Miles total: 5345
Headed out today at 7 am and it was already 80 degrees in Furnace Creek (yesterday it peaked around 100 but it wasn’t unpleasant). Rode northwest out of Death Valley on CA-190, climbing a few thousand feet to cross the ridge and exit the park.
In the valley on the other side I took this picture of the Sierra Nevadas.
To me this view was even more impressive than seeing the Front Range from Colorado Springs. The elevation of the valley at the spot I took the picture was 3500 feet. The mountain peaks are over 14,000 feet.
Rode south for a ways on US395 before getting on CA-178; climbed to 5300 feet to cross the Sierra Nevadas at Walker Pass. Not much to see on the eastern side, but as you descend on the western side you pass Isabella Lake and the road then follows the Kern river in this steep, winding mountain gorge for the last 30 miles or so to Bakersfield. A fun road but very twisty with few guard rails.
After Bakersfield I headed due north on some ugly highways to pick up CA-198 and entered Sequoia National Park. The goal was to visit the General Sherman tree but after having ridden 350 miles already I was unpleasantly surprised to see the crazy twisting road I had to ride to get there (look at Google Maps and see for yourself). The road climbs up to 7600 feet to get to the General Sherman parking area.
As if that’s not enough, you then have to hike 1/2 mile and 200 vertical feet to see the tree. The tree is pretty cool though ... look at the people standing near the base for scale.
Almost 500 mile day!; I’d say the hike to General Sherman was good for riding fatigue, at least. It’s a most impressive Tree and about impossible to photograph with anything but a fish-eye lens😏.
ReplyDeleteNot familiar with the pass you took over the Sierras, but the gorge looked interesting. Pretty amazing how many miles you’ve covered so far!
Your commentary is bringing back many memories of some of the same places or areas we have seen. BUT you definitely have a knack for finding very unusual places to visit!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Karen and David
Ehh. Nothing we couldn’t see on a uah walk.
ReplyDelete