Coming down off Ebbetts, the road follows the East Fork of the Carson River out of the mountains toward Markleeville, the county seat of Alpine County. Alpine is the least populated county in California, home to only around a thousand people, and Markleeville is so small that its courthouse, an old general store and a handful of houses make up most of the town. It is a pleasant surprise after the wild high country, and its main street feels like it belongs to another century.
The valley floor is wide and open here, with sagebrush and Jeffrey pine on the dry slopes and willows along the river. The East Fork of the Carson is a well-known trout stream, and you will see fly fishermen standing in it on summer evenings. To the west, a short spur road leads to Grover Hot Springs State Park, where natural hot spring water feeds a pool in a meadow ringed by mountains. It is a fine place to soak tired shoulders after a day on the passes.
The riding changes character as you come down. Highway 4 joins Highway 89 near here, and the descent becomes smoother and faster, with long sweeping bends along the river. North of Markleeville the road continues to Woodfords, where Highway 88 heads west over Carson Pass and east down into Nevada. The cycling event called the Death Ride, officially the Tour of the California Alps, starts and finishes here each July, and on that day the roads are full of bicycles.
Markleeville sits on the Nevada side of the Sierra crest, in the rain shadow, so the climate is drier and sunnier than on the western slope. The light in the afternoon is golden and long, and the cold air drains down from the peaks at night. In winter the town is reachable from the east, but the passes above it close.
Markleeville has a small store and a few places to eat, but fuel is limited, and it is wise to plan on filling up in the Carson Valley. Gardnerville and Minden, about thirty kilometres east, have everything you might need, including motorcycle shops and big supermarkets. If you have time, the drive down Highway 88 to the valley crosses the state line into Nevada and opens up broad views of ranches and the Pine Nut Mountains.