September 24, 2011
Day 40: Arcata to Willow Creek
I got away from the hotel at 8:30. Today has two huge climbs, so I know it will be a long day. 59F with dense fog as I left Arcata.
5 miles down the road I stopped for breakfast #2 at the new casino in Blue Lake, the only services on today's route. The sun finally came out at 700 feet elevation when I climbed above the marine layer. Highway 299 has a climbing lane for the entire climb to Lord Ellis summit.
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
During the descent from Lord Ellis summit I turned left onto the signed "Alternate bike route". That road has absolutely no traffic. It descends to 920 feet elevation and crosses Redwood creek on a 1-lane bridge. That means I must climb 1900 feet to the next summit.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Highway 199 also crosses Redwood creek, but it crosses farther upstream. Obviously the Alternate Bike Route has more climbing because it drops lower to cross the creek. But it was nice to spend an hour on a quiet scenic road with no traffic
The Alternate Bicycle Route returns to highway 299 about 1/3 of the way up to Berry summit. Once again the highway has a climbing lane all the way to the top. So traffic was a non-issue.
It was sunny for a few hours, but the road climbed into the edge of the clouds near Berry summit. That made the temperature colder and gave the views an ethereal atmosphere.
The sun came out again on the descent to Willow Creek and the temperature warmed from about 60F to 80F. I'm now far from the ocean where the climate is much warmer than on the coast. Willow Creek is often 95F when Arcata is 65F.
Tonight's destination is the Boise Creek USFS campground 1.3 miles west of Willow Creek. But I continued past the campground to buy groceries in Willow Creek, then climbed 300 feet back to the campground. Only one other campsite was occupied. I got a campsite as far as possible from the highway, but could still hear the traffic. Fortunately there was no traffic late at night. The campground is in a pine forest with a creek a short distance down the hill.
Today had a high of 80F, but most of the day was much cooler. The evening was sunny and much warmer than any place near the coast. Unfortunately the weather forecast calls for rain tonight and much cooler weather tomorrow.
Distance: 42.5 mi. (68 km)
Climbing: 4712 ft. (1428 m)
Average Speed: 7.6 mph (12.2 km/h)
Hiking: 1 mi. (1.6 km)
Today's ride: 43 miles (69 km)
Total: 1,983 miles (3,191 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 1 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |