On Bicycling: Bristlecone Trail Pedaling Experience At 9,000 Feet Outside Las Vegas; Misty and Mystical
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Story by Alan Snel Photos/Design by Anna Barantez
It’s May 11 and a man in tights, a long-sleeve shirt and New Balance sneakers comes walking down the Bristlecone Trail at about 9,000 feet elevation not too far from a ski center outside Las Vegas.
“I’m puzzled. Why is there is so much snow,?” the fella asked, noting he even brought hiking crampons to navigate the mighty patches of deep snow flowing off the rock walls across the popular trail.
Record-setting snowfall is the reason why I had to get off my Surly Pugsley fat-tire, single-speed steel bicycle and walk it through the sloping sections of snow on the trail.
It was a warm 87 degrees in the Las Vegas valley.
But up here?
Snow.
I slowly pedaled the two-wheel beast up and up and up on the wide dirt trail that I visited with Anna only 10 months ago on July 24.
And instead of snow that day there was a misty, intermittent drizzle.
Anna’s collage displays offer gorgeous visual treats of biking at 9,000 feet — even if there’s a little rain.
*
The Bristlecone Trail is an all-purpose path that cuts a wide swath in the Spring Mountains and then narrows to a single track that leads down to Lee Canyon, a popular ski center that had quite a bit of snow this winter.
It’s a terrific mountain trail for casual and beginner hikers and mountain bikers.
And as Anna pointed out to me, a trip from the valley of Las Vegas to navigating the Bristlecone can be a four-season experience “powered by the bike Gods atop the mountain.”
So true.
Take a look, even in the drizzle of a Saturday summer afternoon.
*
Officially speaking, the Bristlecone Trail is a 6.3-mile round trip loop, accessible from a lower trailhead lot where we parked and an upper trailhead. Neither have bathrooms.
We squished Anna’s bicycle inside my car, though that meant her front seat was pushed forward and she was a good sport in her cramped spot.
The Bristlecone Trail is a wonderful refuge from the broiler heat in the Vegas valley during the summer.
At Bristlecone’s elevation, it’s usually 15 degrees, perhaps 20 degrees, cooler.
That July day offered a misty and cloudy setting, which gave off a mystical vibe because it’s rarely drizzling in metro Las Vegas.
We biked several hundred yards at a time, with each pedaling interval capped by Anna’s wonderful photo shoots. Perhaps I have mentioned this before: Anna has a knack for capturing the drama in every photo.
A little more than three miles into the trail tour, the path hits a severe, but short, hill before it funnels into a single track trail that runs along the edge of the rocky terrain.
We stopped before the steep incline.
And with light rain falling, we figured it was a fine time to turn around and head back to the lot.
Naturally, we stopped for a photo. Or two.
