Weds. Aug. 24, 2016
Start - ~8700'
High pt 10842'
Lo pt 8450'
End Elv ~8450'
Climbing 2200'
Miles 30
Total time 5:00
Ride time 4:30 ??
Day with BOB still 26
Another Continental Divide crossing #15
Drip drip drip, gurgle gurgle, gurgle. These are the sounds that greeted me this morning; waves of light rain dancing across my tent, accompanied by the slowly changing melody of Silver Creek, a song that never stops.
As I drift into consciousness and think about plan B, which has me riding over Marshall Pass to Sargents today, rather than doing Monarch Crest on a cold and soggy day. Richard and Neale would go fishing and scouting in the Sargents area and pick me up afterwards and shuttle us back to Silver Creek for another try for the Crest on the morrow.
But as I lay there in the gray and watelogged morning, suiting up for the 13 mile climb and 30 mile ride seems like not such a brilliant Plan B, more likely a hypothermia story destined for the nightly news. But no plan C emerges, so I roll over and drift in and out of sleep, floating along on Silver Creeks melody, dreaming of drier options.
But one cannot ignore reality for long, and the camp stirs into action. The rain is slowing down, food and caffiene is taken and raises both spirits and motivation. I am going to do it, despite mentioning a need for a plan C to my compatriots. Fortunately we need not break camp and load up the BOB. Given the adverse weather potential on top, I will ride sans the BOB and it's weight today.
It is drizzling just a little as I leave and soon stops. The old railroad grade is bicycle freindly, especially for a trailerless rider today. There it twists and curves as it gains steady altitude, the south facing slopes are more sparse and sage filled with rwgular dense aspen groves that envelope me on the gray day. I does start raining about half way up, and that is my company until the last couple miles of the pass. I meet a pair of shivering CTD hikers from Texas at the pass looking for an out of their week long hike. Alas for them, there is no cell service here. I share map and exit options info, and ride on.
I have a 17 mile down hill to Sargents, and the rain has stopped. The ride goes through some wonderful country, loads of aspens groves, some stopping abruptly, collared with sagelands below their lovely lines. The road is in good shape, though occassional patches of mud keeps me on my toes, even with out the BOB.
The tail end of the ride has me following the much meandering Marshall Creek. I believe I saw a point where it meanders.UP valley for a short while. Sargents is a forgotten and funky little hamlet, still reliant on transportation, now it being US Hwy 50, while it was the Marshall Pass rail line of old. A little tour of the remaining town shows a few remnants of its more vibrant past. On a more modern point, if I had stayed here, I had an option of staying in a Teepee at the Tomichi Trading Post. Not for this trip as I wait inside its cafe for Richard and Neale, and have a coffee and slice of pie while I try to dry out.
