Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2008: Bikepacking in Henry Coe State Park / Day 7: Pacheco Camp to China Hole by bicycle, Henry Coe State Park 42
I followed this route along Coit Road, Mahoney Meadows Road, and China Hole Trail for the first time on last year's bicycle-camping trip here, and liked it. The day ends with a scary yellowjacket sting.
To my relief, today is less hot than the past few days. I travel 12.2 bicycle miles from 1689 feet at Pacheco Camp to 1100 feet at China Hole, with about 1600 feet of elevation gain along the way.
- After a good long sleep, I make two cups of strong coffee as usual to get the day going
For breakfast, I make MaryAnn's "Tofu in a Ginger Broth," which is an excellent instant soupy meal. I did cool down overnight here under the huge oak trees, but not quite as much as I was hoping. - I fetch the clothes that I left overnight hanging near the Pacheco Camp sink
The clothes are mostly dry and I put on one of the lightweight wool t-shirts that I washed. I highly recommend these t-shirts if you can afford them. - I leave Pacheco Camp around 12h30 and within 30 minutes I'm on the ridge above riding through a semi-shady stand of burned pines
Upon leaving Pacheco Camp, the thermometer reads 92 degrees in the shade. At first, I'm fooled into believing that I have most of my energy back. After a few minutes of climbing up out of Pacheco Creek, I realize I'm still a bit pooped, so I've been walking up some of the hill up Coit Road. This part of Coit Road rises about 700 feet over two miles. - Hot and sweaty already, I park the 10-ton bike at the top of Coit Road and walk up the short hill to "Radio-tower Peak"
This isn't marked on my current map, but I've been told that it appears on some older Henry Coe maps. - Great views from up here
If I knew the topography well enough, I could probably pinpoint in the distance the hill above Red Creek Road that I rode up two days ago. Coit Road, which I just came up, is immediately below in this view. - I try making a cell-phone call here, and it works!
I change my outgoing message to let people know where I am, take in views out toward the Orestimba Wilderness for the last time this year, then return to the bike and coast down the other side of the ridge to Coit Lake. - After a short descent (about a mile), I pass the Fish and Game Pond
I would stop here, but the larger Coit Lake is just up the road a little ways. I get a breeze on the way down the hill, which feels wonderful, even though it's a hot breeze. - Despite the standard-issue sign on the outhouse at Coit Lake, there is in fact a trash can here
This is the first trash can I've seen in several days, so I take advantage of it and deposit the garbage I've accumulated. There's also a little handwritten note taped on the sign... - Apparently, this outhouse at the south end of Coit Lake is closed for repairs right now
I'm glad I wasn't counting on it being open! - The ramada and picnic table at the south end of Coit Lake
I haven't camped here yet, but from what I've read, many people like it here at Coit Lake. The ramada doesn't provide much shade from the midday sun! - I go for a brief walk up the trail along the shore of Coit Lake
Much of the shoreline on this part of Coit Lake is grown in, but here's a spot where it's easy to get to some open water to filter. - Next is the short climb (1/3 mile, 150 feet elevation gain) up Coit Road to the next crest on the way to Kelly Lake
Henry Coe is so full of long, steep hills that this almost doesn't qualify as a climb! Kelly Lake is hidden off to the left in the canyon below. The short piece of road off in the distance is another segment of Coit Road that I'll ride up in a while. - On the way down the 3/4 mile hill to Kelly Lake
I like how the chamise bushes look so red in the photo (they look less red in real life). - I park the 10-ton bike on the shady side of the Kelly Lake outhouse and go for a short walk toward the lake
I'm now one ridge closer to the Bay Area and it feels a degree or two cooler down here. At the upper right, I can see a portion of Coit Road that I'll be climbing shortly. - As I walk up the Kelly Lake dam, I see a tent near the lake in the distance
I can also see four people over there, two of whom are in the water, the first humans I've seen since entering Henry Coe six days ago. I don't approach them, not wanting to break their precious solitude, nor mine. I return to the 10-ton bike back at the outhouse. - Back on the 10-ton bike, I begin the ride up out of Kelly Canyon on Coit Road
A brief stretch of full shade like this, a rare and coveted commodity in Henry Coe State Park, is impressive enough that I clearly remember passing through here during last year's Henry Coe trip. - I rise out of the shady section and back into the hot sun at a tight switchback on Coit Road
I think the shade below refreshed me a little; it feels like some of my energy is coming back. I've been riding up most of this hill so far rather than walking it. - Nice view back down into the canyon and Kelly Lake
I keep thinking about those two people down at Kelly Lake who were in the water, and how cool that must feel in hot weather like this. - A lush mountain mahogany shows off its creamy-white post-bloom seed heads, which are just as nice as flowers
Note to myself: plant one of these in my garden. - Coit Road rises along a ledge through chamise chaparral toward the Wasno Ridge area
I always like chaparral landscapes, despite their unbearable summer heat, and the views off the edge of the road and across to Wasno Ridge make this area especially scenic to me. I think about the palette of plants along here and which ones I might plant in my garden at some point. I already have manzanitas, coyote bush and ceanothus. - Along here are numerous "California everlasting" plants with their dry flowers
Baking in the hot sun like it does here, California everlasting gives off an unusual maple- or curry-like aroma that I find comforting. - A little more pedalling and I cross the high point of Coit Road with its grove of buckeye trees sporting reddish leaves
Hey, I took a photo of this noteworthy buckeye grove when I passed by here last year... Yes, I'm hot and sweaty, and yes, sunscreen is running down my face after rising almost 600 feet over 1.7 miles from Kelly Lake in the heat. - I get the faintest glimpse possible across Silicon Valley while riding down Coit Road toward Mahoney Meadows
I won't get out of Henry Coe State Park nor arrive home until tomorrow afternoon, but a few ridges of the Santa Cruz Mountains, on the other side of Silicon Valley, the place that I call home, are just barely visible way beyond the nearby ridges here. - Now that I've passed the 2470-foot summit of Coit Road, it's downhill to China Hole, tonight's campsite at 1150 feet
The upper part of Coit Road descending Mahoney Ridge passess through a nice carpet of chamise chaparral with scattered clumps of grey pines and manzanitas (planted by a landscape designer?). - Beyond the chamise chapparal, Coit Road crosses grassland and eventually becomes Mahoney Meadows Road
The distant hill with a few brown patches looks like Pine Ridge, where the Henry Coe Visitor Centre sits. I'll stop by there tomorrow on my way home. - A few short uphills await me on the way down to China Hole
A bunch of grey buckwheat plants grow along the side of the road here. - Expansive views across to the Willow Ridge area on the right and far beyond as Mahoney Meadows Road descends
This gentle downhill is a lot of fun, and I rode this last year as well, but it probably gets tiring in the uphill direction, which I haven't tried yet. - Oh, an outhouse ahead!
That's the outhouse where the trails to China Hole and Lost Spring cut off. - I leave Mahoney Meadows Road and take the left trail fork toward China Hole
The right fork of the trail passes Lost Spring, which I haven't visited yet... I should plan a stop there on a future trip. - China Hole Trail drops down 700 feet into the canyon over two miles of nice single-track
This trail is a favourite of mountain-bikers because it provides scenic remoteness and challenges, without being insanely difficult, just a few miles from Henry Coe headquarters. - China Hole Trail exits the oak woodland on the crest and begins winding its way downhill across grassland
Single-track along hillsides is more fun for regular mountain biking than on a wobbly 10-ton bike that constantly threatens to slide off the edge of the trail. - One of many tight switchbacks on the way down China Hole Trail
I have to get off the 10-ton bike and walk it around switchbacks like this one to avoid losing my balance and falling. - Nice views across the canyon from the parts of China Hole Trail that cross open grassland
Sometimes I'll see another cyclist or two on day rides from Park headquarters while I'm in this area, but I still haven't seen anyone else all week except for the people off in the distance at Kelly Lake earlier today. - Now I'm on my favourite part of this side of China Hole Trail, where it passes through a manzanita grove
Of course, the shade along here is a gift on a hot day like today. - Getting closer to the bottom of the canyon, which is almost visible through the trees
The tight switchback here is almost impossible to see as it turns back 180 degrees and the trail drops down the hill behind the tree on the left. - Another switchback near the bottom of China Hole Trail
I get off the 10-ton bike again and walk it around this tight curve. - And here's China Hole, the gravel area to the left, which is actually a fork of Coyote Creek covered by water in the wet season
The last few feet of the trail is washed out, so I leave the 10-ton bike here while I figure out the best route for walking the bike down to the dry stream bed. - Before setting up camp, I check out the water situation at China Hole
The small pool is much smaller than it was when I was here at China Hole this time last year (it has been a dry year). The water contains a lot of algae, but I could filter water from it if needed. - The larger pool at China Hole still has a decent supply of water
I think I still have enough water from Pacheco Camp to last me through tomorrow, but if not, I'll filter some water from this pond tomorrow morning. - A dead fish rests in the large pool at China Hole
I wonder where this fish came from. Maybe it got trapped in the pool here as Coyote Creek dried up during the summer, or maybe an animal picked it up somewhere else and dropped it here accidentally... I pull the dead fish out of the water and leave it on dry land (I might be filtering some of this water to drink tomorrow). It disappears during the evening; apparently an animal found it and carried it away to munch on in a more private area. - I set up camp on the flat gravelly spot next to the China Hole Trail crossing of the dry creek
This might not be the best tent spot here privacy-wise since any trail users will pass by, but it's the flattest spot around that I see. I've since been told that there is a more private campsite further upstream, which I didn't notice. - I go outside the tent for a moment barefoot (which I usually never do) and step on a yellowjacket: instant sting
This might be just painful for some, but I'm very allergic to wasps and am fearing a dangerous reaction. I take a benadryl and stab myself with one of the epinephrine syringes that I carry in case of this sort of emergency, and I survive. The needle turns out to be painless (I'm not even sure if it's in me when I inject myself). After an hour of worrying, I'm happy to notice that I'm not getting sick or feeling any signs of anaphylactic shock. Those wasp-venom desensitization shots I've been getting over the past eight months have helped! I feel like it's safe to try eating, so I prepare my last instant backpacking meal of the trip and enjoy it. No ducks down here like there were at Paradise Lake, but during the evening I've been hearing jays squawking, coyotes yipping, crickets singing and all sorts of unidentifiable noises in the brush. I even saw a few bats earlier. I take another Benadryl for its anti-inflammatory effect before going to sleep, happy that my "event" seems to have passed. The only problem is that walking on my swollen foot is difficult, but I won't need to do that while enjoying my last sleep of this Henry Coe trip.