Nice climbing company
Today we would be able to enjoy more downhill than up and so we planned to try to get in some good mileage. About 9 miles into our descent we stopped at Camp Nelson to look for the post office (today was the day to unload my extra junk). We didn't find the post office and decided to press on (not a big deal to haul extra crap downhill) but not before putting on even more clothes. The wind chill on the descent was getting uncomfortable.
Looking back on where we've been
We had another 14ish miles of narrow road, sweeping downhill that was very enjoyable and brought us quickly below 1500 ft again and back to much warmer weather and some desert plants again. Quite a contrast from the morning climb.
Going down
Still going down
(I sped past the rest of the signs so no more photos)
The first order of business was to strip off all the extra clothing. It was now above 85 degrees and I was dressed for weather in the thirties. I slathered on the sunscreen while I waited for Sarah to catch up. She kicks my butt uphill but I zoom ahead on the downhills.
We detoured about a mile into Springville to find the Post Office and look for wifi. Success on the first and a miss on the second. I was excited to finally be unloading my extra stuff. I had to haul it an extra couple of days and over an extra 7500 ft pass but no further.
Finally an open Post Offuce
I went in a found a flat rate box to fit my stuff and prepared to be amazed at the 15-20 lbs that would no longer be in my bags. The huge weight turned out to be...3lbs 11.2oz. Okay, not exactly gigantic but it was mentally lifting and made room in the bags for more food and water.
Surely that must weigh 20lbs, right?
On the way home
After lunch, we headed out for the second climb of the day. A gentle 10 mile climb up a dry valley (that means hot) followed by a similar downhill and some flat road to the end of the day. The last few miles of the climb were quite a bit steeper over some rough road but eventually the top arrived as it always does.
No Sequoias here
After about 10 miles I stopped to wait for Sarah to catch up. After a long drink break and several snacks, it was clear that something had happened as she was still nowhere in sight. I sat in the shade of a road sign (the only shade around) and contemplated how long to wait before riding back uphill to see what was wrong. I decided that the wait time had not yet expired and I settled in at the side of the road. After a bit a pickup with a couple if cowboys towing some horses stopped to tell me that Sarah was up the road a bit with a flat. Quite nice of them, and good for me. She could handle a flat without me riding uphill.
Eventually she arrived but still needed a tube change. She had been stopping to add air but had not changed the tube since she wasn't sure how far ahead I was. It turns out that one of her "new" tubes was the culprit again. Amongst the many patches, one was leaking again. I had a third actually new tube that had barely been salvaged from the box at the post office that went in. After changing it and making her promise to throw away the old, tired tube we were on our way again.
The rest of the road was nice and flat. We don't have much of that on this trip so the pace was pretty quick. We still had 14 or so miles to go before our campground and we were getting a bit itchy to be done for the day.
During a shade break to refill water bottles from our water bladders, some folks stopped to ask if we needed anything or if they could offer anything. We didn't need anything but is was awfully nice of them to ask. Friendly folks around here.
We cranked out the rest of the miles to Lemon Cove which brought us into citrus country with orange and lemon groves lining the roads.
When we reached town (a generous term in this application) we found that the RV campground we intended to use had closed a course months ago. The next opportunity would be a campground about 6 more miles up the road. Our long day was going to be a little longer. Eventually we arrived and the campground had plenty of space and a big bonus, a shower. Things were getting a little ripe. After a shower and doing some laundry (yes, also in the shower) I started to set up camp for the night.
We were concerned about all the rattlesnake warnings around so it was a surprise when the wildlife event of the evening was a squirrel. Somewhere in between setting up my tent and getting read for dinner, a squirrel had wandered into our camp to apparently live out his last moments with us. Yep, he just walked in, laid over, and passed away. This started the debate about whether it was old age, rattlesnake, or something else that did him in.
He was not alone in the end
Quick dinner and into the tent as it was pretty late after our 80 mile day (a bit longer than our 50 mile daily target).
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