Day 16
Woke up feeling well rested and stopped at the lobby of the Dow Villa to get a cup of coffee. I walked over to the chamber of commerce to get some area information and met a fellow bicycle tourist on the way. Kimberly was headed from LosAngeles to Montana and then is hoping to bike down to Argentina with a friend. Always fun and encouraging to here about other peoples adventures. After my visit to the chamber and packing up my stuff I biked into an area nearby in Lone Pine called Alabama Hills. This is a very popular area for Hollywood movies including the recently released Iron Man. It is a really interesting landscape although it was quite hot! Beyond the Alabama Hills lies the Southern Sierra's and Mt. Whitney at an elevation of 14,495, the highest mountain in the lower 48. As I biked up the large hill I was passed by many speeding motorists, kind of scary how fast they were going. I decided to get off of the road and go for a hike instead, glad I did. I came across several forms of cactus as well as some amazing views of the Alabama Hills and the Sierras. It was still early afternoon and being so very hot I didn't want to start my ride into Death Valley National Park yet so I went to the local city park and relaxed under a tree in the shade. Did a little reading and then went up the street to have some dinner at the taco truck. Very tasty! From there I headed further up the street for a quick stop at the grocery store and then over to McDonalds for a sundae and to enjoy the air conditioning.
At McDonalds I started to feel a little nervous and excited about riding into the desert at night. I had been bicycling though the mountains for the past 15 days and it has been beautiful but challenging. The first week was rainy and then the sun came out for some really comfortable riding. The past several days have become very hot and now it was time to ride at night into an unfamiliar desert, alone. As the sun started to set I filled my water bottles and headed on down the road. It was a good feeling to head East after biking South for so long. The sunset was beautiful and kept the road lit for the first 45 minutes of the ride and then I had to pull out my lights. I saw very little civilization and was rarely passed by a car. I did get to see a fox, several kangaroo rats, a scorpion, and many bats. Planet Bike was nice enough to donate me some really bright lights that did a great job of lighting my path. Thanks Planet Bike! About 5 miles into the ride I began to climb a hill and continued to do so for the next several hours. It was a big climb, in the dark, alone. An experience I will never forget. As I neared the top of the hill I started to notice a very bright light, it was the moon! Almost full, just barely waning. It was really awesome to see the silhouettes of the Joshua Trees lit up by the moon. Shortly after reaching the top of the hill I entered Death Valley National Park and then it was time for the 12 mile long steep curvy 2,000+ foot elevation drop. It was fun but I was holding my brakes pretty good being so dark and knowing the drop offs on the side of the road were pretty dangerous even though I couldn't see them. I reached the Panamint Springs Resort just after 11p.m. and set up my tent in the campground. Happy to be in Death Valley National Park!
http://www.planetbike.com/
Woke up feeling well rested and stopped at the lobby of the Dow Villa to get a cup of coffee. I walked over to the chamber of commerce to get some area information and met a fellow bicycle tourist on the way. Kimberly was headed from LosAngeles to Montana and then is hoping to bike down to Argentina with a friend. Always fun and encouraging to here about other peoples adventures. After my visit to the chamber and packing up my stuff I biked into an area nearby in Lone Pine called Alabama Hills. This is a very popular area for Hollywood movies including the recently released Iron Man. It is a really interesting landscape although it was quite hot! Beyond the Alabama Hills lies the Southern Sierra's and Mt. Whitney at an elevation of 14,495, the highest mountain in the lower 48. As I biked up the large hill I was passed by many speeding motorists, kind of scary how fast they were going. I decided to get off of the road and go for a hike instead, glad I did. I came across several forms of cactus as well as some amazing views of the Alabama Hills and the Sierras. It was still early afternoon and being so very hot I didn't want to start my ride into Death Valley National Park yet so I went to the local city park and relaxed under a tree in the shade. Did a little reading and then went up the street to have some dinner at the taco truck. Very tasty! From there I headed further up the street for a quick stop at the grocery store and then over to McDonalds for a sundae and to enjoy the air conditioning.
At McDonalds I started to feel a little nervous and excited about riding into the desert at night. I had been bicycling though the mountains for the past 15 days and it has been beautiful but challenging. The first week was rainy and then the sun came out for some really comfortable riding. The past several days have become very hot and now it was time to ride at night into an unfamiliar desert, alone. As the sun started to set I filled my water bottles and headed on down the road. It was a good feeling to head East after biking South for so long. The sunset was beautiful and kept the road lit for the first 45 minutes of the ride and then I had to pull out my lights. I saw very little civilization and was rarely passed by a car. I did get to see a fox, several kangaroo rats, a scorpion, and many bats. Planet Bike was nice enough to donate me some really bright lights that did a great job of lighting my path. Thanks Planet Bike! About 5 miles into the ride I began to climb a hill and continued to do so for the next several hours. It was a big climb, in the dark, alone. An experience I will never forget. As I neared the top of the hill I started to notice a very bright light, it was the moon! Almost full, just barely waning. It was really awesome to see the silhouettes of the Joshua Trees lit up by the moon. Shortly after reaching the top of the hill I entered Death Valley National Park and then it was time for the 12 mile long steep curvy 2,000+ foot elevation drop. It was fun but I was holding my brakes pretty good being so dark and knowing the drop offs on the side of the road were pretty dangerous even though I couldn't see them. I reached the Panamint Springs Resort just after 11p.m. and set up my tent in the campground. Happy to be in Death Valley National Park!
http://www.planetbike.com/
Sierras
Alabama Hills
One last view of the Sierras before heading into Death Valley
Next 3 stops
Planet Bike lighting my path!
Moon Rising
Day 17
I was awoken to very strong winds in the middle of the night several times and then woke up the blazing sun early in the morning. Crawled out of my tent and was really in awe with my surroundings. It was a strange feeling as I walked around the campground and took it all in. There was a variety of plant life and mountains all around me. Quite an interesting place! I stopped at the campground office to pay me fee and then went to the restaurant for some breakfast. It was really hot again and the hill I needed to go up next was a climb to nearly 5,000 feet and very steep. I decided I would try to either find a ride up the mountain or wait until night and give it my best shot. I met a worker at the resort named Matthew and we talked about the desert and travels for a while and he said he would look into finding me a ride. Shortly later he introduced me to Jonathon who offered me as well as another bicyclist from France name Marc a ride to the top of the pass. I talked with Jonathon for a while, very nice man and very knowledgeable of the Death Valley and the Earth in general. After walking and around and exploring for a while I met Jonathon and Marc at the bar and we had some beers and pizza and agreed to wait until morning to go over the pass. Really nice to have a rest day in such a beautiful place full of kind people. After some good conversation I retired to my ten for the evening and slept under the beautiful desert sky.
Panamint Springs Resort
Marc and Jonathon at the Panamint Springs bar/restaurant
( huge beer selection )
View from the bar/restaurant
Nice shady patio
Day 18
Woke up to another day of sunshine in Death Valley. I'd like to thank Shepherd's Dream for supplying me with a Wool Medicine Felt!! It makes sleeping on rocks so much more comfortable!! After packing up I headed over to the restaurant to meet Marc and Jonathon and get ready for our drive up the pass. After a cup of coffee and packing up the Subaru we headed up the mountain. Jonathon told me all about the land we were passing and is a wealth of information, thank you Jonathon not only for the ride but also all of the area information and book recommendations! We reached the top of Towne pass at an elevation of 4,956 feet and unloaded the bikes. It was now time for the 19 mile decent to an elevation of sea level! Marc and I had a blast cruising down the pass at a top speed of 41mph. The temperature had risen 35 degrees in the short amount of time it took to get to the bottom. We took a nice break in the shade, filled our water bottles, and then started off on the 25 mile ride to Furnace Creek which is an elevation of 190 feet below sea level. The ride was mostly flat but very hot, over 100 degrees. Water got hot quick and there was no shade at all. The scenery was interesting and enjoyable but I was happy to arrive to Furnace Creek and get a cold beverage! I checked into my room that the Furnace Creek Resort donated to me, thanks Furnace Creek!!! The room is really nice with a view of the worlds lowest golf course and the Funeral Mountains. Also great to have air conditioning and a refrigerator!! After a cool shower and some relaxation I headed over to the Corkscrew Saloon for a cold beer and some dinner. I heard a wide assortment of languages throughout the bar and the park in general. There are travelers from all over the world in Death Valley. Marc, the bicyclist I rode with all day is from France and we have some communication difficulties but also have a lot of laughs. Nice to ride with someone once in a while, especially in an area dangerous for strenuous activity due to heat. After dinner I headed back to the air conditioned room to do this blog update and catch up on emails.
http://www.shepherdsdream.com/
http://www.furnacecreekresort.com/
Big Thanks to everyone who has donated to Make-A-Wish and the Feed Kevin fund!!! You are all in my heart and I can't thank you enough!!!
Heading up Towne Pass - thanks again Jonathon!
Unloading the bikes
My newest friends
Marc
Me
-190 feet below sea level
Thanks for the room Furnace Creek!
View of the golf course from my balcony
( so strange to see in Death Valley - worlds lowest golf course )
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