Bikepacking trip with Garry. Photos are here: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGNNKwL Day One, South Lake Tahoe to Prosser Campground. The trails we rode: Powerlines, Van Sickle, Rim Trail to the Bench. These were pretty steep and technical and took a lot of work and concentration, especially with the bikepacking gear and extra weight. Because we were running late, we dropped from the Bench to Spooner. I was out of water before reaching the bench so I was glad that the Rangers at the Spooner campground let me fill my bottles there. From there took Highway 28 to Kings Beach where we had a late lunch at Caliente restaurant. Fish tacos, chips, salsa, and a lot of water - very good and enough rest to get ready for the climb on Brockway, Highway 267. Brockway was not much fun to climb. The cars travel at highway speeds and, while there is a wide shoulder, the traffic made me a little nervous. There were plenty of nice views of Lake Tahoe to the South, though. We just dropped into our granny gears and took our time getting to the summit. The long descent down the other side toward Truckee was a blast. We were in the shade, the sun was getting low in the sky and we were able to rest and cool down after the long climb. We stopped at a gas station mini-mart on 267 near the Truckee airport and stocked up on dinner/breakfast items. Not gourmet, but not bad either. From Truckee it was a short 5miles-or-so to the Prosser Creek Reservoir campground. The sun had set shortly before we arrived at the campground but we still had enough time to unpack and eat before darkness set in. We stashed our food in a backpack and hoisted it into a tree before climbing into our bags for the night. Total mileage for day one was just shy of 60miles. I don't think I've ever had to work so hard for 60 miles - I was tired. Day Two: Prosser Campground to the Cabin The next morning we woke with the sun. We used Garry's simple tin-can alcohol stove to make a couple cups of hot coffee before heading North. From the campground we hopped on Highway 89 for about a mile before turning onto a Forest Service road that paralleled that highway. The forest service road was in great shape with moderate grades and generally easy side-by-side riding. It was a nice change from the intense single track riding of the day before. We crossed a few creeks along the first 12miles of Forest Service roads. I took advantage of one of them to top up my bottles with my water filter. At about mile 12.5 we turned West onto Jackson Meadows Road (paved). Jackson Meadows Road is paved from this point all the way to Jackson Meadows Reservoir. There was little car traffic so riding it was quite nice. The views along this stretch were stunning; we hardly noticed the long easy climb to the summit at 6,900'. The last few miles of pavement were a fun descent to Jackson Meadows Reservoir. We crossed the dam and the pavement ended. After a moderate climb there's a general store that serves the JMR campers and appears to be run by the Forest Service. They don't have much in the small store; we were hoping for cold beers but they don't carry any alcohol there. They do have cold drinks, ice and candy bars, however. There's a spigot behind the store where we topped-up our water bottles before continuing on. Next stop, Bowman Lake. Bowman is about 5miles from JMR. It is some of the roughest road I've ever seen. Some sections were strewn with boulders and large ruts in the road. There are a lot of 4-wheeler's that come out here for the challenge. Garry's full suspension bike was right at home here while I had to take it slower on my hard-tail. At Bowman there are pit toilets and potable water. The ride along the length of Bowman reservoir is pretty level and has amazing views of the lake. The climb out of Bowman reservoir is very steep, rutted and full of boulders. It's not very long, though, and soon we were on Forest Service roads again. There was some logging activity going on so the road was recently graded and watered - nice and easy riding from here up to the summit and then all the way back down to the tiny town of Graniteville. Graniteville was a mining town and now there are a handful of hardy year-rounders living there. It is also where the local volunteer Fire Department calls home. We saw a few dogs as we rode through town on Graniteville Road but no people this time. On the other end of town is the cemetery followed by the last climb of our ride. We left Graniteville behind and headed for Cherry Hill, the last climb of our ride. The road is in good shape, graded dirt, but it is very steep and windy, shaded is some sections, but not all. Once again we were in granny gear grinding our way up to the top. It felt great to see the road flatten out again. Graniteville Road is almost all downhill from here to Nevada City. However, our trip stopped just a few miles further down the road at a cabin in the woods.