I went off on the bike around 9:30 to meet up with a group ride at Contender's Cycles. I got there around 20 minutes early and waited for a while but no one showed up. I decided to leave and get a little ride in. I went up the hill by the shop and ran into a guy from Denmark and a couple out training. They were super cool and I jumped into the group. I told them the altitude was killing me and I'd just hang in as long as I could.
Cycling really is the great equalizer. I can pretty much go to any city in the US, jump into a group ride and meet some great people. People from all walks of life coming together to enjoy the bike.
It was one of the best rides I've ever done; for the hour I was on it. We went up the hill behind the Capitol building and rode along the canyon and edge of the mountain. The view on the ride was incredible and it couldn't have been better weather at 60 degrees. After an hour or so I was feeling pretty good and happy to be on the ride when I hit something and it slashed my rear tire. I heard a loud pop and I was immediately riding on the rim with no traction. I stopped and changed it, said farewell to my new cycling friends, and rode back to the hotel. I was bummed but I enjoyed it while it lasted. Time for new tires.
I took off towards Lake Tahoe but didn't make it very far. I stopped at a state park off Highway 6 and it was amazing. It started hailing on the way up but the weather eventually lifted.
Check out the drive up.
When I made it to the top of Wheeler Peak I was pretty much the only person up there. The weather was turning out to be a blessing after all. The summit was around 10500 feet and incredibly beautiful.
Towards the top I saw a stop off for a trail and I decided to take it and see if I could get some genuine single track hiking in. Not like the jeep trail I took in Taos. I wasn't disappointed. I hiked off onto the Osceala Trail which was an old ditch build around 1889 for the gold miner's to bring water into the area. The trail was soft and a comfortable hike. It's amazing the amount of rock the miner's brought into the area to make the trail as certain parts had huge rocks and boulders placed just right to make a walkway over rough areas.
I stepped up on a ledge at one point off the path and found an old shovel. It's not really a big deal but I thought it was cool that miner's in 1889 may have left it and I had found it nearly 120 years later. I started carrying it out, as I was thinking E-bay in my head, but left it behind a tree after reading a sign about not taking away any artifacts. It's hard to imagine that no one had found the shovel after so many years. I told the park ranger about it and they are going to have the archeologist look into it.
After the hike I left the park and headed toward Ely, NV and a Motel 6. Their internet is not working so I'll have to post this tomorrow.
I'd really like to take a survival skills or mountaineering class in San Diego if such a class exists. I'd like to learn to back country hike and camp and be able to live for a while being able to sustain myself. The trail today was 18 miles and it's just too far to hike in a day.
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