I’ve had a goal, for years, of riding all the Sierra passes. Why? I’m not sure, although every one I’ve done so far — Ebbetts, Sonora, Tioga, Carson, and Sherman — has been an amazing and beautiful ride. But for whatever reason I hadn’t done the most famous one, the one that even those of us who didn’t grow up in California learn about in school: Donner1.
Until now.
It would’ve been easy enough to ride up and back on I-80. But freeways are boring! Instead, I started by going through Altamount2 up California 88 through Carson Pass. This was in the midst of a late season heat wave which made crossing the San Joaquin valley uncomfortable — the air conditioning on a motorcycle doesn’t work too well in 90+ degree heat, even when you’re cruising at 75 🙂 — but once I got into the Sierras themselves east of Jackson things cooled down.
88 was, as always, a great ride, with spectacular views.
In fact, I ended up stopping a lot more than I planned just to appreciate the views.
Which also provided nice backdrops for selfies and bike photos.
One thing that really surprised me was that there was still lots of snow up on the peaks. In late October!
By the time I got to Kirkwood3 the sun was setting, which really accentuated how quiet and isolated the place was.
I’d also run into a problem I should’ve prepared for: bug splats. I didn’t realize there’d be so many juicy flying bugs at altitude so late in the season, but there they were. Which made the final leg of that day’s journey into South Lake Tahoe — often riding directly into the setting sun — interesting.
I left South Lake Tahoe the next morning, heading up the eastern/Nevada side of Lake Tahoe to get to Donner Pass. The spectacular views continued…but I don’t have any photos of them, because whenever there was a place to safely pull over it was marked by big signs saying Authorized Vehicles Only. Or, sometimes, Do Not Stop to Take Pictures. Which I thought was a bit over the top. You should definitely try to ride the east shore, though, as the scenery is well worth it.
Donner Lake is an often-overlooked little gem, crowded out by its bigger and more famous neighbor. It’s definitely worth visiting, though, particularly during the summer.
in the middle right background.
One thing I learned on this trip is that California does actually have some fall foliage colors. But to my northeastern eyes, the palette doesn’t have much red, apparently because Aspens, the main tree whose leaves change color, don’t have much red pigment.
When transiting Donner Pass I’ve almost always been on I-80. Which features an impressive drop (going eastbound) hugging the mountains. But if you really want to appreciate the summit it’s worth taking Donner Pass Road westbound, which slowly climbs up from Donner Lake.
The parking lot right below the pass offers some great views of Donner Lake to the east, and the summit itself.
After leaving Donner Pass I briefly jumped on I-80 westbound, but got off in Emigrant Gap to take CA-20 out of the Sierras and across the San Joaquin Valley to Clearlake Oaks, on the northeast short of Clear Lake. Man, did it get very hot, very quickly! Most of the ride was spent in 90+ degree heat (hitting a max of 95 just short of Clear Lake).
I also ran into a lot of road construction. Apparently the storms last winter washed out major sections of the highway. And these weren’t the relatively short one lane stretches I’m used to. No, these were miles in length…meaning each direction of traffic waited a l-o-n-g time for its turn. Which also meant my air conditioning wasn’t working for long stretches. Still a fun and beautiful ride, but I think next time I’ll do it when it’s cooler.
Riding through the less mountainous parts of California late in the season is very beautiful, because of the contrast between the intense green of the California Oaks (and other trees) and the intense gold of the native grasses4.
At least, it looks like that when it’s not suffering from years of drought. It was nice to see that last winter’s massive rain and snowstorms restored everything to something like normal health.
Clearlake Oaks was a quiet little community now that we’re past the summer vacation season. I lucked out in that there was a great coffee shop and a decent Chinese/Thai restaurant within a couple of hundred feet of my hotel.
I’d ridden home from Clear Lake along CA-29 years ago on my first bike, a Honda CRX-500. Tackling it again, on my bigger FJR-1300 and with a lot more experience was even more fun than I remembered!
Heading into Calistoga you drop smoothly almost 2,000 feet in a bit under 6 miles…and it’s almost constant curves (there are tons of curves getting up to the peak, too).
If you enjoy pushing yourself even a bit, downhill curves are the best. You’re constantly juggling engine acceleration, gravitational acceleration, and the need to hit the curves correctly. I highly recommend this stretch of CA-29!
