06/03/2024 Ride/Hike

Got up around 5:40, sun was out. It wasn't too cold in the night, I slept well, got up once around 3 to go to the bathroom. Went again before getting ready for my bike ride. That's when I noticed I hadn't brought bike shorts. It worked out just fine without them, since I wore my tights for the anticipated cold. Also had long finger gloves and an ear muff. Headed through the campground to Sunrise Highway and then went northwest, in the opposite direction to when we drove up. This was the route I had ridden before on my bike, and it wasn't so steep on the downhill, also included a couple of climbs on the way out. Smelled a skunk, saw a roadrunner, views were nice. As soon as I got below the treeline, it was warm in the sunlit areas. I rode out to the 33 mile marker and turned around, retracing my route back. It was never very steep, and there were flat or downhill sections that helped. Still, most of the ride was above 5000'. Seemed like I had to work harder to climb these shallow grades.

Avg speed = 15.2 mph. Total mileage = 20.0 mi

Avg power = 133 W. Weighted avg power = 168 W

Total elevation gain = 1710'

Avg heartrate = 1122 bpm (Fitbit)

https://www.strava.com/activities/11563629007

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/63840422649

Got back to the campsite a little after 7:30, and we started to get breakfast together. Soon, however, the flies and bees/wasps were just too much to handle, so we put up the screened canopy over the picnic table. It was a bit of a chore but totally worth it! Not so many flying insects can get in, and we trapped the wasps that got in and let them out. Breakfast burritos were good, coffee was great. After breakfast, we took our time to clean things up, then we decided to go on a hike. Walked around the camp until we found a trailhead for the Desert View trail. We took it, and it shortly joined the PCT. Stayed on it for a while until the trails diverged. We did get a single desert view, but it was more through high forest than anything else. It led back to the campground, so we walked out to Sunrise Highway and walked to the store (both cafes were closed). Got some soft drinks and M&Ms and sat on the porch talking about upcoming church changes. Then we walked back and sat around the campsite after eating some lunch. Initially, I tried to sit outside, but the flies were incessant, so I went into the tent and read for a while, had a short nap too. We made stew for dinner, it was pretty delicious. Quiet evening, we walked over and had a shower to clean off the accumulated dirt. We turned in early, the flying insects were just too much for me.