Escalante to Torrey

Wednesday dawned with high clouds and cool temperatures, perfect for the climb to Boulder. After we left Escalante we had to descend to cross the Escalante River approx. 10 miles downriver from where we hiked. The picture above shows the road winding and winding down into the river gorge. To see the detail, click the picture and it will become full size. The climb out of the gorge was amazing with 14 % grades and beautiful views of Calf Creek Canyon.

We camped outside of Boulder and Thursday morning headed up the mountain for a climb of 3000 ft. in 12 miles. Along the way, we kept seeing these old cars that were obviously part of a rally. One of the cars a Landrover sedan honked and waved at us on its way down. A little bit later the same car drove past us going up the mountain. When we got to the summit the driver had jumped out and was taking pictures of us. We stopped and talked with David and Lorraine from Hong Kong who are driving their 1960 Landrover from Panama to Alaska (14,000 miles). They were intrigued with our adventure and with Jack. We wished each other good luck after taking pictures. We headed down the pass and got to Torrey late in the afternoon. Today we ride east on Hwy 24 to Hanksville. Our ability to post may be limited from Hanksville to Blanding.

Rest day in Escalante

Today (Tuesday) we are taking a rest day in Escalante. We are staying at Escalante Outfitters, another do it all establishment. They are a motel, campground, liquor store, coffee shop, internet cafe, pizza place, book store, and a hiking/camping store. Belinda and Dave are staying in one of these little log cabins (which seem to be in all the private RV/campgrounds). It's nice to be in a bed again. John has pitched his tent again as he must watch his pennies.

This morning we went for a hike down the Escalante River canyon. Two years ago we paddled up the Escalante arm of Lake Powell with Bill. So now we've seen the river from the other end. We haven't been disappointed yet.

Panguitch to Escalante

Well, we have been traveling through real Wiley Coyote & Road Runner country! Its is fantastic and beautiful scenery. Sunday's ride to Tropic on Hwy 12 took us through Red Canyon. There is every manner of contorted rock formation you can imagine. As a bonus, there was a seven mile bike path through the canyon. This not only let us ride traffic free, but it meant that Jack could get out of the trailer for a little run. He seemed to really enjoy this.

On Monday we passed Powell's Point on the way to Escalante. We couldn't help reflecting on this man's great accomplishments. A one armed explorer, surveyor, and mapper he charted the whole Green River and Colorado River drainages. This is some of the most rugged country in the US.

Milford to Panguitch

I'll bet not many of you have heard of Panguitch, Utah, huh? Well, this is the first internet connection we've had for a few days. When we woke up in Milford Thursday morning there was snow on all the mountains around. The forecast was for scattered thunder showers, but with clearing in the afternoon, and thats just the way it went. We climbed over the hill to Cedar City and in so doing, left the Great Basin. Now the country around looks more like one would expect Utah to look, red rock cliffs and table top mesas. Cedar City is a bustling town of 20 thousand people, the biggest town we've seen for a while. We stayed in the KOA there, and could have had internet but we lost the access code and the office was closed by the time we discovered the loss. At breakfast we shared coffee with a fellow rider ,Ed, who we met in Baker. He was staying in Cedar City for a prolonged rest as the next leg was the hardest climb of the trip so far. We faced 4500 ft. of climbing up Cedar Canyon in 21 miles.
Indeed this climb made Carson Pass seem like a cake walk. In twelve miles we had climbed 3000 ft. and were done in. We stayed the night in a nice little wooded campground just off the highway. The one consolation was that the scenery was stunningly beautiful. The next day we finished the climb at 10,500 ft. elevation in Cedar Breaks National Monument. Here the environment was alpine and the air quite cool. Then we turned downhill for a 30 mile roller coaster ride into Panguitch. We are camped in a small RV park with a little patch of lawn in back for tents. The next two days will be fairly easy rides, finishing in Escalante, where we will take a rest day.

Baker to Milford

Tuesday morning we packed up to roll out of Baker on our own. Bill, Pete and Susan wished good luck before we left and they packed for their return to Sacramento. We slowly peddled out of town with heavy loads. We were going to split the next 85 miles into two days and dry camp at the top of Wah Wah Summit. We soon hit the Utah border and took pictures.

Many friends have enquired about Jack and here is a picture of him riding in his chariot (the dog cart) as we ride towards Mormon Gap.

We had two long climbs and the valleys in Utah seem so much bigger than in Nevada. There is also an interesting wind pattern to each valley. Descending from the pass we have a headwind, across the flat we have a crosswind, and ascending the pass on the other side we have a tailwind. After 52 miles we found our campground at the top of the pass. Here is a view up the dirt road from the highway. We listened to the weather radio and knew the good weather was changing again. This morning clouds filled the sky, we packed up and headed into the headwind on the descent from Wah Wah. At the bottom of the Wah Wah valley we were hit by tremendous side winds reducing our speed on the flats to 5-7 mph. Rain clouds, thunder and lightning could be seen on the San Francisco mountains ahead. We persisted and finally reached the point with a tailwind and made the 1400 ft. climb to Frisco Summit. The storm had passed over us with some light hail on the climb; however a very cold tailwind pushed us to Milford. After we warmed up, we checked the weather radio and realized that we had just ridden through a major wind advisory for southern Utah and Nevada.

Rest Day in Baker

After two long days totalling over 140 miles, we needed a rest day and some time to explore Great Basin National Park. Bill, Pete, Susan and John decided to go hiking/snowshoeing to the Bristlecone Pines. Dave and Belinda decided to see the world famous Lehman Caves. They were dropped at the Caves with their bikes to ride back to the motel since the hikers might be out longer. The caves were amazing with many unusual features. There were huge columns, shields, and draperies. One room was called the bacon room because light shined through the draperies had the appearance of slices of bacon. The caves were used for many things before the park service took over; parties, weddings, boy scout campouts, and a movie set.
At the day's end, we all got back together and shared adventures over another great meal at the Lectrolux Cafe. We had commandeered the main table for several meals now and were on a first name basis with the owner.

Ely to Baker

Well, this was the first day riding without Bill. He decided to go in the car with Pete, Susan and Jack to explore The Great Basin National Park. We will miss him and his own special brand of humor. We were able to ride unencumbered again as we would all be reunited in Baker, NV. We rode against a stiff headwind until we began the ascent of Conners Pass when the wind turned to help us over the top. At the bottom of the descent we stopped at Majors Junction where we had a beer and saw a Basque condo (sheepherder's wagon). We then turned north through Spring Valley with a great roaring tailwind. We turned southeast to climb Sacramento Pass, our last climb in Nevada. At the top of the pass, Wheeler Peak came into view.

We had a quick descent towards Baker with a tailwind until Dave got a flat tire. Soom we peddled into town and the Whispering Elms Motel where Jack quickly made friends with the parents of the owner. We were only 6 miles from Utah!