Past Lake Alpine, Highway 4 stops pretending to be a normal road. The centre line disappears, the tarmac narrows to something barely wider than a car and a half, and the route starts to wriggle over granite, between ridges and around small lakes, at around 2,300 metres.
This is a road for riders who like to work. The bends are tight, often blind, and the gradients are steep, with some short pitches among the steepest of any paved road in California. Signs warn that vehicles with trailers and long RVs are not recommended, and you will understand why when you meet one coming the other way on a hairpin. The surface is generally decent but patched, with gravel washed onto the inside of corners after storms. Ride it in the morning, when traffic is light and the low sun throws long shadows over the granite.
The scenery rewards the effort. Polished domes and slabs left by glaciers rise on both sides, dotted with lodgepole and twisted junipers that look centuries old, and the little Mosquito Lakes sit right at the roadside near the summit, clear and cold. There are wildflower meadows in July, and the light at this height has a hard, clean quality. Black bears live in these woods, so do not leave food in a tank bag if you stop overnight at one of the campgrounds.
The road was a wagon route long before it was paved, and the high section was never widened like the bigger trans-Sierra highways, which is why it still feels like an old track. It closes in winter, often from November until late May or June, and snow can linger on the shoulders well into summer.
Services are almost nonexistent up here. Lake Alpine has a small seasonal lodge and a campground, but do not count on fuel. Fill up in Arnold on the west side, and know that on the east side the first reliable fuel is in the Carson Valley around Gardnerville, a long way down. If you are low, turn back rather than gamble.