Around 4pm today Jim and I were up above Truckee, CA, near Donner Pass, shuttling my dinky Chevy Aveo rental car to the trailhead so that I can hike to it. The local road to the trailhead had not been plowed, and there was about 12" of really dense snow on the ground - all fresh from this storm. My Aveo definitely could not make it down the road... heck, we spent 10 minutes digging and pushing out a Camry that somehow thought it could make it down the road. Anyhow, one of the locals had apparently gone to get a giant construction vehicle with a large plow blade to do a "mercy run" (as one of the local businessmen put it) down to the trailhead. "It won't be pretty, but you should be able to drive it." Soon the "plow" appeared, and disappeared down the road. When it came past us on the way out we quickly took advantage of the mostly cleared road before it covered over again and drove down to the trailhead.
Fortunately the trailhead has a large parking area, but the plow didn't clear any of it. So Jim and I took to digging out a parking spot to which the Aveo then went sliding into. Without sand/dirt or a lot of shoveling, the Aveo is pretty much stuck where it is, and by the time I hike to it on Friday it should be melted out enough that I can back out of my makeshift spot and cruise on down to Reno.
A hunter we ran into said there was 2' of snow at the top of the nearby mountain (one of many I would be hiking over). Fortunately I am able to borrow a pair of snowshoes from Jim and Jackie - not so much for floating on the snow (it's dense enough anyway) but to help obscure those crevices, gaps and bumps in the trail that I might otherwise find myself stepping into. I will be hiking bright and early Thurs morning, and I will definitely be carrying my long johns, rain gear, and gloves. I know my feet will be wet for most of the next 2 days, but they should at least be above freezing.
I'm optimistic that I can make good time despite the conditions. Wish me luck!
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