March 8-9, 2025 A few years ago I asked our Facebook group, Burrito Packing NV, what kind of rides/trips they were interested in. Mark Yakushev was interested in snow camping, so that meant a fat bike route on snow with the opportunity to spend the night on snow. So when the first opportunity came up Mark suggested Spooner State Park, and we were on it. There were four of us on the first outing, Doug A, Marc P, Marc Y, and myself. There had been a storm just the days before so we were mostly pushing through unconsolidated snow. The next year we went up and over from Verdi to Hoke Valley on Henness Pass Road through slush as it was late March. The last two years there have been trips to Hope Valley that I could not attend. Which brings us to this event, Verdi to Dog Valley’s Crystal Mine, and looping through to Summit 2 and back to Verdi. While the route is solid, 20 miles, 2741′ of climbing between 5000′ and 7000′ in elevation in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest (except for 1 mile in the Tahoe National Forest). It is a beautiful location close to Reno/Tahoe that offers 4 seasons of outdoor recreation.

I put it out to the group, all are welcome, but it is a “specialized trip”. Travel on snow unless it is on a well groomed or traveled snow covered road really requires a fat bike. Then there is a level of confidence and gear required in winter camping that reduces the pool even further. But for those who are “snow-curious” these trips are a great entry point to winter travel. We avoid adverse or extreme conditions but get to experience setting up camp on snow. It is a great chance to expand your camp craft and learn from others.

This year I was joined by Marc P and Mark Y. It had been a mild winter, a couple of cold events, a few windy events, and a few good snow falls. Lately it had been warm, about 10o above normal. Then there was a quick storm that moved through two days before the event that dropped a few inches of snow. There are so many factors that contribute to the snow conditions, overnight temperature, direct sunshine, jeep/truck and snowmobile traffic, are just a few that come to mind. All on top of the amount of snow. I figured we would adapt to the conditions we were faced with.

So there we were. The climb out of Verdi was all on dirt, mostly dry. At Summit 1 we were on dirty snow. The temperatures were warm and the sky was clear. My hope was the Long Valley Road off Dog Valley Road/ Henness Pass would be shaded and in an inversion that would hold snow. It kind of was.

Dog Valley proper was snow-free. The descent was snow and ice in the shade but back to dirt by the bottom. The snow on Long Valley Road was patchy until 6100′ then we were on snow following vehicle ruts. There had been a truck ahead of us but eventually it came back toward us. We found the drift it got stuck in and backed out. We kept going to Lookout Campground then found a spot to dig in.

Home Tour Marc P is a consummate tarp camper. He prefers being able to open his eyes to the sky, not the interior of a tent. Marc pitches his tarp with a section folded under for the floor and tied off to a tree. It was a windy night that was a test for any pitch.

Mark dug a Sierra Trench, built a snow wall to block the wind, and covered it with an A-frame pitch. Mark didn’t like the frozen tent experience from his Hope Valley trip in February. There are lots of tips out there for managing a frozen/wet shelter; maximize ventilation, spend the time shaking it out before packing, packing away from critical dry items, and taking the time to dry it out before the next pitch. Of course these are easily done in ideal conditions but they must be done to the best of abilities in all conditions.

I used my Amazon special pyramid “hot” tarp tent. There are plenty versions out there but I think this exact model is no longer available. It is huge which is great in the winter where you might have long nights in your shelter. I can spread out, re-pack, prepare meals, and not feel claustrophobic. The center pole design and numerous tie out points can be a great design for a four-season shelter.

Stoves We three brought 3 different stoves. Marc brought brought the simplest alcohol stove. The burner was a cup with holes in the upper rim. He boiled water easily for his dinner. He chose this over a canister fuel stove so he wouldn’t have to manage the canister in low temperatures. Mark tried out the Esbit solid fuel stove to avoid managing a canister fuel stove in the cold as well. The stove is a great design but Mark was underwhelmed by the performance. The Esbit website has some great products. I brought my Soto Amicus stove and canister fuel. I have yet to have problems with canister stoves at low temperatures. I have kept my fuel with my water bottles under the edge of my quilt but not on the last few cold trips. I have put my fuel canister under my jacket along with the lighter I use for the stove for a period before use, but again not on this trip. The temperatures on this trip barely got below freezing and I had no trouble boiling water in the morning. I wonder if the warmth trapped by the windscreen helps warm the fuel canister?

Mark had some new insulated water bottles on his bike. He found them cheaply on Amazon and they looked great, stainless steel bottles on Marc’s titanium Bearclaw Towmak, a drop-bar fat bike. Most importantly, they worked great. I found the Iron Flask 40 oz insulated water bottle on Amazon that might make it into my kit for next year.

Once we were dug in at camp we continued onto the Crystal Mine. This was my first winter visit. In the summer it is an impressive mountain of quartz crystal. With the light snow coverage there were patches of exposed quart. We hiked all over the mine. In pasts visits I didn’t really poke around because there were so many other visitors. From the high point we could see our camp, the town of Stead and Silver Lake, and a bit of Lemmon Valley’s Swan Lake. The Crystal Mine was a trip highlight.

It was a windy night but the ride out in the morning was calm. We backtracked on Long Valley Road to NF Road 31009, Verdi Peak Road. The road was untracked and represented a 500′ climb in 3 miles. It turned out to be a crust ride for most of the way. Eventually there was hike-a-bike as the top layer was melting out, crust to slush. Arriving at Summit 2 we were reminded of the variation in Sierra winter snow depths. We were standing in 5-6′ less snow than in 2023. Protect Our Winters asks, what will it be like when we have a winter without snow? Fingers crossed in hoping for the health of the Tahoe and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forests (all our forests for that matter).

Brunch was within reach! Between Summits 2 and 1 it is slightly downhill, a false flat. We were passed by two overlanding rigs. Impressive they made it through the deeper corners. There is a spot overlooking Dog Valley that I try to always stop and take a picture. Someday I will have to compile them all.

We had lunch, just missed breakfast, at the Sasquatch in Verdi. The Black and Blu Burger was delicious. Mark told us he was interested in doing a winter ultra. I mentioned Jay P’s Fat Pursuit Workshop and Fat Pursuit Race. I think the combo would be a great education and practicum. So another winter campout for BurritoPackingNV is in the history books.

By the numbers The route as drawn on Ride with GPS was 20.1 miles with 2741′ of climbing. I recorded 20.3 miles with 2,837′ of climbing and we hiked around a bit. If we do another winter overnight in the area I would like to get up to Verdi Peak. Long Live Long Winter Rides!

In my haste to get this out before I am off to Taiwan I didn’t give captions or photo credits. I didn’t include links to websites or past ride reports, sorry. This trip could not have been as great as it was without the companionship of Marc P and Mark Y. Thanks!