Sierra Nevadas, Nevada, Most of Utah

Sorry for being a little late with the most recent post, I've been in the middle of nowhere for the past two days. Needless to say, I've gone through numerous state and national parks, taken tons of photos, and covered substantial ground. Hopefully this won't be too rushed nor too long winded.

After my last post, I checked out the trails in Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. Finally a trail system with not only some flow, but some challenging climbs that were at a grade that didn't leave me yearning for a crawler gear. There were some older trails in the Swassy Recreation Area that had some water drainage issues, but the soil composition meant there was very little mud. The trails in Whiskeytown were newer, machine built, and just plain fun. Near the top of the trail, there was some light snow cover, which probably contributed to the large number of waterfalls that crossed the trail in one section. The trail system was also being expanded, with what appeared to be more challenging trails. Good to see that some people in California don't feel the need to start every trail off with a 90 minute climb. In that respect the ride was very refreshing. I have to admit though, I stopped at one point and quickly made sure some tracks weren't made from a large feline. To the person that has their gigantic dog come along for their rides: I am not amused.

Sorry, I was having too much fun to take lots of photos.

After the ride, it was time to cross the Sierra Nevadas. I knew from the temperatures and the recent snowfall that if I was going to make an attempt on the scenic roads, I'd need to do it during the warmest part of the day. The original plan was to take Route 44 to 89 and go through the Lassen National Volcanic Park, but as I got closer to Route 89, it became clear that wasn't going to happen. They don't even attempt to keep that section of Route 89 open in the winter.

This was Route 44

A drive to the 10,000 ft volcano caldera might be a little ambitious.

Instead, I ended up taking the long way around and picking up Route 89 further south. I was surprised by the Sierra Nevadas, I always thought they were steep. Instead it was mostly foothills with the occasional large mountain. Combined with lakes and the many variations in elevation it must be an outdoorsmans paradise in the summer.

Bridge where the railroad tracks follow the road

Travelling east across the Sierra Nevadas, the mountains slowly squeezed more and more moisture out of the air, and by the time I crossed into Nevada I was back in an arid climate. Crossing into Nevada was surreal. Dusk was casting a purple glow over the snow covered mountains and there was a large full moon rising.

Too bad it was still cold.

I stopped in Reno for the night, which is a strange big little city. I don't have many nice things to say about Reno, so I think I'm going to leave it there.

When I left Reno, it was 12 degrees outside. Since crossing the Sierra Nevadas, it hasn't been above freezing for more than 4 or 5 hours. Its cool though, I didn't think I'd ever see frost and snow in the desert.

Somewhere just east of Reno

I decided to cross Nevada by taking Route 50: The Loneliest Road in America. True to its name, it was a long, arrow straight, two lane road that went through miles of nothing. Its the kind of road where its necessary to stop at every gas station and top off the tank because it might be 200 miles before the next opportunity arises. About 30 miles after leaving the last town resembling modern civilization, something amazing happened. Graffiti of dark rocks started appearing on the banks of the drainage ditches on either side of the road.

Maybe not so lonely after all.

Yes, there was a lot of potty humor as well. No, I didn't get pictures of the word "poop." The older the message, the less legible it became, slowly being returned to the desert and recycled to make new messages. From here, Route 50 was uneventful. Although Nevada has plenty of mountains, they are aligned in thin strips. All the roads go through the large valleys in between, meaning they're all straight, relatively flat, and boring. Tired of the loneliness, it was time to make a detour. I hooked a right onto Route 376 and started to head South.

Route 376 was even worse than Route 50. During the long stretches when there was no one around, I floored it, which is something I haven't done the entire trip. About 7 hours after leaving Reno, I finally found something of interest: Lunar Crater.

Look! A giant hole in the ground over yonder. 

The quickest way to Utah from here is down Route 375: The Extraterrestrial Highway. No lie. For once I was looking forward to driving somewhere at night. For those unfamiliar, Route 375 goes through the town of Rachel which is home to The Little A'le'Inn, a mecca for opinionated people on the topic of aliens.

Ok, I'm not taking your abduction story seriously if you're going to use the Comic Sans font

It was a little strange here. I could see oncoming headlights a good 40 miles down the highway. Given that Rachel is right next to a military testing ground, combined with the high visibility of the area, I think the mystery is solved. If I could hear munitions testing while looking at the crater, I don't think its a stretch that you can see evidence of this testing from Rachel. The constant "Low Flying Aircraft" signs on the highway were a nice touch though.

I finally got out of Nevada and stopped for the night in St. George, Utah. First stop in the morning was the Gooseberry Mesa trail. I didn't pack clothes for the blustery 22 degrees with 20mph wind gusts. Nevertheless I doubled up on my base layer and put hand warmers in both my gloves and socks and set out to ride. Its a good thing I had the foresight to grab a GPS map of the trail so I could follow the digital breadcrumbs. Where the trail went over the large sections of slickrock they had marked the path with white spray painted circles. These blended in perfectly with the snow that hadn't been blown away, making it a very difficult trail to follow. With that said, it would've been a blast to ride here if I knew where the trail went.  Relatively flat but challenging obstacles and quick, steep climbs. As usual, the slickrock trails tend to have some of the best views.

To make slickrock sandstone truly slick, just add snow.

The trip back to the parking lot was down a dirt road, which was starting to thaw and get a little muddy. Given that I had to drive down a very rutted, 5 mile long frozen dirt road to get to the trail, I knew this meant trouble. I got back to the car and onto the highway as quickly as possible. Crisis averted.

Continuing east, the next stop was Zion National Park. For being the off season this place was packed, to the point of being over capacity and not having enough parking. Granted, the entire park is only about 15 miles of road. Several of the tourists were rude and annoying, driving as fast as possible as close as possible to the car in front of them on their way to the next parking lot. If you've come all the way out to some place like Zion National Park and the only things that warrant your attention are those that are specifically pointed out, then you're missing the point of being there. The entire park is stunning. Luckily I found a spot that didn't have a sign, and I was able to be alone to soak it in. Meanwhile there were 200 people fighting for parking less than 1000 ft away, hoping to see water weeping down the side of the canyon or something.

I should've packed lunch

The impact of these places is lost by making them too accessible. Many of the people there left with nothing more than some hackneyed photos, and are no better off than had they stayed home and watched the latest episode of Honey Boo Boo.

Luckily the next stop was Bryce Canyon, which was much less popular.

It started to get dark. Trying to make some time, I kept driving. Normally I'd be disappointed in missing the scenery by driving at night. Fortunately the full moon did a good job of illuminating everything. By pulling over and letting my eyes adjust I don't think I missed much.

Note to self: Zion Park at night next time.

I finally pulled over and stayed in Hanksville, and left the next morning before any of the gas stations even opened. One of them left the pumps on so I could at least get gas.

First for the day was a drive through Glen Canyon.

Small canyon just outside Glen Canyon

Then, it was a stop in Natural Bridges National Monument. In order to get a closer look at the Sipapu Bridge, I had to get down this:

No "Caution" or "Watch Your Step" signs. Perfectly safe!

It was pretty cool to stand under the arch, but the view was better from the top.

It was still early in the day, but I was getting anxious because the next stop was Moab.

I got in to town at around 1:30 and headed straight for a trail. Although there was about 3" of snow on the ground, the Lazy-EZ loop at the Moab Brand Trails had been packed down by riders on fatbikes, which meant I could get a ride in without making any modifications.  

Easy to follow the trail when its the only thing rideable

First stop tomorrow is Arches National Park, assuming I'm not snowed in tonight. They weren't calling for any snow, so it should be ok. Then again, it was supposed to get to 36 today and it never got above 22. I'm hoping to get another short ride in before leaving. It's a little disappointing to be in one of the best mountain biking areas in the country and not be able to ride most of the trails.

8200 miles in and I find myself talking to the car and the GoPro on a regular basis. Don't worry though, they aren't talking back yet.