mixed in yet full support on the food front? Sounded perfect. That’s the idea behind the Gravel Social, an open invitation event happening every June. Starting in Truckee, one drops bags, rides north to Portola, adventures the next day in the surrounding area, and then travels back on a different route the following day. This is the brainchild of Forest Baker and his spouse, Annie, who built and run Beckwourth Peak High Camp outside Portola, California. The off-grid camp, a mixture of yurts, modern cabins, and campsites, serves as home base during the Gravel Social.

For those who know and ride Truckee, Tahoe, and Lost Sierra dirt, Forest Baker is no stranger. An accomplished bikepacking racer, he and spouse Annie settled into Truckee. As folks who cannot seem to sit still, they also run the Bones to Blues ultra event around Tahoe and Truckee. Forest has also worked with others to develop and make a variety of dirt routes more easily accessible for those wanting to adventure in the area, including venturing up to Lassen on dirt, via Revopath.com. Forest and Annie’s efforts to help build the greater bike community warrant attention, so thanks for the diversion. If you’re headed that way and don’t know where to ride, they’ll point you in the right direction.

I heard about this event from longtime riding friends who had been there the year before. I’ve had the good fortune to have two neighbors who are well-matched in cycling pace and temperament. They spoke highly of their experience the year prior, so how could I say no? We woke early the morning of the first ride and met in a parking lot near the Truckee airport. Forest loaded our camping gear into his van. A bonus for this trip: no gear hauling. The group of roughly 20 riders set out, heading north before joining the Truckee river path. After following the path a ways, we crossed north and spent the day on a mixture of fire road, empty rural road, and some single track.

Miles surfs a fire road.

The fire roads rose and fell, eventually dumping us at the south edge of the Sierra Valley, near Loyalton, where we stopped for lunch. Loyalton, formerly Smithneck, raised so much money for the Union during the Civil War the town ultimately changed its name. After a hefty deli sandwich we set off again, first by road, then path. This is where Forest’s local knowledge kicked in. Rather than work our way along rural blacktop (which would have also been beautiful) we made an abrupt left onto unmarked dirt double track. What most would have mistaken for a ranch driveway was actually a hidden right-of-way between adjoining properties. We bobbed and weaved along this before crossing a bridge over one of the numerous waterways.

The Sierra Valley is part of the Pacific Flyway, the great migratory bird path between Alaska and Patagonia. As we neared the northwestern end of the valley, we rode past the Sierra Valley Preserve and Nature Center. A good bottle and bathroom stop, and an even better docent moment. If you’ve begun your slow, sad descent into becoming a birdwatcher (an Atlantic magazine reference that unfortunately hits a little too close to home), the center is fantastic.

U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey Marker. Photo: Miles Cooper / @milesbcooper

Topped off, we pushed on to the edge of Portola, California, and the climb to the High Camp. A brief word here. As I’ve gotten older and had a few crashes — all my own fault — I’ve grown more conservative. The 2-4 month recoveries that have followed my crashes have made me more interested in sustainable riding than pushing my limits. Thus my tolerance for clipped in single track has waned. Now back to our story. The final push into camp involved some single track. Most riders surfed it like it was no problem. I had one of my moments though where despite all my zen efforts I found myself acting like a ragey baby. That day my guru showed up in disguise as narrow pine needled trails carved into a mountainside.

We arrived in camp and were greeted with cold beverages (including delicious NA beer for those on the low and no imbibing spectrum). I set up my tent, dinner was served, a campfire was lit, and we recounted our adventures.

Gravel camp! Photo courtesy of Beckwourth Peak High Camp.

The next morning we were served hot breakfast and given a rider’s briefing. The day’s route was a lollipop. Westward with a big climb up to Gold Lake via Frazier Creek, an optional addition to the Mills Peak fire lookout, over to Graegle, lunch at The Brewing Lair and back to camp. The group took off in a solid paceline along the valley, then broke up as we hit the climb. We opted to make the trip up to the fire lookout, which was well worth the effort. The road descent down from Gold Lake was a screamer (Strava told me it was my fastest average 10k at 41 mph.) We then bopped along to the brewery, which is a destination unto itself with food and music on the weekends.

As folks continue to get priced out of primary locations like Tahoe and Truckee, the area known as the Lost Sierra has become the Found Sierra (reference to the Lost and Found gravel race intended). While many decry change, the benefit for cyclists who ride dirt has been profound. The Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship has ambitiously undertaken to connect Tahoe, Plumas, and Lassen communities by bike trail. This public land stewardship program creates joy and economic opportunity for rural communities willing to embrace the two-wheeled type.

We finished our ride with ice cream bars in Portola before taking on the short climb back to High Camp. Another splendid dinner, campfire, and night under the stars.

Post-ride relaxing. Photo courtesy of Beckwourth Peak High Camp.

The next morning was the last day. We broke camp and loaded the gear into the van, which we would meet back in Truckee. Forest gave the riders’ briefing while we ate. His understated manner in describing the day’s singletrack start led me to opt for a solo road journey. As the others struck out on single track, I descended into Portola. The crisp morning saw me doing roughly 25 miles of road therapy, which felt great. Despite two days of riding I found myself ripping across the Sierra Valley toward our rendezvous point in Sierraville. I rode my titanium Firefly, a 50th birthday present to myself. Its geometry is fantastic for both gravel and road. Even with knobby 48s (Rene Herse Oracle Ridge, endurance casing, for the detail folks) the bike rolled quickly along the tarmac.

I had a languorous second breakfast in Sierraville waiting for the singletrackers to arrive. A few more road miles, then a long dirt climb and adventures across ridgelines before arriving at Truckee’s outskirts. While Truckee has done an amazing job improving bicycle infrastructure, there are still some unavoidable stroads. We danced with speed limit plus SUVs for a mile or so (albeit with a wide shoulder) before cutting back to our starting point. We loaded our bikes and drove over to Alibi Ale Works’ Public House in Truckee. We fueled up, shared some final stories, grabbed our bags from the van, and headed home!