Today was the Carson Pass day. The first real climb. We started in Pine Grove, CA and planned to get up as much of the mountain as possible and then camp out when we couldn’t go anymore. It was about 55 miles to the peak with 10,000 ft of climbing. Over breakfast with the Flynns, we exchanged contact info so that they could contact someone for us if we didn’t get down safely and contact them after a couple days. We looked at the weather and saw that it was rainy on the mountain and much colder than where we were. We got gear ready for the changing conditions and set off up highway 88 which would take us all the way up and over the mountains.
The next 8 hours of the day consisted of grinding away at the climbs as we went up the mountain with frequent stops to catch our breath and see how much we had accomplished. We were able to admire the slow change in plant growth as we climbed higher and higher as well as the gradual improvements in views as we got higher.
We had planned on getting food and water at Kirkwood. There was a year round resort there but it was a mile off the road. We ended up stopping here to eat some of the food we had brought. Our water was running low and our morale was definitely low. We had another thousand feet of climbing and 8 miles until the peak.
After about 11 hours on the road, we finally reached the peak. There was little visibility and snow all around (though the roads were clear). We wanted to find somewhere with food, water, and higher temperatures so we snapped a photo and started the descent.
The misery of climbing all day was quickly wiped away by reaching the top. The descent gave us even more joy. We started down the mountain and almost immediately the fog cleared and the blue sky came out. The fog opened up to an incredible view of Red Lake and and the mountains and valleys on the other side. We were unable to get many pictures because we were going too fast to pull a phone out. Once it leveled out, we got more.
With speeds from 5 to 45 mph, we had made it through the hard part of our day. With temperatures rising and elevation dropping, we continued the effortless descent towards Nevada looking out for the first open restaurant or gas station. We had gone almost 40 miles without seeing anything that wasn’t still closed for the winter. We eventually talked to someone driving that direction and they told us we would need to go another 10 miles (70 miles) to find the next thing that was open. Fortunately it was all downhill with a tailwind and open roads. We were full of adrenaline and willpower at the thought of a warm restaurant after the day we had had. We set off down the road as fast as we could stopping at the Nevada state line as the sun was setting.
Because we had planned on camping on the mountain, we were unsure where we would stay that night if we were in a city. We got on warmshowers and started contacting hosts. The Bianchini family offered to host us with only a 30 minute notice between us sending a text and us arriving at their door. It was yet another example of incredible generosity for complete strangers that we have experienced on this trip after only a week. If you want to regain faith in humanity, go on a bike tour.
Jamie had spent a year biking around the world on a tandem bicycle, meeting and befriending strangers. He and his wife met this way. He later wrote a book about his experiences and he and family toured the country in an RV to talk about it. We made the connection that he had stayed with the owner of one of the bike shops in Harrisonburg and had considered moving there.
We were incredibly greatful for the warm welcome we had received after a tough day. We reflected on the statement we had heard about cross country touring: “it was the best most miserable thing I have ever did.” (From Joanna Friesen) — Today was a great example. We had been pretty miserable and tired for the entire way up the mountain but the joy and accomplishment of coming down the other side wiped away the miserable memories. We had vivid memories of the descent but everything else is kind of a blur. Though only a couple hours earlier we had been close to our lowest point, we were now over the moon with our progress so far and excitement for the new things we would encounter. We had already met so many great people and are only a week into an approximately 10 week journey.