June 14, 1997 to June 22, 1997
Pacific Crest 1997, Fresno to Los Angeles
This was my second segment on the Pacific Crest route. Another group tour led by Bil Paul.
9 days, 483 miles (773 km). Fresno airport to LAX airport
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I was solo on the first day from Fresno airport to the Kings river. And I was solo on the last day from Angeles National Forest to LAX airport.
Day 2 had a 6000 foot climb from the Kings River to Kings Canyon National Park. Most of it unpaved.
The highlight of this tour was cycling through Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. Miles and miles of the largest trees on earth. It's a helluva big climb to get there, though.
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In Sequoia National Park I hiked up a half mile long staircase to the top of Moro rock which has a view of the "Great Western Divide" of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The Great Basin is on the other side of the mountains.
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During my California J tour in 2009 I biked and hiked from the opposite side to the crest of the divide at 11,760 foot Kearsarge Pass.
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The route also crossed the westernmost Mojave desert. It was extremely hot and windy. It was my first time to see Joshua trees.
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I reached an all-time top speed on a bicycle while descending from Tehachapi to the Mojave desert with an extremely strong tailwind. 62.5 mph (100 km/h) with my nose close to the handlebar of my Trek 520. The things we do when we're young and brave...
On the last day of the tour I biked all the way across Los Angeles to LAX airport. I took a meandering route to see the sights. Traffic wasn't bad because it was Sunday.
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The weather was warm and sunny for the entire tour. We camped 7 nights in the mountains and spent 1 hot night in a motel in the Mojave desert.
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