Freezing cold up at 10,040 feet and not looking forward to the descent of Horseshoe Meadows!
DAY #8: HORSESHOE MEADOWS
An excerpt from Deepest Valley, Guide to Owen’s Valley edited by Jeff Putman (who rode with us today!) and Genny Smith (Genny Smith Books, Mammoth Lakes, CA, ISBN 0-931378-14-1)
“If you cannot see it from an airplane, there may be no better place to marvel at the Deepest Valley than from the Horseshoe Meadow Road. The road tops out above 10,000 feet up the canyon of Cottonwood Creek. Even more important- for sightseers, photographers, geologists and anyone with the capacity to be amazed- is its 8,000- foot perch out on the face of Wonoga Peak. From there, the unexpected, colourful mosaic of Owen’s Lake looks like an infrared image from a satellite. Views extend east to the desert ranges guarding Death Valley, south beyond the Coso Range, and north to the White Mountains.”
Driving south in the Owen’s Valley with Led Zeppelin
Climbing out of the valley- Me, Kathleen and Jeff
Approaching the switchbacks
With gusts of wind over 40-miles per hour, and only 60 degrees temperature down in the valley, the four of us started the long switch backs weary of not only the ascent but also the descent. The wind can rage through this valley, funnel down from the peaks and canyons so strong it can feel as if you’re going to be blown off the bike. With such a cool temperature down at 3,600 feet in Lone Pine, and being soaked with sweat after the 3-hour consistent high aerobic effort up to the end of the road, we shivered in the sunshine up at 10,000 feet. Fox Tail Pine trees lined the road mixed with Lodgepole Pine; the higher the elevation, the more beautiful the landscape became. From below the switchbacks looked like ugly scars in the mountain, but even at the lower, barren slopes, bushes of Lupin marked the gravel with stiking purple.
The switchbacks from the valley below
The fear of descending in the gusting wind became valid after the first few turns. Gusts literally almost blew me off the bike. I even passed a car that seemed more terrified than us on the steep, unforgiving road. Large rocks and gravel littered the road on most turns and my back ached from having to ride the breaks the entire way down. Usually, the descent is the sweet reward of a torturous climb, but this time I’ve never been so happy to reach the bottom.
Jeff, the editor of Deepest Valley and Lone Pine resident, turned back at the 9,300 ft mark making his reputation for ‘off the couch’ even more solid because that was the real difficult part of the climb. He even drove out to check on us when we came back down. Kathleen continued to impress us all with her sheer determination and stoic nature when it comes to suffering on the bike, and Peter and me survived the day a little bit worse for the wear.
Another climb down, and three to go in this climbing extravaganza. What fun!!
