July 22, 2009
Day 13: To Maricopa
I was on the road at 8:35 after a morning soak in the hot spring, and after getting several wasp stings while taking down my tent. I accidentally stepped on their nest hole. I took a Benadryl immediately and was very pleased that the stings didn't swell very much. I should have started much earlier to beat the heat.
I pedaled back down Matilja creek to highway 33, then turned left to start the 4000 foot climb to Pine Mountain summit. The beginning of the climb is through Wheeler Gorge. Forested with pines and oaks, along a fork of Matilja creek, past a closed hot spring resort called Wheeler Hot Springs.
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Eventually the road turns away from the creek and starts climbing relentlessly up a dry mountainside in Sespe Gorge. No more water for the rest of the long day.
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There was no traffic on highway 33. Maybe one car every ten minutes. I was very happy to be away from the perpetual traffic on the coast. Near the summit the road was freshly repaved.
Descending from Pine Mountain summit I could see a rapid transition to a desert climate. No more trees except a few junipers. The mountains are mostly eroded badlands.
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6 miles past the summit I turned right to the Ozena (National Forest) campground. It was closed, with no water. A few miles later I turned left and pedaled 1.5 miles on loose sand and gravel to the Rancho Nuevo campground. It was in a beautiful box canyon with a very slow-flowing creek. I filtered a bottle of water and found that it was very salty. So I pedaled back to highway 33, having wasted nearly an hour looking for a campsite with water. At that point I was already out of water after the hot 4000 foot climb, and still at least 30 miles from Maricopa.
Fortunately, about 20 miles before Maricopa is a store in a community called Ventucopia. I paid a dollar to fill my water bottles from a 5-gallon jug. In retrospect I probably could have camped behind their store, but I didn't think to ask.
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I expected the last 20 miles to Maricopa to be all downhill, but there was a 600 foot climb as well as a 2000 foot descent. I arrived in the town of Maricopa an hour after dark. There was no traffic on the road and it was still 85F. My 1W LED camp headlight worked okay to see the road, but I had to brake heavily on the final 1000 foot descent to keep my speed down to 28 mph. I got a room at the only motel in Maricopa. $54, with Wi-Fi.
The high temperature was 95F even though I was at high elevation during the hottest part of the day. The temperature tomorrow will undoubtedly be much hotter in the low central valley.
Today I pedaled for 10 hours. Much longer than I wanted to, but I had to keep going for water! The stats show a long distance, massive climbing, and slow average speed.
Distance: 79.2 mi (127 km)
Climbing: 5650 ft (1712 m)
Average speed: 7.9 mph (12.6 km/h)
Max speed: 33.5 mph (54 km/h)
Today's ride: 79 miles (127 km)
Total: 609 miles (980 km)
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8 months ago