Mike's Journal

A small step up the mountain

The clouds turned dark and blocked the sun as we approached Placerville. They had been so light and fluffy at daybreak in Sacramento... At nightfall their transformation was complete and thick pillows of starless darkness ushered in the cold. This morning over breakfast at the Sweetie Pie diner we hear from locals that there is fresh powder upon the mountain tops; today’s destination - If we make it that far. At this point 6,000 ft of climbing, fully loaded seems absolutely ridicules. Jeff and I discuss the possibility of waking up to a whitewashed landscape and I become really, really excited! I drift to memories of the day Annie and I awoke in that canvas cabin in Curry Village and stepped out to a sea of white; foot of fresh powder on the Yosemite Valley floor. The day was wonderful: making snowmen, snow shoeing through forests, and falling intentionally, over and over again, in nature’s coldest cushion. At one point I thought making a “face print” in the snow would be a good idea but suffered from an INTENSE case of "brainfreeze" fifteen seconds into the casting process.

The climb up from Sacramento was difficult to say the least, and with each mile the mental challenge increased. Jeff was visibly struggling, and while I felt awful I disassociated from the pain and fatigue in my body mechanically pressing on. Where was my mind yesterday?

Our arrival in Placerville was a welcome end to the hours in the saddle. Hilly roads with little to no shoulder, numerous heckles from unsophisticated youth (Hey Motherfucker!, Fag!), and the passing of trucks with yappy black dogs erupting with a raucous sound more similar to the insane laughing of a hyena than the barking sound one would expect it to make. Somehow that truck passed us twice.

We got lost at one point and picked up an extra handful of extra miles dutifully following a series snow cone signs. The detour became worthwhile when in addition to the snow cones Jeff picked up a “trashy” cowboy hat, and a half hour was spent talking with a mother and her two year old daughter on the shores of Folsom Lake.

Our decision to sleep on the playing fields of an out of session elementary school seemed good at the time but at 5:00 this morning the sprinklers came on. Because of last night's dark clouds the rain-fly was on and our gear was dry.

Sacramento to Placerville 59.8 miles (100 to 2,000 ft. elevation)

Posted by Mike at June 9, 2004 12:12 PM