Appeal athletes take Nevada challenge

Four men leave Monday to hike Nevada's most rugged mountains, bike her most treacherous trails and surf her most barren stretches of desert -- all in 10 days.

The challenge was extended, and the four accepted on behalf of the Nevada Appeal.

"It's going to be a great adventure," said Appeal copy editor Karl Horeis, 25. "It'll push us to total exhaustion and beyond."

Horeis and fellow Nevada Appeal employees Jeremy Evans, sports writer, and Rick Gunn, photographer, will be joined by former Appeal photographer K.M. Cannon in attempting the list of challenges outlined by the Nevada Commission on Tourism.

The 10 challenges -- ranging from the Tahoe Rim Trail to the Black Rock Desert and Wheeler Peak -- were issued as part of a campaign called "Nevada: Bring it On," designed to draw attention to the state's outdoor adventure sites.

Gunn, 38, learned of the challenge as he flipped through a National Geographic Adventure magazine while snow camping with his dog, Tucson, and saw the Tourism Commission's advertising campaign.

"I realized I had adventure traveled on almost all of the continents, but I had never had an adventure in the state of Nevada where I work," Gunn said. "I just had to figure out a way to get 10 days off work."

He found a way to do it by convincing the Nevada Appeal to sponsor the excursion.

"We wanted to do a series on the adventure challenge and this seemed like an extreme way to go about it," said Editor Barry Smith. "It is something we thought readers would have fun following."

The adventure will begin 4 o'clock Monday morning as they embark on the Tahoe Rim Trail. It will continue as they hit adventure spots throughout the state, including carving through the Black Rock Desert on off-road skateboards and biking the Bloody Shins trail near Winnemucca.

If all goes as planned, it will end some 1,800 miles later as they top Nevada's highest mountain, Boundary Peak, on Aug. 14.

"This is really a trip about endurance," said Cannon, 38. "It will be absolutely grueling -- I've been training like mad."

The key to finishing on time, they said, will be to complete the Tahoe Rim Trail (165 miles) within the four days allotted. Then the most difficult obstacle left will be the Ruby Crest trail -- 38 miles through the Ruby Mountains in one day.

"It will be the sixth day and we'll be exhausted," Evans, 24, explained. "We don't know any of the terrain and we're starting off in the middle of the night.

"At some point, this is going to become more of a mental challenge."

The four will chronicle their adventures through stories and photos, with an update running in the Nevada Appeal each day.

After the challenge, a series of articles and photos on each of the adventures will appear on the cover of the C section over the next 10 Sundays.

The 10 Challenges

Challenge 1 & 2: Tahoe Rim and Flume trails. Hike and bike 165 miles, Aug. 5-8.

Challenge 3: Sand Mountain. Climb 600 feet and descend on sand boards, Aug. 9.

Challenge 4: Black Rock Desert. Ride off-road skateboards, Aug. 9.

Challenge 5: Bloody Shins Trail. Mountain bike 20 miles, Aug. 10.

Challenge 6: Ruby Crest Trail. Hike 38 miles, Aug. 11.

Challenge 7: Wheeler Peak. Hike up the 13,063-foot peak, Aug. 12.

Challenge 8: Red Rock Canyon. Rock climb, Aug. 13.

Challenge 9: Amargosa Big Dune. Climb dune and descend on sand boards, Aug. 13.

Challenge 10: Boundary Peak Wilderness. Hike 10 miles to the tip of the 13,140-foot peak, Aug. 14.

For more information about the "Bring it On" challenge, go to www.travelnevada.com/adventure/top10.asp.