The Road to Hell
All photos c2003 Hal Barker
Tahoe News Center Nine
"Remember: never take no cut-offs,
and hurry along as fast as you can."
Virginia Reed, Donner Party Survivor
Driving westward through the Nevada desert one eventually reaches a huge, grey granite wall: the Sierra Nevada de California. Travelers wishing to cross over it should carry extra drinking water and a full tank of gasoline. A few protein snacks might also come in handy. But if the prospect of spending the night in a culvert at 10,000 feet listening to the timberwolves howl (they can get pretty bold) because your rear axle snapped and your cellphone's dead does not appeal to you, you'd better head back to Reno and check in to the Silver Spur Inn. The mountains ain't no place for amateurs. Amateurs like you.
