Friday, April 24, 2009

Sierra Nev-NADA

We were told by many that we would not make it through the Sierra Nevada Mountains in less than three days with all of our gear. Hah. Okay, I'm not going to lie...it was rough. Our legs and the state of California are DONE.

We left Pine Grove, CA for the mountains with a loose idea of what we were up against. This was solely based on the input of people living in that area because they DRIVE through there. Cars do not equal bikes, they're very different. We took route 88 east towards Kirkwood and found it to be quite beautiful. We drank all the water we could, not knowing when we'd run out of gas stations and random bars. As we climbed over 5,000 feet the first day and over 32 miles we ended up camping off the highway. We used our filter bags to catch melt water from the rock face nearby. At 7,000 ft, our camp overlooked much of the mountain range to the south. The temperature dropped quickly as the sun went down and our temporary home was waiting. We ate our kashi rice meals quickly and watched the sun set before passing out.






Sunrise, and highway 88 is once again alive with the sounds of truckers breaking through the passes. We knew we had to get to our highest pass (8,600 feet), nearly 30 miles away. BUT, before that, we dropped deep into a valley only to climb right back out. It's hard enough on your body to take that, but knowing you lost all the elevation in minutes...rough. We stopped to snack and make a video of how we filter our water and kept uphill for a few more miles. We arrived in the ski-town of Kirkwood. Do any of these people work? it was 2 pm and there was NO shortage of people skiiing and snowboarding. We ate a HUGE lunch at the Kirkwood Inn...and headed out for our summit. Once we hit our 8,600 ft summit....it was all downhill into Nevada.




45 MPH and loud yelling sums up the 18 miles that followed. The rest was flat land with mountains on both sides and cattle running away as we cycled by.







I think we need to rest here in Minden, NV.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

One state down.

Raoul said...

Glad to see you two are off to a good start. Sounds like you're going to have a great adventure. Enjoy the "flat" lands on the way to the Rockies. Hope we get a chance to meet when you guys come through the Appalachians.

Naideen said...

Nice pictures. :) Showin some love for Earth Day... Grats for finishing your first state! O, and was Bryson humping the elevation sign???

KathleenandSteve said...

Hi, Glad you made it out of California okay. You came through just in time. Right after you left we had two days of 100 degree weather and by Friday we were back to light snow in the Sierra. Pictures are great.

Unknown said...

Woo Hoo!
Chuck and Susan Sklar are eagerly following your adventures from Western North Carolina. Chuck says "I wish I were with you!".

Unknown said...

Love the pictures :-) keep it up, you guys are an inspiration.

Anonymous said...

hey guys, i wish i knew you were going to be in northern nevada, my parents have a house in Carson city, and a few restaurants in the area, Lake Tahoe, Reno, Carson, Fallon. If you still are in the area, stop by bsghettis in downtown carson, or heidis in reno or carson, or Bear Beach Cafe in Tahoe. Tell them you know me.
RP3 JD Higgins

Anonymous said...

watch out for swine flu while you're out there.

QAK said...

Hey guys, nice work! This is Ken, Andy, and Quinn from the train. You've got some serious climbs under your belt there.

We're just finishing up our first rest day in Boise, Idaho before heading down to Ogden, Utah. Then we climb.

450+ miles & one state down for us. Good luck to you.

http://www.twoarmparty.com

Amy said...

Your pictures are gorgeous! I bet you guys are having the time of your lives! miss ya!