Monitor Pass West

Bill Bushnell — September 19, 1992

Our plan was to ride from Woodfords through Markleeville and over Monitor Pass and back. As you can see from the Route Log, we decided against descending the east side because we both had very little water after the west ascent, and the availability of water at the bottom of the east side was uncertain. We also felt that it would be a good idea not to push ourselves too hard on the first day at altitude. I had been sick the week before and hadn’t done a long ride since the Hekaton Classic on Labor Day weekend.

After checking into our cabin and eating our lunches, Jules and I drive down Carson Canyon to Woodfords Station, the start of our half-day ride. The air is hot and very dry. But the thermometer reads 83F, so it’s not too hot. A couple of serious-looking bicyclists are just leaving the store.

We start pedaling slowly south on CA-89 past the Woodfords Inn and the Sierra Cafe. A sign by the road says “bike lane”, but the only possible indication that the shoulder is the bike lane is that the shoulder is slightly wider here than on other roads. The air is very dry and before long our mouths are dry. CA-89 between Woodfords and Markleeville is wide and gradual as it rises and falls through low, sparsely-wooded hills and cattle grazing pasture. This is the driest time of year, and everything looks brown and dry. After cresting a long hill, we pass the turnoff for Turtle Rock Park and begin the gradual descent into Markleeville.

Markleeville is a quaint little town about the size of Pescadero, California. With a population of 165, one would never expect it to be the county seat of Alpine County. We stop at Bob’s Shell station to use the restroom. While I wait for Jules, I have the uncomfortable feeling of being watched. I look across the street and sitting on a bench in front of the J. Marklee Toll Station (hotel and cafe) is a grizzled old man staring right at me! Haven’t these people seen bicyclists before? It takes me a minute to realize he is a dummy. Both Jules and I laugh when we realize our mistake. But those eyes do seem to follow us as we start pedaling down the street. Sitting on a bench in front of the General Store on the left side of the street an indian keeps an eye on passersby. We’re not fooled this time, though.

After crossing Markleeville Creek, the road rises over a low hill past some irrigated pasture where cattle graze and then down to Hangman’s Bridge crossing over the East Fork of the Carson River. A mile later we pass the East Fork Resort, a collection of little green cabins and camper hookups in a dusty turnout on the left of the road.

Now the road rises gradually through a steep-walled canyon alongside the East Fork Carson River. The surrounding land reminds me somewhat of the hills behind Mt. Hamilton, only here there are dusty pines instead of oaks. At the CA-4 junction we turn left and begin the long climb to the top of Monitor Pass.

The road rises slowly along Monitor Creek up a deep, hot canyon. We both sweat profusely, and even though the air is dry, sweat drips from under our helmets. At the junction with Morning Star Rd., the road becomes much steeper. Now it’s time to shift into low gear. There is a very slight breeze from behind that keeps us from overheating as we pump up the long steep hill. There is no shade anywhere.

As the canyon opens up near the top, Jules says, “Let’s stop up there if there’s shade.” But as the road becomes less steep, Jules says, “Well, I think I can continue. Let’s keep going. I just don’t want to overheat.” We continue riding past the road to Heenan Lake. Someone has spray-painted in green: “There’s more yet.” on the road. A message of encouragement for “Reb” is scrawled in white paint. Higher on the mountain we can see the road winding steeply up to Monitor Pass. Everything is so dry, and the only shade appears to be from some of the now golden-colored aspen trees higher up the hill.

After we cross over the cattle grate at Sagehen Flat, the road levels off and drops for a short distance before making the final climb to the pass. A short distance later we pass Leviathan Rd. on the left. An off-pavement adventure might take us up Leviathan Rd. and down Leviathan Creek on the other side of the ridge. Leviathan Rd. continues all the way to US-395 near Gardnerville.

We are surprised by a guy on a luge with wheels zipping down the road on his back. The view is becoming interesting now. Looking west we can see the Sierra Crest and some of the higher peaks in the area. Many of the aspen trees on the higher slopes have turned a golden yellow.

As we climb, the air becomes cooler. The grade feels like a constant seven or eight percent, and we’re high enough now to pass through a few golden groves of aspen. Before long we reach a cattle grate and then the top of the long hill. But this is a false summit. The “monitor” watchtower on Leviathan Peak can be clearly seen, and the actual pass is a few feet higher on the opposite side of the saddle. We continue down the short hill through the little valley and up into a grove of aspen to the granite stone marking the pass on the other side of the saddle.

“Well, we made it.”, I say. “How do you feel?”

“Yeah, I really don’t feel that bad at all.”, says Jules.

“It’s quite a bit cooler here than it was at the bottom,” I say, “I wonder what the temperature is.” I take my thermometer from my pack and set in on the ground so that it reads the correct temperature.

“Well, seeing that this is our first ride at altitude, and that it’s already 15:30, and that we’re both nearly out of water, I think we should skip the east side today. We can do it next time we come up to the mountains. If we still have time and energy after we get back, we can ride up Carson Canyon or take the little detour on Diamond Valley Rd. As it is if we go down and back up the east side, we’ll be get back to the car at least two and maybe three hours later. What do you think?”, I say.

“Yes. I think that’d probably be a good idea. I think I have the energy for it, but I don’t want to wear myself out since we’re riding tomorrow, too. I’ve never ridden two major rides back to back.”, says Jules.

So we head back down the west side. The ride down is fast and fun. I stop a couple of times to take a picture of the view in front of us. Near the cattle grate at Sagehen Flat, the luge-boarder is waiting by the road. I continue without pedaling over the little rise and continue down the steep canyon. A strong hot wind blows up the canyon, yet despite this I still manage a maximum speed of 46.0 mph. I’d probably get over 50 if there were no wind.

When I get to the bottom, I wait for Jules. Jules doesn’t like fast descents, but he says that since he’s only been road riding for a couple of months, he’ll get used to descending faster with time.

“That was fun, wasn’t it?”, I ask Jules.

“Yeah. You know, it doesn’t seem that much warmer at the bottom than it was at the top.”, says Jules.

“Yeah, I wonder what the temperature is?”, I say as I reach into my pack for my thermometer. “Darn! I left my thermometer at the pass! Well, I’m not riding back up for it, that’s for sure! Maybe we can check to see if it’s still there the day after tomorrow when we drive home.”

It turns out that I couldn’t find the thermometer a couple days later when we drove over Monitor Pass, so someone found a nice thermometer lying on a tuft of grass up at Monitor Pass sometime between Saturday afternoon and Monday morning.

We continue back towards Markleeville. After stopping at the General Store to refill our water bottles, we continue to Woodfords. The hill out of Markleeville doesn’t feel as difficult as it looked when we rode down it on our way into town, and before long we’re back at the car.

Ride Stats:

distance: 39.1 miles

climbing: 4100 feet

total time: 4:15

riding time: 3:12

average speed: 12.2 mph

maximum speed: 46.0 mph

index: 56

irp: 13

mirp:17

An article on indexing can be found here.

©2004, Bill Bushnell

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