Re-riders crossing Carson Range on way to Stateline

Pony Express re-riders are crossing Kingsbury Grade into the Tahoe Basin as of 12:30 p.m. today.

Douglas County's re-riders picked up 45 minutes during the annual crossing from St. Joseph, Mo., to Sacramento on Thursday morning.

Rider Carl Malkmus brought the mochila containing letters bound for Sacramento into the county. He said the ride between Fuji Park in Carson City to Jacks Valley Fire Station in Alpine View went well.

More than three dozen well-wishers gathered around, and took photos of Mike Murphy and his horse Billy Bob as he waited at the Genoa Courthouse on Thursday morning for rider Marv Davis to complete his leg of the trip.

"It's kind of a cultural experience," said Murphy, who is on his sixth ride. "It gives people an idea of how things were in the old days."

Murphy said the riders weren't expecting such a turnout, since the transfer in Genoa was supposed to be at about 8 a.m. Davis arrived at 9:25 a.m.

Don Horning of Ann Arbor, Mich., said he plans to send a letter via the Pony Express next year.

A regular visitor to Lake Tahoe, this was the first year Horning watched the riders.

"We've been coming up for years, but this is the first time we've seen it," he said. "This is history in the making. I always thought it had something to do with the post office, but it's completely separate."

Veteran rider Bob Moore has been on the re-ride since the founding of the Nevada chapter of the National Pony Express Association in 1978. He was the charter secretary of the chapter.

His 32nd re-ride over old Kingsbury Grade was pretty familiar, since he'd been back over it recently.

According to the association's Web site, the mail arrived in Nevada about five hours late, after wet weather created muddy conditions for Wyoming riders.

Cloud cover over Nevada reduced visibility Wednesday night, preventing the riders from making up the time across the desert.

The Pony Express re-ride is scheduled to arrive in Sacramento this morning.

The 10-day, 24-hour a day event crosses 1,966 miles following the original Pony Express route. The original service operated for 18 months from 1860 to 1861. The route is part of the National Trails System, administered by the National Park Service.

For more information, visit www.xphomestation.com or call the association's headquarters in Pollock Pine, Calif., (916) 332-8382.