 |
Bill Bikes My bicycling expeditions and jaunts |
 |
Death Valley, April 2018: Ride 4: Charcoal Kilns
20 April 2018
After aborting my morning ride due to deep, soft sand, I had plenty of time for Plan B.We've all got wheels to take ourselves away
We've got telephones to say what we can't say
We all got higher and higher every day
Come on wheels take this boy away
We're not afraid to ride
We're not afraid to die
Come on wheels take me home today
So come on wheels take this boy away....
--- Emmylou and GramPlan B involved driving up to a higher elevation and pedaling from Wildrose to the Charcoal Kilns. This would be steep, but not too long and mostly on pavement. It would also be cooler and, I was confident, without sand traps. Wind? Hard to say, but at least no billowing dust.
I loaded the Ogre back into the Forester. From Stovepipe Wells I headed part way up Towne Pass, turned left on Emigrant Canyon Road, drove through Emigrant Canyon, and reached Wildrose Campground. I gained about 4100 feet of elevation and lost about 20 degrees of temperature in roughly an hour. By the time I pedaled up to the kilns, I would gain another 2900 feet of elevation and lose a few more degrees of temperature. That shouldn't take more than an hour or two, right?
Assuming I wasn't too old and feeble to reach my destination.
Spoiler alert. It took three hours to get up the damn hill.
Telescope Peak, viewed from the road to Wildrose. Looks a little cooler up there in the snow.
"High enough to hear gods mumbling, and voices of loved ones long departed."
I parked the Forester at Wildrose campground, pumped up the Ogre's tires for pavement, saddled up, and started my second effort of the day.
From the old CCC camp, only seven miles up to the Charcoal Kilns. Up is the operative word. Just shy of 3000 feet of climbing. The last two miles are off pavement.
I've driven this road three times, so I kind of know what I'm in for.
Gaining some elevation and looking back.
Those aren't puffy clouds. That's the snowy eastern face of the high Sierra in the distance.
Sierra Nevada Mountains. I think that's Mount Whitney slightly left of center, the highest peak in the contiguous 48 United States. It's been a few years since I climbed to the summit, but my ace support crew was up there last year on her Trans-Sierra expedition.
The road to the Charcoal Kilns leads up and over Old Grumble-Face's shoulder.
Rest stop.
The wind remains very gusty at this elevation, whipping around in different directions as I climb and turn.
Unlike previous trips, today I haven't seen any wild burros along the road to the kilns, so I threw in this photo from two years ago.
Gaining more elevation and looking back toward the west.
The road to the kilns.
Nearing the end of pavement, I decided I should pause for lunch. No pizza and beer available, so I settled for peanut butter and tea.
The wind was gusting so much that I had to lay down the Ogre so it wouldn't blow over.
This means I've covered about five miles, with about two more to go.
Whew! Not going to get any easier.
No more pavement. Not too bad to begin, but it gets worse.
The road soon becomes rougher and steeper. The intervals between rest stops become shorter.
By the last mile or so, I'm reduced to pushing the Ogre (didn't I do that already today?), and I still need to take frequent rest stops.
Rest stop.
Rest stop.
Rest stop.
Rest stop.
Made it!
Next on the agenda: Second lunch.
So what the heck are these beehives all about?
I'll let the National Park Service explain when and why the charcoal kilns were built here.
The Ogre hides in a kiln.
Life finds a way, even atop a kiln.
I've been here four times. The kilns are always fun to visit, and cameras always jump into my hands.
Peeking out through a chink in one of the kilns.
Ogre and kilns.
View from behind the kilns, looking back down the road and toward the Sierra in the west.
Kilns.
From here, the road deteriorates considerably as it rises sharply for another two miles to the very rustic Mahogany Flats campsites and the trailhead for Telescope Peak.
I drove my old truck up there a few years ago, and I can attest it is a rough go.
Just before I started back down to Wildrose, a friendly lady offered to take a photo of Old Grumble-Face with the Ogre in front of a kiln.
The steep gravel descent required all the control my bum arm and I could muster.
Back on pavement. From here I was really flying downhill, but I kept scraping off speed because I was riding solo, no cell service, no way of knowing when assistance might come along, and medical facilities many miles away. I'm such a safety-conscious old guy.
Back at Wildrose after the high speed downhill blitz. Maybe I should just move into this old Civilian Conservation Corps building from the 1930s and live here.
Nah. I'll put the Ogre in the Forester and drive back to camp at Furnace Creek.
Arrakis! Or perhaps the Mesquite Sand Dunes near Stovepipe Wells.
Mesquite Sand Dunes.
Back at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center at about 5:00. A little hotter than expected down here today.
It was 85 when I left Stovepipe this morning, 65 when I reached Wildrose about an hour later, and 75 when I blitzed back down to Wildrose. Somewhat cooler at the kilns, 2900' above Wildrose.
Today's mileage didn't amount to very much, but the riding conditions took a lot out of me.
The package of dehy says "Serves 3," but I had no difficulty consuming the whole thing.
(Okay, Keith, now you know my secret. Quantity over quality. Je suis un gourmand, pas un gourmet.)
View east from my camp chair.
View west from my camp chair.
Sleep well tonight, Old Grumble-Face. Tomorrow is all off-pavement all day.
Summary
Date: 20 April 2018
Time: 11:30 - 4:00
Weather: 65-75° F, sunny, windy
Route: Wildrose Campground to Charcoal Kilns and back
Distance: 15 miles with 2900' of climbing
Bike: Surly Ogre
Riders: Solo
Comments? Questions? Suggestions? I'd like to hear from you.
~ 157 ~
| bstone@sonic.net | ::: Bill Books ::: Bill Bikes ::: Bill Games ::: | Copyright © 1983-2021 Bill Stone |