Monday, August 2, 2010

Camping Out West...Day 44...Friday, July 30, 2010..."What Goes Down Must Come Up"


I'm up at 7:00AM, but last night's midnight "s'morefest" has left me somewhat "bleary-eyed". I finish packing up and head over to the Lodge for coffee. I have two large ones...anything to postpone, even for a little while, the drive ahead.
But...a little after 8:00AM, it's time to get going. The first ten miles (out of thirty) are pretty easy...running level along the Kings River heading west out of the canyon.
The next ten miles are the worst... a long steep climb along a narrow twisting road...over the edge, the drop is, maybe, 1500 feet...I make it a point not to look over the edge. It takes me a half hour to make the ten miles to the Kings Canyon Lodge (the big one). Now...I've got to take a ten minute "smoke break" to restore my shattered nerves".
Then...time to move on. The last leg is no "picnic", but it's manageable. The climb is still steep, but the road is better, and the "drop-off" is only a few hundred feet where visible.
Twenty minutes later, I'm out of the canyon and back at the Park entrance. Now...the next thirty miles or so are all downhill heading west. Then, I'm heading south through the Central Valley...major agricultural area. Picking up I-5, I'm heading further south toward Los Angeles. South of Bakersfield, I've got to go through the mountains on a stretch of I-5 called "the Grapevine"...it's a gradual climb, but long...the Escape is straining a bit.
Then, I'm up and over heading into Los Angeles County...past Pyramid Lake...then west on the Pasadena Freeway...then south again toward Palm Springs. At 5:00PM, I'm at Ed and Molly's hotel in Hemet. After over six weeks without seeing a familiar face, it is GREAT to see them. Liz, Chris and Kayla are there too, so it's a big and fun group.
After a few cocktails, we go next door to the hotel for Mexican...a great meal with great friends.
And...tonight, I sleep again in a "real bed"...luxurious!

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