End of the Rainbow

Today was as hard as they come.

Although I saw Mark Twain’s old stomping grounds, when you add in distance, weather conditions, and a minor mishap, today was a day I would not like to repeat.

Upon leaving Mariposa, California, this morning, we immediately hit the hard turns of the Sierras for about 40 miles. The weather was fine then, about 55 degrees and mostly sunny. It was an enjoyable ride.

Later, still under good weather, we rode through Angel Camp, California, which is an old mining town made famous by Mark Twain and his story, “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.” Clearly, the town still celebrates this connection. Note the frog pictures and the frog "jump-off" billboard. Quite cool!

Once we left Jackson, California, and drove east on Highway 88, thing began to go downhill (figuratively speaking, as we were climbing in altitude). When we left this morning, we knew at some point we had to cross the Sierras (made famous by the Sonora Pass), which would be difficult. The weather report from the previous day at Yosemite mentioned the “snow line” being around 6,500 feet above sea level. That’s why we couldn’t cross Tioga Pass in Yosemite. Today, however, we though thing would be better. We essentially tried to cross the Sierras about 50 miles north of Yosemite. This was a mistake. At about 6,000 feet, patches of snow began to appear. The altitude quickly gained, and the snow soon covered the ground (but not the road). The temperature dropped to 36 degrees, and the fog became so thick we could not see more than 20 feet in front of us. It was a total mess. We eventually traveled over 40 miles above the snow line. We almost gave up, but we finally made it through.

On the eastern slopes of the Sierras, we came through a glorious valley with a river running through it. Fishermen abounded. We were still cold, but we managed to stop for a photo, which you will see in the album.

About 150 miles from Winnemucca, we suffered our first motorcycle mishap. I guess you could say it was equivalent to an automobile “fender-bender.” We got our signals crossed at a four-way stop, and I clipped the side of Dad’s left saddlebag, which knocked it off. It took us a while to make sure it was secure before continuing on our way.

Over the last 140 miles, it rained most of the way. We dodged a few storms, but most of them got us. Just when we thought the day would end in more misery, the sun came out a bit and brought us the beautiful rainbow you see in the album. It lifted our spirits greatly and reminded us to be thankful.

397.7 miles today. 4,032.7 miles total.