October 6-12, 2025 Sometimes you have a grand route in front of you and you just decide to chop it into a shorter grand route. And that is how this trip went.

Doug created a route called October. They is how the last two years went. Our October trips were named mid-trip. Why not? You have plenty of time to think of trip names, time to ponder which names are overused, and there is constant inspiration. (Dark Sky’s Route, 2024 Sagebrush Ripple, 2023) So this year we set off on October which had bits and bobs of trips past stitched together into a near 700 mile trip with 62k’ of climbing and set aside a 3 week window to pull it off.

One aspect of the route I was really excited about was being able to leave from home without having to drive a couple hours to the start. And there was no compromise to this start/finish. I live 5 miles from designated public land access that sends me into the Pine Nut Mountains so there are plenty of possibilities for trips to start and end from home. But don’t let these “trade routes” becoming boring starts that keep you from starting a trip. As I write this I am trying to think of ways to start trips in the 4 cardinal directions from my house, not a bad exercise.

Day 1 We entered the Pine Nut Mountains just a mile or so from Doug’s house and made our way north before turning east on Sunrise Pass Road. This was our route over the first set of mountains. With hundreds of mountain ranges running parallel across the entire width of the state every route is going to require roads crossing mountain ranges. This is followed by roads that either cross valleys or run the length of them. We ended the first day at Spring Gulch, a narrow pinch between the Pine Nut Mountains and the Buckskin Range above Smith Valley. By the numbers: 36.9 miles, 3762′ of climbing(these are the links to my ride on Ride with GPS).

The next day (Day 2) we made our way down to Buckboard Station for a breakfast burrito and resupply before passing through Wilson Canyon on the West Walker River. So far none of this route was new to me, but this was the first time I had strung it together like this. We turned down Pine Grove Flat between the Pine Grove and Cambridge Hills, one of three parallel routes south into the Walker River State Park. This was a new-to-me section. We camped near a spring with a full water trough. Knowing what was ahead I didn’t need water here but it was good to know this resource was available. This route was a fast straight shot alternative to going over to Pitch Fork Ranch, the HQ for the Walker River State Park. I would recommend that route to the uninitiated to stop in at the visitor’s center or check with the rangers for any updates on the area. By the numbers: 43.2 miles, 1536′ of climbing.

Day 3 started with an unintentional interruption, Doug got a slice in his tire’s sidewall. This proves it can happen anywhere at anytime. We were descending a freshly graded dirt road, maybe 15-18 mph, and Doug runs quality tires with appropriate tire pressure. It wasn’t as if there were a crop of fresh sharp rocks sticking up. But something caused the cut.

The solution is to stitch the sidewall closed and hope between the stitching and sealant the tire holds air. If not a tire boot and a tube maybe the solution. Doug was prepared with a kit of a curved needle, dental floss, and shoo-goo rubber cement. And just as important, he had practiced at home for this eventuality. Check out his blog for details. I really had my doubts. It was a struggle to stitch the sidewall with the tire still on the rim. But in the field you don’t want to break the bead on a tubeless setup. Once Doug was satisfied with his needlepoint work he covered the stitches with shoo-goo. After a few minutes of curing he pumped up his repair. Sealant was bubbling out. But then it stopped. And held. And held for the rest of the trip and beyond. So there is hope. With hindsight, maybe doing a better job cleaning the surface of the sidewall, like preparing a tube for a patch, could have improved how the shoo-goo formed a scab over the repair. Doug built his own kit for this repair, I carry a sew-up tire repair kit by Velox. I think there is room for a comprehensive tubeless tire repair kit, repair site prep, thread and needle, glue and patch/boot.

We made our way through the State Park to a point where I knew we would have a turn-off through a pass I hadn’t ridden yet. Doug hadn’t been through on the route I knew. We weren’t far from the turn-off to the hot springs on the Walker River from the Walker River 100 route. Through the pass we had a nice downhill into a headwind which just killed the the potential for a free ride. This was the point where we decided to reroute the trip. Rather than heading south east to Tonopah and south west to Bishop we decided to cross the Bodie Hills to Bridgeport and return north in the Sierra’s Carson Range. From the Fletcher Spring we decided between the Aurora route vs the Masonic route. Doug had experience with both, so we made our way to the Carson City – Masonic Stagecoach route (I imagine the road has shifted over the years). By the numbers: 42.7 miles, 2845′ of climbing.

Day 4 We camped at the turn-off above the Walker River Rossaci Ranch area. We woke-up to a 3000’ climb. But I was so impressed by the quality of the road and the views were fantastic. I was under the impression these roads were washed out but they were only a little chunky near the top in the steepest sections. There were a few side roads that were begging to be ridden, motivation for a later trip. 

We arrived at Masonic and climbed above for a great descent into Bridgeport. The next two days were all new to me. We took advantage of the burger stand in Bridgeport. Once through Bridgeport we started a climb/hike-a-bike on a relatively new bikepacking route. We pushed to a minimally viable place to camp still within a very steep zone. By the numbers: 27 miles, 4486′ of climbing.

Day 5 The route to Walker was absolutely amazing but difficult enough that it would be a short list of riders that I would invite to do it. But I would encourage anyone to take on the challenging route because it is the only way to see it. It was unnerving to be in unfamiliar mountains deep in the trees without a sense of where I was. It wasn’t until being able to view my GPS track that I really had a feel for where I was. The aspens were brilliant. The streams were begging to be fished. At times we were crossing big meadows with rocky peaks in view. 

Then it was a radical drop into the town of Walker, home of the Walker Burger. That night we stayed in some refurbished cabins for a good night’s sleep out of the wind. The next day was climbing Monitor Pass. By the numbers: 36.4 miles, 3917′ of climbing.

Day 6 Leaving on the east side of Walker Valley was a new route to me and would  give any tourist a break from 395 traffic. We rode past happy cows in deep grass. Then we made the turn to climb Monitor Pass. This is my first time climbing it on a loaded touring mountain bike. Not bad, I appreciated the low gears. I’ve climbed it on a variety of road bikes a handful of times. The views are always awesome and this time there were a bunch of folks out for the fall colors. Over the top we descended to Leviathan Mine Road to get off pavement. We were back on familiar ground. My first ride on Leviathan Mine Road was with Doug last year. This time Doug had a turn-off planned for us that took us down to the Carson River. The road tied into a route I had ridden off Leviathan with Pete Rissler years ago. But the route down river to our last campsite  was totally new and something I want to ride for bikefishing. The campsite was a scenic gem across the river from a rock face with trees magically growing from the cracks. By the numbers: 43.9 miles, 5123′ of climbing.

Day 7 Waking up in the river canyon meant we would not have the sun warming us for a while. It is a pretty rugged set of roads to get down there but that didn’t keep a handful of SXS, trucks and jeeps out. I realized how cold it was in the shade after we had a shallow creek crossing that left a layer of ice on my rims and tires. We climbed out of the river bottom onto the pinyon-juniper plateau. This spot is popular with the moto and OHV crowd as we wound through dispersed camping sites. We came in above the Carson River fishing access I frequently use off 395. We made our way along the edge of the Pine Nuts and the Gardnerville neighborhoods back to Doug’s house. By the numbers: 14.6 miles, 1399′ of climbing.

The Great Basin’s Edge – by the numbers it was about 240 miles with 22.7k’ of climbing, another great route by Doug Artman. The name came about just from describing the geography of the western edge of the Great Basin. As I see it, this will become part of a series of rides called the Great Basin’s Edges. I think these ecotonal regions will provide a high density of diversity adding to the bikepacking experience.

What we rode, what we carried Doug rode his Binary Kinetic with a fairly standard kit for this shoulder season. Overall the conditions were mild. He was in his Big Sky ultra-light tent and had 20 degree sleeping bag. I was on my Falconer B+. I experimented with using long “handlebar front roll” bags on my fork cages for extra carrying capacity, with mixed success. King Cage now makes a Longer Thing Cage which will be a consideration for the future. I was carrying 10 plus days of food and 4.5+ L of water. I slept in the Durston X-Dome 1+ tent and the Patagonia Hybrid sleeping bag, 850 fill-power down from the waist down. Bags are by Nuke Sunrise Bike Bags, note the Fuselage bag piggy backed on the seat bag. The Soto Amicus stove continues to work flawlessly. My clothing is nearly 100% from Kuhl and I enjoy the mix of technical, casual, and attention to fit that they offer on and off the trail.

I just posted my March Newsletter on Substack. I hope you find inspiration in my storytelling and if there is anything I can do to help get you out there, let me know!