In my opinion, there’s nothing better than waking up to some enthusiastic teammates ready to hit the day strong. As the team’s official waker-uppers, Brad and I woke the team up at 5:45 AM by rolling across everyone. We were met by ungrateful groans, but hey, everyone got up :)
After yesterday’s 6300 feet of climbing, we were lethargic in getting back on the road. We prepared and ate our iconic breakfast of oatmeal with peanut butter ™️. We left our campsite at around 7:15 and continued climbing Route 88 with stunning views of Bear Lake to our right.
Today’s grueling route came with some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever seen. We passed by several vista points that gave us many excuses to take breaks from the 8.8% grade (thankfully).
Around 11:45 AM, we descended into Silver Lake recreation area. A couple of us turned today into a duathlon and jumped into the water and went for a swim in the clear water. A guy in a strange boat said howdy to Alex and me while we were swimming.
After Silver Lake, we climbed. We continued up the 88, passing a beautiful meadow outside the town of Kirkwood and our third lake of the day, Caples Lake.
After another 1000 feet of climbing, we finally reached our highest point for the Sierra Nevadas, Carson Pass, at 8573 feet. In the little Carson Pass Ranger station, Alex, Brad, Rachel and I saw a sign reading “Kids! Earn your Junior Ranger patch today! Ask a Ranger,” and we were immediately excited by the challenge. We were given an extreme test so that we could prove our worthiness of being named a Junior Ranger: a Scavenger Hunt. We completed the hunt in “record time” and were awarded with certificates and patches to signify our coolness.
With views of Red Lake on our right side, we descended down to 5300 feet, and after about 30 minutes cycling through a headwind, we arrived at Crystal Springs Campground. Overall the cycling portion of the day went smoothly.
After lunch of quinoa, intense napping, journaling, and guarding our snaccs from thieving chipmunks, the team took a stroll down to the river to skip stones and enjoy the jolly camping atmosphere.
I, myself, had a negative experience in the river. I first doused Olivia’s face in water. While I was hunched over looking for the perfect skipping stone, Olivia splashed river water in my face. Brad also wet my butt with a big stone.
I’m thankful that we were able to get through one of the roughest parts of our summer. Our first week is nearly over and It’s been really interesting to get to know the whole team. Alex is meticulous (he likes maps!), Olivia is too-hip-for-you ™️, Rachel is jolly, Alyssa is artsy, Brad is talented, and Vivian is very put-together. I’m looking forward to becoming best palz with the whole team over the remainder of the trip.
Tomorrow’s ride is an easy 33 miles with only 1000 feet of elevation gain followed by a rest day.
Until next time,
-Brian