3:30am I awoke to the pitter-patter of rain drops on our tent. I went back to sleep, thinking it was a soothing sound, a light misty rain as opposed to Florida's notorious downpours.
5:30am quickly arrived and it was raining. We decided to give it an hour. At 7am we ventured out of the tent into a cold, misty rain with a freezing breeze. It was chilly enough to see our breaths. We quickly retreated back into our shelter. The rain persisted on and off till 11am. We were getting antsy in our 5' x 7' tent (with always less than 4' of head room. The sun finally shone through around 11:30. The nearby campers let out a cheer. We packed up as quickly as we could and were on our way in less than an hour.
We didn't get to the entrance of the campground until we were forced to pull over and find warmer gear. There was a strong eastward bound wind hitting us in the face. Chris pulled on rain pants and I pulled on leggings; we both pulled on socks. Then we were on our way again!
This was a fabulous, beautiful day of biking. The traffic was low and mostly considerate, not flying by directly next to us. We headed uphill to the top of the mountain, and took a pause at Vista Point - elevation, 3000 feet.
We headed up and down the sloping mountain sides, through moderate valleys and hilltops. The scenery was breathtaking. Around 2pm we took a lunch break. I was feeling a bit chilled, and got a delicious bowl of soup. Chris had charbroiled sliders. Descano Junction Restaurant was the place. It was a wonderful stop, and the only food place we passed in hours (which is very easy to do when you only manage 10 miles an hour...). [It is debatable if we even managed 10 mph uphill.... I miss my road bike].
About an hour after lunch we reached the saddle of two mountains, which was our high point of the day. I don't know the exact elevation, but somewhere above 4000 feet. Then it was time to go downhill. Wow.
Our fingertips were freezing, our brakes were engaged, the wind was whipping by us, our noses were sniffly, our arms were tense - it was absolutely fantastic. Exhilerating and amazing. It was timeless. It seemed to last forever and seemed to be gone in an instant. It was a winding road through mountains and by valleys. There were tall pine trees, small family homes, extensive yards and barking dogs. It made us appreciate what bicycle touring is all about.
Location:Ma-Tar-Awa campground, Viejas Mountains, CA, to Pine Valley, CA
No comments:
Post a Comment