Day 2

The steady "whoosh" of the coffee maker woke me early and the packing of the gear commenced. After breakfast, there was nothing to do but set off on the grand adventure ahead of us. This was it. One by one, we touched tire to pavement and were off, noticing nothing but the beautiful morning rays of sun and the open road ahead.



As we climbed up the first hills, one couldn't help but notice the stark contrast between the burned areas and those that were untouched by the raging fires of last fall. It was intriguing to see the erratic paths of the burns. In some ways it was much easier to see the landscape because the greenery was gone.



The morning passed slowly as we climbed endlessly. The uphill was unending and relentless. More steep, less steep, but always up as we toiled along the mountain switchbacks. 49.7 miles, 7283 feet of climbing. 4pm map meeting at camp. Would Bill and I make it in time???



The end was in sight and feeling awe, relief and some really sore muscles, we paused to enjoy the view at Lake Cuyamaca. There was still snow on the ground in places, and we laughed with absolute disbelief as we were passed by cars with small snowmen on their hoods, noticed ditches used as tiny sledding areas and saw people actually shoveling snow into their vehicles.



We made it to the Pinezanita Campground just as the sun was setting and just in time for the map meeting. :) Dinner never looked so good! It's truly amazing how good food tastes when you're really REALLY hungry! The whole camp was dark by 7pm and other than the midnight zipper parade, there was some serious sleeping happening!