Getting Those Practice Hikes in, Winter Edition

It's winter.  Well, out West, it's barely winter but it's still winter.  My plan to do the Tahoe Rim Trail this summer means that I'm in full-on physical preparation mode.  I've been running, which feels good. I've endured thee years of near catastrophic injuries - Achilles tendon tear in 2011, tendinitis in 2012 (2 weeks before a half marathon I'd been training for, ugh), and a badly sprained ankle in 2014. Although I didn't have any injuries in 2013, I went through a tough year with three deaths and my parent's house burning down.  It wasn't a good year to feel hopeful about anything.  But I push on.  It's all you can do.  So finally, after a two year hiatus, I'm back to running.  And, of course, I'm walking a ton.  Between the two activities, I'm doing about 35 to 40 miles a week.  I'd like to get up to 50 miles a week but that's not always possible.  But it's a goal.

So yeah, it's winter (ish).  It hasn't snowed once in Fallon this year, which is very abnormal.  It's barely snowed in the Sierras.  But "barely snowed" means there's still quite a bit of snow up high and the hiking trails at Lake Tahoe are effectively closed to all but the most determined hikers (as in snowshoers).  I'm not afraid to say that I'm a fair weather hiker.  I have ZERO interest in plowing through the snow to set up a tent and freeze my butt off all night.  So I wait for things to thaw and warm up a bit.

Fallon has very limited hiking opportunities but the one redeeming feature of the area is that you can hike pretty much year round.  I already discussed my one terrain hike here.  But I've barely mentioned my weekly long hike - the Emigrant Trail.  The Carson River route of the Emigrant Trail passes about 5 miles west of Fallon and dates back to the 1830s.  I start near the Amor IX geothermal plant and head north.  It's an easy walk - sandy in places but it's mostly flat with a few very minor hills. The furthest I've made it is about 7.5 miles (keeping in mind that I have to turn around and go back the way I came).  It's monotonous.  The trail has long since become a dirt road driveable by most cars, so it's basically mile after mile of road walking with not much in the way of scenery.  But the benefit of walking the trail is you can go and go and go.  I walk it because it's accessible and even though it's not a strenuous, I can put my pack and get some miles in.  There's something to be said for that - it's still good training for motoring down a trail. As a historian, the trail (and its monotony) also makes me appreciate what the emigrants went through to cross the United States on foot (or wagon).

I've walked the trail so many times, I've memorized the roundtrip distances along the way - the 3 mile point, the 6 mile point, the 8 mile point, the 9 mile point, and the 12 mile point.  It's handy to know so I can set my goal for the day.  This year, the furthest I've made it is to the 9 mile point.  Eventually, I'd like to hike the section to where it dead ends into Highway 95 and back but that would be a 24 mile hike, which would take me all day.  A goal to work towards I guess.

This is pretty much what it looks like.  Miles and miles of this.

Several of these signs were put up near the geothermal plant, probably as mitigation for placing the plant so close to the trail.  I think they're kind of neat looking.  Apparently other people think so too, considering that a few have been stolen.