Day 85: An Exhausting Day
Posted by the girls on Monday, June 27, 2011
We started out the morning with "rain." Once again, we pitched our tents right next to some automatic sprinkler systems. They turned on at 5am sharp. Emily was sleeping in the not-so-waterproof tent, so she ran and took cover in the nearby pavilion. Rebekah and Michelle waited it out inside the tent. Not only did we get a wet start to our morning, but Emily also had a flat tire. She quickly fixed it and we were off.
We knew that today would be a long day, 84 miles to be exact. It was tough because of the terrain (3 passes at over 6,000 ft) and the weather (hot, hot, hot). We filled all of our camelbacks and water bottles, but it still was not enough. Normally, we'd be fine, but this was an 84-mile stretch with no services. Toward the end of the ride, we were rationing our water as much as possible (this is not good...being thirsty is a sign that you're already dehydrated), but we didn't have much choice. Luckily, we went through a tiny, unincorporated town called Garrison (this was 77 miles into the ride). There was a post office that was closed and a few houses. We knocked on the door of one of the houses, but there was no answer. So we helped ourselves to some water from their sprinkler in the yard. Thank goodness for that! Next time, we will take an extra liter or two of water in plastic bottles.
Two miles after Garrison, we crossed the Utah-Nevada state line and changed time zones. Another five miles from there, brought us to our destination: Baker, Nevada. Baker is also a tiny town located 5 miles outside of Great Basin Nat'l Park. Since they cater to park visitors, there are a couple hotels, restaurants, and a campground. We pulled into one of the restaurants/markets to check out their food selection. This is when we saw two loaded bicycles parked outside. Of course we were excited to find other cyclists around!
The first biker we met was Tom, a 23-year-old biking from Carson City to Colorado for his friend's wedding. He was biking alone and had just met the other cyclist in Baker. The second biker was Mark, a 25-year-old biking from San Francisco to New York. Ironically, these two guys had the exact same bicycle (which were not even touring bikes) and the same purple digital camera. The five of us stayed at the Whispering Elms Campground and shared our experiences.
Being such a long, tiring day, we weren't able to stay up very late. We wish we would have had more time to hang out with Tom and Mark, but such is the life of touring cyclists!! We look forward to a day off tomorrow and hopefully hitching a ride into Great Basin Nat'l Park...!
We knew that today would be a long day, 84 miles to be exact. It was tough because of the terrain (3 passes at over 6,000 ft) and the weather (hot, hot, hot). We filled all of our camelbacks and water bottles, but it still was not enough. Normally, we'd be fine, but this was an 84-mile stretch with no services. Toward the end of the ride, we were rationing our water as much as possible (this is not good...being thirsty is a sign that you're already dehydrated), but we didn't have much choice. Luckily, we went through a tiny, unincorporated town called Garrison (this was 77 miles into the ride). There was a post office that was closed and a few houses. We knocked on the door of one of the houses, but there was no answer. So we helped ourselves to some water from their sprinkler in the yard. Thank goodness for that! Next time, we will take an extra liter or two of water in plastic bottles.
Two miles after Garrison, we crossed the Utah-Nevada state line and changed time zones. Another five miles from there, brought us to our destination: Baker, Nevada. Baker is also a tiny town located 5 miles outside of Great Basin Nat'l Park. Since they cater to park visitors, there are a couple hotels, restaurants, and a campground. We pulled into one of the restaurants/markets to check out their food selection. This is when we saw two loaded bicycles parked outside. Of course we were excited to find other cyclists around!
The first biker we met was Tom, a 23-year-old biking from Carson City to Colorado for his friend's wedding. He was biking alone and had just met the other cyclist in Baker. The second biker was Mark, a 25-year-old biking from San Francisco to New York. Ironically, these two guys had the exact same bicycle (which were not even touring bikes) and the same purple digital camera. The five of us stayed at the Whispering Elms Campground and shared our experiences.
Being such a long, tiring day, we weren't able to stay up very late. We wish we would have had more time to hang out with Tom and Mark, but such is the life of touring cyclists!! We look forward to a day off tomorrow and hopefully hitching a ride into Great Basin Nat'l Park...!
