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A nice sunset and views of the cinder cones end my first day of this trip

3441-powerline-road.jpg I hitch up with an old road (now closed in a Wilderness area) and follow it toward Kelso PeakThumbnailsI'll get past this patch of rabbitbrush by walking up the rock steps at the base of the canyon wallI hitch up with an old road (now closed in a Wilderness area) and follow it toward Kelso PeakThumbnailsI'll get past this patch of rabbitbrush by walking up the rock steps at the base of the canyon wallI hitch up with an old road (now closed in a Wilderness area) and follow it toward Kelso PeakThumbnailsI'll get past this patch of rabbitbrush by walking up the rock steps at the base of the canyon wallI hitch up with an old road (now closed in a Wilderness area) and follow it toward Kelso PeakThumbnailsI'll get past this patch of rabbitbrush by walking up the rock steps at the base of the canyon wallI hitch up with an old road (now closed in a Wilderness area) and follow it toward Kelso PeakThumbnailsI'll get past this patch of rabbitbrush by walking up the rock steps at the base of the canyon wall

The day's heat has left me a bit nauseous, but I'm hungry anyway, and make tonight's supper as soon as the sun goes down (Mountain House Sweet and Sour Pork with rice, yum). I enjoy the quiet evening, hearing an occasional car on nearby Kelbaker Road.

I'm glad to be up here where the breeze is slightly cool, 2800 feet above Baker and its valley-floor heat. Still, it's warm enough that I go to sleep on top of my sleeping bag and not in it.

After a few birds chirp around sunset, the night is quiet, except for the light breeze making my tent walls flap a little. A few shots of brandy cancel that unwanted noise. It hasn't been a super-strenuous day, but I'm not in shape for this yet, and not yet acclimated to the heat. Also, I started the trip a bit sleep-deprived, so I sleep beautifully tonight.