North Lake Tahoe, California

September 23 – 25, 2022

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REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED: https://uniusa.org/event-4951413

Rides

Friday September 23, 2022, 1 PM

Tahoe XC / Black Hole / Afternoon ride
7.3 miles, challenging downhill, good lake views.

Map: Black Hole or Download the GPX

Meeting: 1 PM, Tahoe Cross Country (off Country Club Dr, in Tahoe City). Also called “Tahoe XC” or the “Nordic Center”. Large parking lot, or on the street.

Route: We’ll ride some easy single track and fire roads through the Tahoe XC area. Then climb up the Lakeview Ridge Trail. At the top of Lakeview Ridge Trail, we’ll turn left on Cedar Flat Trail. A short distance on the right we will take the Tahoe Rim Trail. We’ll ride that to the peak for some views, and then head down the Tahoe Trim Trail to the start of Black Hole. This trail is hard to find! Follow the GPX track, or stay with the group.

Beginner riders have the alternative to head back the way they came down the Lakeview Ridge Trail to the parking lot.

Saturday, September 24, 2022, 8 AM

Big Chief Trail (Upper & Lower)
~10 miles, mostly downhill, ‘Upper Big Chief’ is a black diamond with lots of challenges, ‘Lower Big Chief’ is blue square but has many features and a rocky terrain that is very tiring, along with some uphill sections. The last 3 miles are on the fire road.

Map & Elevation Profile: Big Chief Upper & Lower – doesn’t include the ending fire road.
TrailForks: Big Chief Upper & Big Chief Lower

Meeting: 8AM: We’ll meet at the Sawtooth Trailhead, where we will end the ride. There is ample parking, and a pit-toilet, but no water is available. We’ll then decide on how to carpool to the start at the Big Chief North Trailhead. The Big Chief North Trailhead, is off of Mt Watson Blvd: Big Chief North Trailhead — it probably takes 30 minutes driving to get there from the end of the trail.

Route: This trail is easy to navigate and is fairly well marked at the start and intersections; keep on the main single track. At the end of the trail, we will take the 06 fireroad back to the cars (approximately 3 miles). There is an alternative option to take a single track back to the cars along the Sawtooth Trail.

Options: Beginners can start at the Sawtooth Trailhead and choose from a variety of trails to do an out and back.

Dinner: We’ll try to reserve an outdoor table at FiftyFifty Brewing, which is fairly close to the Sawtooth Trailhead in Truckee. Time TBD.

Sunday, September 25, 2022, 8:30 AM

Flume Trail

A long 13 mile ride with some of the best views in Tahoe. Check out these Flume Trail details on the ride – we’ll be doing the red line on the map, from Spooner Lake to Tunnel Creek Cafe. Elevation profile link: https://flumetrailtahoe.com/flume-trail-ride-description/ – this ride will take at least 4 hours.

Meeting: 8:30 AM at Tunnel Creek Cafe, 9:00AM Shuttle, be ready to leave at 9. YOU MUST BOOK YOUR OWN SHUTTLE RIDE. Book here — book a Flume Trail Shuttle (Weekend) for 9:00AM or a daily shuttle for 9:30 AM if the first one fills up. $22. Alternatively, you can drive to the start of the ride at Spooner Lake and park there (there’s a fee) and try to take a Flume Trial Shuttle back to your car at the end (this might be risky if they aren’t running) or get a ride with someone.

Parking: Paid parking at the bottom of the Tunnel Creek Cafe, or a few free parking spots off the road just north of the paid parking.

Bring enough food and water for a full day!

Accommodations

Campgrounds: Boca Campground, Boca Spring Campground, Boca Rest Campground, Boyington Mill Campground. All these are around Boca Reservoir, which is about 5-10 minutes from Corbin’s house, with some sites right on the reservoir. They have bathrooms. There are lots of other campgrounds in the North Lake Tahoe area; I encourage you to coordinate getting a site!

Corbin’s House: Free primitive camping at Corbin’s house in Truckee; please RSVP via email or message to Corbin. If enough people RSVP we will get a porta-potty, but there aren’t any showers.

National Forest: Free federal land camping in various national forest locations in Truckee; completely off grid.

AirBnB/Hotels/Etc: Search Truckee, Kings Beach, Tahoe City, Incline Village. All will be close to our rides, which are on the north side of Lake Tahoe.

Weather

Prepare for any kind of weather. It will be cold at night (possibly down to the 40’s) and hot during the day (80’s). Be prepared!

Unicycle

A 24, 26 or 27.5 mountain unicycle is best for Friday & Saturday’s rides. For Sunday, the Flume trail is non-technical, but there is a long 4 mile climb that will be easiest to do on a 27.5 or smaller wheel. The Flume Trail itself can be ridden on a 29er (or possibly a 36). There are a few parts of the trail that are “sketchy” with a long fall.