| ||||||||||
Day 20. Baker, NV to Milford, UT.Yesterday: Day 19. Ely, NV to Baker, NVTomorrow: Day 21. Milford, UT.
29 August, 2003 -- Day 20.
The Lightning Strikes; The Thunder Roars Having stayed the night in a quaint small motel in Baker, I found myself this morning again sharing stories of the trip with some motorcycle tourists from Houston who had just traveled to Baker along the same road I was preparing to ride. "Man there's nothing out along HW21 all the way to Milford...", they said. I say "I just rode across Nevada on HW50; I am used to the desolate roadway." They reply with a chuckle and "ummm, it's lonelier than HW50... there is nothing out there... hardly even any cars, and you can see the road straight ahead of you for miles... and we mean miles... as in 20 or more miles at a time". Hopping onto SLED, I spotted another loaded bicycle across the street at Baker's only restaurant and grocery store, so I rolled across the street to see where the guy was headed. He had started in Maine and was heading to San Francisco. Once again, I was able to answer his questions about his road ahead as he was able to answer mine. About the road to Milford, he said "well it's not too bad, but the first 30 miles or slow is going to be a long slow grind up to Halfway Summit..." We soon parted and were on our ways. The roll out of Baker was innocent enough for the first 10 miles or so. About 5 miles into it, I finally reached the Nevada-Utah border, where Nevada 487 became Utah State Highway 21. Following the first 10 miles, there are only few memories from the day that are innocent. The day was brutal. The slog up to Halfway Summit would definitely have not been that big of an issue if there was no wind. Once again, the gentle ascent was slowed dramatically by a brutal headwind. I was already only able to keep up a pace of around 7mph, and the hill was hardly slanted up. Man this is going to ba a long day, I thought. Upon passing the Halfway Summit, what lay ahead of me was perhaps the most ominous site I have ever seen. A large open valley of some 20+ miles across with the perfectly straight HW21 running off into the distant foothills of the Wah Wah mountains.... the Wah Wah mountains were blackened by the storm clouds floating above. The lightning was flashing and the rain was dumping. I had only one way to go. Along that road. That straight line that lead deep down into the valley before rising up into the heart of a brutal storm. For now, sitting just off of the summit, I could sit dry and watch, but for how long could I wait? I can't turn around -- I am already 30-40 miles into an 85 mile day. I don't want to go back to Baker, I have to push ahead. But maybe I can sit it out right here. Maybe the storm will pass and the blue skies will open above. Or maybe not. The lightning flashes and I count...5...6...7.. the thunder booms. After roughly 20 minutes of deep contemplation, I decided to press-on. The storm seemed to be fading, but another seemed to be moving along the range from right to left. I continued to roll deeper down into the valley and not 5 minutes later, I pulled over once again. The storm was growing and was passing directly over the pass I would need to ride. I swigged some more water, ate another energy bar, put my raincape on and pressed ahead. I had two mountain passes and 50 miles left in the day. I had only finished the easiest part of the day and my average speed was still under 10mph. This day is rough, but I must move ahead. It is so amazing how the perception of depth out here is so skewed by the magnitude of the landscape. I pressed ahead but it was nearly one full hour of riding until I reached the spot that had been getting rained on. By the time I arrived, the storm indeed had passed and my window of opportunity had arrived. Now all I had to do was climb the 1300 feet to the top of Wah Wah Summit. I was already tired. The day was an 85 mile stretch with no services. I had packed more water than I had for any day so far and I could already tell that I was not going to have enough. On the climb up Wah Wah, I once got off my bike and decided to walk up about a quarter of a mile. Not because I couldn't ride, but because I wanted a break from the saddle and I wanted to use some different muscles. I was not in a hurry per se. All I needed to do was to make it to Milford SOME TIME. Finally I reached the summit and noticed a couple mud puddles along side of the road. I unpacked my water filter and was going to finally put it to use to see how well it worked on the muddy waters (supposedly this thing can produce a clear glass of water from a cup of coffee!), but the puddles were not deep enough to get it to work. I would have to ration the remaining water. It would be close, but I still thought I could make it. I have to say again how damn good these summits feel. Not only does reaching the top yield a tremendous sense of accomplishment, it also leads to an awesome descent down the back-side of the mountain. A chance to rest and to cover some serious miles in a matter of no time. Until the headwind comes, that is. The back side of this summit, descending from Wah Wah and approaching the valley leading up to the San Francisco Mountain Range, I felt like I had just been rewound a couple hours. The road was straight as an arrow down into the valley, and lead into a mountain range consumed by raging thunderstorms. What else was there for me to do but press on? I started pedaling once again and the headwind grew. It grew to a stronger wind than ever I had experienced. Downhill, even 6mph was difficult to achieve. At one point, I scream out into the empty desert "THIS IS NOT FUN!" But there is no choice out here. You just keep on going. You push ahead. Finally after similar luck of missing the storms and after a similar struggle, with a similar stretch of a quarter mile's worth of walking, I found myself atop the Frisco Summit. The descent of about 15 miles into Milford is all that was left. I drank my last drop of water and started the descent. The 15 miles were again into the wind, but nothing nearly as severe as what I had experienced earlier in the day. The descent lasted nearly an hour, it was after 7pm and all I could think about was a shower and some food. In the stress of the day, I really had eaten very little. I was thirsty, tired, hungry, but most of all, I was relieved. Oh look over there, I can see the water tower. That must be Milford. I will rest in Milford for a day at the start of what will amount to a relatively easy 6 days or so to take in some sites and to rest-up before hitting the Arizona desert.
|
