Today the plan was for another long day. It would start with an 18 mile climb up and around Lassen Peak, a dormant volcano (last active 1914-1921). It would also mean entering another National Park (can you say stamps?). Before this ride I had never heard of Lassen Volcanic National Park. Judging by the amount of traffic we were to see on the road, neither had many other folks. I had no expectations one way or the other for the park except that the first several hours if it would be uphill.
Pretty cool for being completely unknown
We were back on our early departure schedule this morning so we had already climbed about halfway to the the top by 9am when the visitors center (also located halfway to the top) opened. You can't just cruise through a park without learning something about it so the visitors center is always a must stop for me. It is also where I picked up another stamp for my book.
I spent about half an hour reading everything and having a second breakfast at the cafe while I wrote postcards to my nieces and nephews.
After that it was back on the road but now I had expectations. I should see bubbling mud and sulphur vents and lakes. Time to get going.
Hot, bubbly, stinky mud
The climbing was not too bad. It took about 3 hours but was much less painful than earlier episodes on this trip. I'll chalk that up to a more humane grade and perhaps a slight improvement in fitness.
The views were great and there was very little traffic on the road through the park. Perfect for biking.
Is it really June?
There seems to be a fair amount of snow left
The road brought us up above 8000ft again. I am not sure but that may be the last time for this trip. It was interesting to see all the snow. There was more here than at Tioga Pass. There were also some interesting creeks with warm running water and lots of algae growing in them. Odd to see by the snow.
Hot stream...thick algae
We continued winding our way to the top. The expectation was that we would make up time on the downhill and still be able to get in a long mileage day. We are planning to try to get to Mt. Shasta by tomorrow night to meet up with Ron. He is the fellow that hosted us at his home in Palmdale. He is up north for a bit and we thought it would be fun to visit again. He brought his bike so he can ride part of a day with us.
The long and winding road
Eventually the top arrived and we saw more snow. Quite a few of the upper trails and picnic areas are still snowed in which may explain some of the light traffic.
A nice break before the afternoon heat
When the road goes right past Mt. Lassen which has it's own summit some 2000 ft higher up, you can't use that name for the road summit. So apparently you don't call it anything.
Last time this high? Maybe.
The required note for Randy
Coming down the other side was quite a bit flatter than expected and so it took longer to do the 20 miles to the park exit than expected. I was shooting for lunch there which made it a very late lunch. I was definitely starting to bonk by the time we arrived. I pushed for us to detour 1/2 a mile to the campground store for cold drinks and some extra groceries for lunch.
The stop was pretty rejuvenating and I started to feel better after a bit. I made a quick run into another visitors center on the way out of the park for another stamp and we were on our way.
With the exception of one last short climb outside the park, the toughest part of the day was over.
It says summit, it gets a picture
We thought about leaving beers but nobody wants to carry them
The rest of the day would be cruising along a slightly downhill to flat grade for the next 40 miles as we tried to make it to an RV park at Burney Falls before the sun or our legs gave out.
It was getting hit so water was a concern. We stopped to fill up where we could and hit anyplace that had a cold drink. We found a great little shop at Old Station with drinks and a large book exchange. Perfect for Randy who insists on carrying paper books. Sarah sent him a note so he would be sure to stop when passing through.
A great roadside book exchange
We did a pretty good job drafting each other the rest of the afternoon and kept a strong pace for the last 25-30 miles. This had us arriving at camp before 4:30. It was our longest mileage day of the trip at about 82 miles but not quite our longest pedaling day (the tough day into Idylwild still owns that record).
We set up camp, I jumped in the shower and then felt much better. I did some shower laundry to wash the days grime off the riding clothes and settled in to catch up on communication with the park's wifi.
Sarah had messages from Randy. He has been finding our notes and says they are motivating. He has been making good time since his rest day and is only about a day behind us in spite of our recent ling day's. Maybe we'll see him again when we take a rest day.
Looking ahead a few days, we'll be in Oregon soon. The plan now is to take a rest day in Ashland. This is also where a friend of Sarah's will meet up with us. He is bringing along his fancy car camping rig and promises cold drinks (12V fridge) and good cooking for dinner. Looking forward to that!
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