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Slideshow
Slideshow
A
slideshow
of photos from Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park can be found at
https://photos.app.goo.gl/XDbJrmEooigtqf51A
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Missive No. 3: Canyondlands (part 2)
Missive No. 3: Canyondlands (part 2)
My canyonland adventures continued in Utah. After resting a day in Kanab, I headed north to Bryce Canyon with its unique hoodoos that heretofore I had seen only in photographs. Seeing them with one's own eyes takes one's breath away. I spent the first day walking the canyon's rim and hiked down to the canyon's floor the next. When walking among the hoodoos on the canyon floor, one feels as though in a great cathedral. It seems improbable that this cathedral was built not by man but by nature itself over thousands if not millions of years.
It's also a surprise to find that Bryce Canyon is located at an altitude of 2400 meters (8000 ft). It was cold in the mornings, +1-3C (32-40F). When I was planning this trip, I almost decided to leave my warm clothing at home. After all, I reasoned, Arizona and Utah are not the Alaska and Yukon of last year. But altitude has its effect. I'm glad I took the warm clothing with me.
After Bryce Canyon I went 146km (91 miles) in one day to Cedar City. That's my daily record so far for this year. There was nowhere to stay along the route, and thus I had to keep going. Along the way I felt something wasn't right. It turned out that a thin wire had given me a flat tire. I had gone almost three years without a flat, but now I've had two flats in a month. I don't understand why this is happening here in Arizona and Utah. After fixing the flat, I reached Cedar City at sunset and stopped for the night in a cheap hotel.
I didn't go nearly as far the next day, all of 68 km (~43 miles) to La Verkin where I also stopped for two nights in a cheap motel. The Memorial Day weekend had arrived, and thus it's no surprise that there were no vacancies at the campgrounds in Zion National Park. I was able to continue to the park only on the day after Memorial Day.
To be honest, Zion National Park has been loved to death. The canyon is dramatic, but there are so many people that the park and the neighboring resort (!) town of Springville have a Disney feel to them. Of all the parks I have visited so far, only here did I feel I was more in an amusement park than in a wild, natural place.
But nevertheless, the cliffs, mountains, and the canyon itself at Zion are unique. It was worth spending nearly three days there. I climbed up to "Angels Landing" and continued further along the canyon rim where there were much fewer people. There I was able to experience the feeling of being in a national park.
From Zion I continued to St. George, where I set up my tent behind the home of my WS host Judith and here nearly 8-year-old son Freddie. Judith is from Germany but has spent significant time living and working in Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan. She is a musician and also an activist for both bicyclist and LGBT+ rights. We had much to talk about that evening. Meanwhile, Freddie was always nearby, curious about everything and wearing a pair of wings that a friend had given him. It was a lively evening.
The next day I crossed into Nevada, where I am spending today in Mesquite to do laundry and take care of other housekeeping details. With this I come to the end of the first part of this summer's bike-packing adventure. I will now move on to California, where I hope to ride north through the Sierras and Cascades to Washington State. Whether I'll be able to do this is something I don't yet know. It all depends on whether the snows have melted in the mountain passes. Time will show.
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Мои приключения на земле каньонов продолжаются в штате Юта. После отдыха в городе Канаб, я держала путь на север до Каньона Брайса со своими уникальными эрозионными столбами. Такие я видела раньше только во фотографиях. А видеть их собственными глазами, это зрелище, от чего захватывает дух. Я долго ходила по краю каньона первый день и спустилась почти до дна в следующий день. Когда ходишь по дну среди столбов, чувствуется, что находишься во великом храме. Невероятно, что этот храм построил не человек а самая природа в течение тысячных если не миллионов лет.
Тоже невероятно, что Каньон Брайс находится на высоте 2400м. Было холодно на кемпинге по утрам, +1-3C. Когда я планировала этот поход, я чуть не решила оставить тёплую одежду дома. Ведь, я размышляла, Аризона и Юта, это не Аляска или Юкон как в прошлом году. Но высота сказывается. Рада, что взяла эту тёплую одежду с собой.
После Каньона Брайса я проехала 146км до Города Кедров. Это мой рекорд до сих пор этим летом. Не было нигде ночевать по пути, и поэтому надо было ехать далеко. По пути мерещилось, что что-то не так. Оказалось, что мельчайшая проволочка проколола колесо. Почти три года я ездила без проколов, а вот уже дважды за этот месяц колесо оказалось проколотым. Не понимаю, от чего это происходит именно этим летом в Аризоне и в Юте. Пришлось ремонтировать по пути. Я приехала в Город Кедров в час заката и остановилась в дешёвом мотели.
В следующий день я проехала уж не так далеко, всего км 68 до "Ла Веркин" где тоже проживала две ночи в дешёвой гостинице. Дело в том, что стояли праздничные выходные в честь Дня поминовения. Не удивительно, что не осталось мест не кемпинге в Парке Зион. Можно было продолжить путь туда только в день после Дня поминовения.
Если честно, народ слишком влюбился в Парк Зион. Безусловно каньон впечатляющий, но народа настолько, что сам парк и находящийся рядом курортный (!) город Спрингвилль похожи на парк Дисней. Из всех парков, что я посещала до сих пор, только здесь такое ощущение, что находишься в парке развлечений а не в диком, природном месте.
Но всё-таки, скалы, горы, и сам каньон в Зионе уникальные. Стоило провести там почти три дня. Я поднялась до места, которое называется "Место приземления ангелов" и пошла дальше по краю каньона где было не столько народа. Там можно было чувствовать дух национального парка.
От Зиона я поехала дальше в город Св. Джордж, где по программе "Тёплые души" я поставила палатку за домом Judith со своим восьмилетним сыном Freddie. Judith из Германии но несколько лет жила и в Украине и в Кыргызстане до приезда в США. Она музыкант и активистка и по правам велосипедистов и по правам людей ЛГБТ+. Было у нас много общего о чём разговаривать в тот вечер. Тем временем крутился рядом всем интересующийся Freddie в подаренных ему крыльях. Очень было оживлённый вечер.
В следующий день я переехала в штат Неваду, где я провожу день в городе Мескит и занимаюсь стиркой и другими хозяйственными делами. На этом я заканчиваю первый этап этого летнего похода. Завтра начинается переезд в штат Калифорнию, где надеюсь ехать на север по хребту гор Сьерра-Невада и Каскады до штата Вашингтон. Возможно ли это пока не знаю. Зависит от того, растаял ли снег на высоте в горах. Время покажет.
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Daily Log
Daily Log
Tuesday, May 23, 2023 -- 8132 km cum - 84 km/day
Alas, I had a bout of food poisoning last night. That's what I get for going out for a "good meal." I ordered a vegan burger, and I suspect the lettuce hadn't been fully washed. I woke up in the middle of the night with stomach heaves and explosive diarrhea that continued until my system emptied.
And so, I left Kanab late. I nearly decided to stay an extra day, but it seemed the worst was over. I ate breakfast carefully and set out.
It was another climbing day, more so than I expected. This was especially true after Mt. Carmel Junction, where I diverted from the ACA route in order to go to Bryce Canyon. After more than forty miles, I realized it would be unwise to try for my 65-mile goal of camping at Red Canyon. Moreover, with a still-not-fully-recovered stomach, I thought it prudent to spend the night somewhere with indoor plumbing. Thus I am at a cheap motel in Hatch, run by Elaine and her husband Brian. They must be train buffs. My little room is decorated with vintage Amtrak brochures from the 1970s. They even advertise slumber coach! I remember riding in those in the 1970s in Amtrak's "heritage equipment."
Wednesday, May 24, 2023 -- 8177 km cum - 45 km/day
This was a short but good day to the Sunset Campground at Bryce Canyon. I'm at 2300 m (~8000 ft), having regained all the altitude I gave away when I descended from Jacob Lake to Kanab. I'll stay for three nights as I did at Grand Canyon so that I have time to explore. Alas, there is no hiker/biker here. I'm at an individual spot.
Saturday, May 27 2023 -- 8323 km cum - 146 km/day
91 miles from Bryce Canyon to a Travelodge in Cedar City. My biggest mileage day this summer. Enough said. Exhausted.
Sunday, May 28, 2023 -- 8391 km cum - 68 km/day
Thankfully an easier and shorter day from Cedar City to La Verkin, some 20 miles from Zion National Park. I'm at the cheapest of cheap motels for two nights. I couldn't get a campsite at Zion until Tuesday, and the one WS host in the vicinity has family commitments. In any case, I can use a day's rest after yesterday's marathon.
But the first task before starting out this morning was to fix a flat in the rear tire. Halfway into yesterday's ride, I realized there was a slow leak. I stopped several times to pump air into the tire, and I was lucky to get to Cedar City without patching the tire on the shoulder of I-15.
This morning, however, the tire was completely flat. The cause? Another thin wire had worked its way through the tire. I had not had a flat in over two and a half years, and now I have had two in one month. What is it about the Southwest?
Tuesday, May 30, 2023 -- 8426 km cum - 35 km/day
A short hop of a day to Watchman campground at Zion National Park. I'll be here for two days, although the day after tomorrow I need to move to the campsite next to mine.
I'll start exploring tomorrow, but my first impression is a strange one because the "village" here reminds me of Ocean City, Maryland. It is "built-up," very touristy. A wilderness experience this is not.
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