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Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2007: Death Valley National Park bikepacking / Day 0: Amtrak train and bus ride to Baker, California from San José to start the trip 20

A very short bike ride from home to the San José Amtrak train station, followed by an Amtrak bus ride to Stockton, then a train from Stockton to Bakersfield, then finally another Amtrak bus from Bakersfield to Baker, California. 1.3 bicycling miles.

To my surprise, a woman on the bus gets off with me at Baker to take a short break and asks me if I remember her from last year.

Suddenly, I do! She's the woman that I mentioned in last year's Mojave National Preserve bicycle camping travelogue, who was on the same Amtrak bus route with me last year.

I wasn't convinced last year that she thought I was totally sane to do a bicycle trip like this, but this year she's more supportive, seeing me return excited to the Mojave Desert. Gee, will I see her again next year?

After our conversation, she gets back on the bus to continue her trip, and I have a short ride from the bus stop to the Royal Hawaiian Motel just down the road in "downtown" Baker, with a stop at Alien Fresh Jerky along the way.