4 June Day 6 - Oakhurst CA - Yosemite Park - 91 km

It was a dawn rising - about 5:30 and I did some final packing and wrote a few e-mails. Breakfast was scrumptious and (typically) I overindulged in the fresh strawberries.   I usually have bottled strawberries with my breakfast at home-lovingly bottled by Lis-so it made me think of her (and of course miss her).

By the time I organised everything it was after 8 a.m. and headed down the driveway after some pictures with the Muirs. It was a much needed break and although I was stiff and sore from our hiking I was raring to go. Their road didn't seem as steep as it had Thursday night, obviously a reflection of how stonkered I was. This is me full of vim and vigour.

The upgrade which tortured me on Thursday I measured to be about 2 km so I really did suffer a bit. It's always a pleasure starting a morning at the top of a hill with a freewheeling coast. In fact it's advisable when cycle touring to make the extra effort at the end of the day so that you can end up at the top of the hill. Gives your legs a bit longer before they have to work.

I went into the Chemist in Oakhurst to see if they had a better lip balm than I had been using. I was then directed (wrongly) to a bank where I got some cash off my Visa card. Those who don't travel probably don't appreciate the paradigm change in things over the last 5-7 years. In the early 90's it was necessary to carry travellers cheques or cash. Now one just looks for an ATM machine, pop in your card and out comes the money. The charges for this are trivial, particularly when offset against the convenience. I've even managed to get cash in places like Columbo airport, which, if you've even been there, is not exactly a hub of commerce.

From there it was uphill into the Sierra. When I say uphill I mean uphill. As near as I can estimate it I cycled 50 km uphill; 15 km downhill and the balance on flat. It's a bit of an enigma to me why uphills ALWAYS seem to outnumber downhills, but I can console myself that it is probably due to my heading into the mountains. I know that by the time I hit the Atlantic ocean I will have had an equal number of up and downhills, but it sure doesn't feel that way.

Oakhurst is at 2500' and I cycled up to the entrance of Yosemite at 5990'. That took me about 4.5 h but it was nowhere near as bad as last Thursday. Instead of having brutal uphills followed by descents of similar magnitude, it was basically a steady, if long, uphill ride. The grades were quite moderate, about 6%, and there were often flat short sections to break them. Perhaps I had becme stronger, but there were other factors such as having rested and the temperature - it was quite pleasant in the low 20's for most of the morning. This is an example of the road.

Traffic was heavier than I liked, but there were no heavy trucks (not allowed to Yosemite) and few Recreation Vehicles (RV). If I do end up as roadkill it will be one of these since they are generally driven by geriatrics (wearing hats) who spend one month a year on the road with them and as such have no appreciation of how wide they are. I passed a spote today where an RV had lost its mirror on a traffic sign. Glad it wasn't a cyclist.

Cycling from 2500' - 5990' one travels through a range of different ecosystems. It's amazing how imperceptibly one moves to an elevation where there are quite different species of trees and the birds also change.  There were long breaks between traffic when I was able to listen to the bird life but the lasting memory is that of the smells. The forest has such an earthy smell and the scent of pine needles etc. was invigorating. The trees towered above me, the sun was shining, and once again it was good to be alive. Just to prove my elevation claims ...

I stopped at Fish Pond and bought a muffin as well as something like Gatorade. I marvel at the taste (or lack thereof) of these concoctions. Given the general lack of exercise with the general public people must buy them for the taste - or to appear to be sporty. Must be the latter.

At the park entrance I waited while the Ranger tried to fix her cash register. They wear Stetson hats which takes me back to my days as a scout. I was most perturbed when they replaced Stetsons with Berets since the latter don't have the crisp look of a Stetson. They look particularly good on attractive young women!

I was advised that it was an easy downhill run of 6.5 km to Wanasee where I planned to have lunch. I had a grin from ear to ear all the way. It was a real hoot to descend 2000' at 50 km/h with little traffic so I usually had the road to myself. Freewheeling is just such fun ... the highlight of cycle touring. It was sad when the run was over, but I'm sure that the drivers in the other direction must have wondered about this mad cyclist.

I bought some bagels and sat under a tree having lunch and reading my book. It's another nice aspect to cycle touring this ability to find nice spots for picnics. At the table next to me there were some Brits which made me think back to Lis' and my last trip which was to Devon and Cornwall. Those places are flat compared the Sierra.

After lunch I had a run along the river valley and then began climbing again. I went to over 6000' and once again really enjoyed the nature and the birdlife. My right glutious maximus (i.e. back of thigh) began to get sore so I stopped and stretched for a while and then took it easy so as not to overdo it. Had a great rest stop in the trees and read for a while. Exercise, nature, reading. My favorite passtimes. If Lis was here it would be perfect. Doesn't it look idyllic?

In addition to the sounds of the birds and wind in the trees, there were lots of mountain streams which added a lovely extra dimension. This is an example of one.

After about 6+ h of uphill I reach the summit. The mountains stretched off to the horizon and it was great to see. Makes me marvel at God and His creativity. I really am a mountain man-must come from growing up in a flat place like Toronto.

As I began the descent it was a repeat of earlier in the day  but there was one drawback: the tunnel. About 1 km long I decided to travel in the lane at 50 km/h with my flashing light (what Lis calls my 'Disco Light') at the rear. I waited until the road was clear behind me and went in and got 2/3 of the way before any traffic was behind me. I've always found tunnels terrifying and this was no exception. In the absence of a dedicated cycle lane one just says a prayer and hopes for the best.

At the exit to the tunnel was a lookout. The view was stunning and the picture of   me mimicking my neighbour below doesn't do it justice. When you are on a bike people always talk to you and I had a couple from Oregon chat about how impressed they were when they saw me going uphill. They were even more impressed when they heard I made it from San Francisco in 4 days.

From there it was down to Yosemite valley. It was 17:30 and the sun was casting amazing shadows over the valley. I stopped frequently to admire these huge peaks towering above me. And to think people climb them ... These photos give you a taste of Yosemite, but it really has to be seen to be believed.

I chatted with David and Melanie from San Francisco who were also impressed at my enterprise. They were amazed that I had 10 weeks holiday, but I said that there has to be some benefit when one is the boss! It is interesting contrasting the NZ vs US holiday practices. Most people in NZ have 4 weeks+ per year as well as 11 statutory holidays. 2 weeks is the norm here. Glad I live in NZ.

I cycled to the backpackers campground which was by the river. As soon as I dismounted I was innundated with mosquitoes. Seldom have I seen it so bad.  I put on my trousers and T shirt and then some of Lis' suntan lotion with repellant. It sort of worked but they still attacked through my shirt so I wished I had a spray.

After pitching my tent I put my food in the steel bear locker. There are lots of brown bears in the park who scavenge and lockers are required to protect your food (and bags). I then went to the village store where to my disgust they didn't have any mosquito spray. Guess I'll stay with the suntan lotion. Treated myself to an ice cream and then cycled over to 'Camp Currie' where the paper said that there was a nature talk at 20:30. It was cancelled so I sat there and wrote this web page. No mosquitos so a nice place to sit. Got this photo of the sunset on the cliffs. Amazing.

Time to go back to the camp and crash. It's a lovely evening and the stars are in the pitch black sky, with the pines towering around me. What a great place.

On to the next day