AlphaRoaming

Mostly just pics! Two nights in the Cottonwood Lakes area, plus a day hike to Dana Plateau. (Rhino’s in Bridgeport; Jake’s Saloon in Lone Pine.)

360 miles in 8 days, for an average of 45 miles a day. Two guy friends riding with me, plus one guy’s wife driving an RV, carrying our gear, and helping with meals and campsites. Really great trip!

I took a zillion pics. Details available on request. Our camping locations:

(1) Middleport, at the lock

(2) Lock 33

(3) Cayuga Lake State Park, a bit off the bike path, during a road trip to Seneca Falls.

(4) Green Lakes State Park

(5) Lock 20, with a nearby Dunkin and beer store.

(6) St Johnsville Marina

(7) A scruffy lock, near Glenville.

That’s all.

At the end of April, every year, there is a chance to drive into the east side of the massive http://www.coepark.net

After the record rainfall this past winter, I heard this is the first time in 16 years that the creeks are flowing clear, with all the lighter debris having been flushed out.

We backpacked 11 miles to the far northeast corner of the park, and camped at the confluence of Orestimba Creek and Robison Creek.

Beautiful weather, and a unique opportunity to see all the flowers and flowing water!

That is all!

Got lucky, and secured this cabin on thursday, and stayed five nights.

This one is definitely on the map! 9 miles of unpaved road to get there, but easy for any vehicle.

It’s not on the official map, and it’s less than two easy miles from the pavement!

I saw pics and some location hints on Facebook, and figured it out!

That’s it! It’s an easy walk in Death Valley. Further info is only available to trusted friends.

Biggest snow in the Silicon Valley hills decades!

I started my hike in the rain, at Rhus Ridge. (463 feet elevation)

Walked up, thru new snow

…up to Black Mountain summit, at 2812 feet.

…where there was 8 inches of snow!

Over and out! #MOFW (Man Of Few Words)

Way up on the side of a mountain, near Bishop, CA, is a former mine and mining camp.

The Champion Spark Plug mine operated from about 1920 to 1942. They mined a rare mineral, known as Andalusite.

Andalusite enabled Champion to make modern spark plugs and have a huge share of worldwide sales.

The mining camp has been lovingly restored by volunteers, starting with the Frasers around 1970, then by Steve McIndoo, amongst many others.

Most camp users know to leave it better than they found it. Due to it’s remote location, vandalism and “stupid people” are quite rare.

First-come, first served for the 5 restored cabins, with wood burning stoves.

I’m not going to tell you how to get there, but it’s not hard to figure out the location, with a little Googling. Choosing the exact route is a bit tricky, after two huge flash floods in recent years, washing out the trail in several places. Also, 4WD vehicles can no longer get as close as they used to.

Also, you may need to bring your own water, late in the year, or during extended dry spells.

Have fun, be safe, carry water, and be sure to let someone know when and where to look for you, should you run into trouble!

One of advantages of my cycling club is networking! In this case, several of us were helping a club member pick about 600 pounds of Pinot Noir grapes, back on September 7th.

We started at 7AM, on the hottest day of the year.

It was headed for record-breaking 109 degrees in San Jose, so starting just after sunrise was a very good idea! (Monterey Bay is that blue area, just below the morning haze, beyond Watsonville.)

Done in about 90 minutes! No wine sampling or lunch this time. The grapes had to go straight to the crusher. An interesting and new experience!

Back about 7 years ago, I did my first bikepack to the hiker/cyclist site at Francis Beach. https://alpharoaming.com/2015/08/02/bicycle-camping-bikepacking-half-moon-bay-via-kings-mountain-road-purisima-creek/ A few days ago, I did it again for about the 4th time!

It was about 95 degrees as we chugged up Kings Mountain Road, but the relief as we coasted down the other side was great! (I had forgotten how reasonable and consistent the grade up Kings Mountain is…versus Old La Honda Road!)

That’s about it! 25F degrees cooler, and a few wacky antics in camp. Don’t avoid paying the $7 camping fee, or the Camp Host might ask you to leave in the morning! Ask me who didn’t join us for breakfast! (They do have a problem with an occasional homeless visitor and theft. Secure your bike! I laid mine down next to the tent, and put two tent poles thru the frame.)