Tag: camping

Accomm odations

The title of this blog post Hike AND Bike is not to be confused with HAB (Hike A Bike) which we have experienced on Fleecer Ridge, Lava Mountain, et al on the Great Divide.

We started the day out in the rain but ended it in the sunshine and put in a 40 mile bike ride and a little under 6 miles of hiking.

Soon after the rain the skies gave way to sun and we were on our way to hike. Having our bikes with us means we don’t have to ride the shuttle. We just cycle to the trail head.

And meet Tina the tarantula. She’d just crossed the trail before us. About the size of my fist and cuddly as a golden doodle we decided to leave her be but not before snapping her pic.

The day ended at our fave place, the Zion Canyon Brewery for cheers and beers and deciding what the next day might bring.

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Tour de N’Utah, Day 4, Zion National Park, 17 miles, 675 feet elevation | The Watchman’s Welcome

After breaking camp and having our last chat with Roy we were on our way to Zion National Park, however not before a quick coffee stop to check weather and schedule stays after Zion. Valley of Fire State Park is forecasted to be 100 degrees on Friday. 🔥 Ouch!

Between our bike ride and drive on Scenic Byway 12 yesterday, through Red Rock Canyon today and then entering Zion through the east gate on Highway 89, we were shocked at the views around every corner.

And then a small herd of big horn sheep decided to come out and say hello.

The Hebrew origin of the word Zion means “highest point”. Go figure. It’s majestic, massive, vibrant and awe-inspiring here.

I remember Checkerboard Mesa from my last visit. It’s aptly named wouldn’t you agree?

We are camping in Watchman’s Campground, its namesake, and just under it’s towering influence.

And lucky for us… look what’s located a half mile away.

Cars are still not permitted on the main road so as cyclists we have the whole road to ourselves in the park (well besides the shuttle buses).

Although different from Bryce Canyon and Grand Staircase Escalante, Zion National Park is equally breathtakingly beautiful and we can’t wait to make the most out of our brief two days here.

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Tour de N’Utah, Day 3, Escalante to Boulder (almost), 32 miles, 2,700 feet elevation | Hip to Hipcamping

We’d picked out a stellar 54 mile bike ride on one of Americas Scenic Byways and even though the climb was a little over the top (4,600) at this elevation, the route is paved and there would be lots of cool scenery to distract us from our misery. 😂

There were some righteous downhills at 14% but since it was an out and back we knew whatever we road down we had to climb back up. 😂

It all started out great until the storm front (again, not forecasted) moved in.

We pressed on thinking we’d skirt around it, however a little after the half way point a wicked canyon wind kicked up, more clouds moved in and we decided it best to turn around. 😏

Strong one directional sustained winds are one thing but strong winds that circulate are more difficult to handle on a bike, in the rain especially when zipping down canyon roads at 25 miles an hour with no guard rail. And oh yea it was Sunday which meant we were sharing the road with mucho RVs broke camp this morning.

Not to be robbed of seeing the scenery we wanted to see, when we got back to our car we drove the route (in the rain) and finished an audio book. Soooo there ya go. Life is seldom what you expect but it IS what you make it.

Tonight is our fourth and last night at Ranchito Feliz, a Hipcamp where Roy is our host. Roy owns nine acres in Cannonville, UT (just outside Bryce Canyon). He was one of the first to jump on board the Hipcamp idea and is among one of their top hosts.

The way Hipcamp came to be is fascinating. For a quick story click here but if you don’t have time to read it just know that needs drive business and this female founder rocked it.

The best part of this Hipcamp stay, however was Roy, a San Diego native, and former marine who knows more about the natural history of the area, the customs and people than I have space to share here. Besides his stories are his to share and only he can tell them the best. Sooo if you’re ever in Southern Utah and have a mind to camp, look up Roy at the Ranchito Feliz.

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Tour de N’Utah, Day 2, Grand Staircase Escalante, 20 miles, 1,289 feet elevation | It’s Getting Slot Out Here

As we drank our coffee and prepared breakfast, we thought we had our day all planned.

Then… a message arrived from Roy, our Hipcamp host “Hey! Want to go on a short gravel ride me with me and the dogs?” “Sure!” we responded. ‘Cause you don’t say no to the locals who are a treasure trove of stories, advice and local lore.

So off we went riding with Roy, G-Mo and Lozen, his puppers.

Before we knew it, after chatting it up with Roy on our ride, plans for the day changed.

Off to Willis Creek for a hike in a slot canyon.

Roy let us know once we reached “The Wall” if we made a right and hiked up we’d find petroglyphs so that was our destination for the hike.

The hike out had us hopping over Willis Creek that was barely a trickle through the slot canyon. We marveled at the smooth canyon walls and the power that wind and water have to change rock.

Just as Roy promised, and thanks to Tom paying attention (because I wasn’t), we found the petroglyphs and they did not disappoint.

There was a mural of etchings that appeared to be a map. Would have loved to know what the ancients were communicating.

We stopped for a trailside snack, got up and began our hike back. That’s when we heard the thunder, looked up and saw the weather was turning. Rain was coming. Most everyone knows the worst place to be when rain comes is in a slot canyon.

We got up, got our hustle on and headed back. Rain started; thunder continued (none of this was in the forecast). And soon after the water flow through the canyon increased. We didn’t think the rain would last long locally but we were thinking if rain fell up ahead of us we would be “up 💩creek” .

As it was, the rain didn’t last long however our feet got a little wet – no worries there. What WAS the problem, however, was getting back down to the main road in our 2015 Subaru on the ratchet road we drove up on. It was a dirt (now mud) road with three creek crossings and some very steep grades and drop offs.

Prayers, low gears and me holding the passenger side door on 😂 got us down safely but not without a lot of slipping and sliding. Tom said it was the most white knuckled drive he’s ever experienced. I wanted to take a video but then thought I better not.

After the morning ride and afternoon hike (and subsequent mud debacle) we decided to jump on our bikes one more time. Folks, there isn’t a bad view in southwest Utah.

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And thanks to my good bud Christie for the song suggestion today. Soooo good!

Tour de N’Utah, Day 1, Bryce Canyon, 50 miles, 3,389 feet elevation | Hoodoo We Think We Are?

Who do we think we are heading back out for more bike adventures when we’ve already finished San Diego to Key West and The Northeast Scramble earlier this year?

I’ll tell ya. We are “Mr. and Mrs. Ready to Complete our 50 State Chase” and finish riding our bikes in all 50 states. The Tour De N’Utah will give us states number 48 and 49.

The hardest part of this trip (since we drove here and have our car and that makes most everything easy) is keeping up with some of our favorite fellow adventurers who are also out on tour. Mike and Sue have ridden their bikes around the perimeter of the US and are now on EuroVelo 6 riding across Europe from the Atlantic to the Black Sea.

We share a love of the west with Garry who is On The Road Again headed west for a backpack trip to floor of the Grand Canyon and back yet finds every opportunity to explore sites along the way (that I’ve bet you’ve never heard of but wish you had) and listen to some of the most intriguing stories from folks along the way.

Finally Deacon Matt and his buds are on yet another do-si-do with the GAP and C&O trails. If you’re an armchair adventurer, these folks offer ample opportunity!

Between reading their blogs, rinsing my bike shorts and boiling water for Mountain House meals I’m pretty busy over here.😂

So four nights near Bryce Canyon, three in Zion National Park and then on to Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park. By the way Nevada puts the “N” in N’Utah hence the Tour De N’Utah.

Currently we are camping at a Hipcamp (more on this later) where we get a nightly show of the setting sun when it retires for the day beneath the ridge behind us. The colors on the rocks across from our campsite are remarkable to watch so we position our camp chairs for the evening show.

This form of natural entertainment precedes the one the stars provide at night. Like Marfa, TX where we bicycled through last February, this area is also know for its dark skies and optimal opportunities to star gaze.

By day the pinnacles of weathered rocks called hoodoos keep us ooohing and awwwing as we cycle or hike paste them. The beauty of this place cannot be described in pictures or words. If ever you get the chance, visit southern Utah, you must!

So “hoodoo” we think we are? Just old grandma and grandpa over here trying to catch our breaths at this elevation as we cycle up hills and live outdoors relishing in its beauty and the kindness of others.

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NE Scramble: Days 9 & 10, Point Pleasant, NJ to Bear, DE, 142 Miles | Dela-WHERE?

Riding Stats Day 9, Day 10

If you ever need a micro lesson in northeastern states geography we suggest riding bikes up here. Delaware is where? Oh it’s south of Pennsylvania which neighbors Ohio which is just east of Indy. And the Delmarva (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia) peninsula which we are cycling around now shows Maryland encroaching on Delaware’s southern coastline with a string of Virginia land tacked onto the bottom for good measure. Who the heck decided these state boundaries and how? I have questions!

We’ve now entered our seventh state on the tour (knocking off five new ones we needed) in just a week. Heck it took us 18 days to cross Texas last February on bikes. What a metaphor for life. Some things come easy, and well others ya work for harder.

Speaking of working toward a goal… does anyone recognize the steps behind us in the above pic?

Friday, June 9th was our 16th wedding anniversary and we celebrated by… you guessed it. Riding bikes! Pleasant Point to Cherry Hill, NJ was pretty near perfect rural riding with little traffic, wide shoulders and smooth pavement – about 98% of it. We were in such a rhythm we took only three pics all day.

However riding from Cherry Hill to Bear, Delaware via Philadelphia today was 98% stoplights which made for slow going until we got to Delaware. There were also some steps to navigate to get over the Delaware River.

We used Hipcamp to find digs for the night and landed on a most unique campsite: just behind a beautiful mansion on two acres.

And there are grass tennis courts marked for pickeball! Owners Peter and Karin built this lovely home in Bear and rent rooms out to travelers. They even have a cozy spot for tenters. They found themselves so busy they added two modern RVs that share a gigantic shade giving tree and a deck to enjoy outside time. Peter’s built this all, including the house. Karin is an elementary school principal (600 students) who hosts both a podcast and has a TikTok following of over 13k. The people we meet are hands DOWN the best part of any bike tour.

If you spent 30 seconds with Karin you’d get a sense of her passion and creative genius for kids and education, especially school administrator wellness. Plus they are a couple of entrepreneurs living a dream.

Finally someone who may or may not be living the dream… Meet Rocket, the domesticated raccoon pet of a couple just outside Delaware City who have had him since he was three months old. Rocket ya need to lay off the Dunkin’ Donuts, my friend.

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PS: Below is hint to the above “where are are we” question.

NE Scramble: Day 5, Millerton to Gardiner, 70 Miles | Live Every Day

Ok normally I don’t drink Bourbon slushies out of Smart water bottles but today was that day.

It was the end of a warm, 70 mile day, some of the body parts are starting to feel the grind (and I don’t mean the legs). The slushy was cold and the distillery was right across the street from our campground so… #nobrainer

The food truck drew us into the parking lot yet once we went inside the 200 year old Grist Mill and met Jasmine, we were more intrigued with the story of the distillery and the mill than the taco truck outside.

Oh back to cycling… it was an Oreo cookie kind of day with ten plus miles of rail trails on both ends of our ride today. Rail trails mean less climb so we weren’t mad about that. There were however, a couple big ones where I told myself there would be reward at the top if I reached the top without stopping.

We crossed the Hudson River today cycling over the second longest pedestrian bridge in the world. Originally a double track railroad track, it was completed in 1889, which to me is an incredible engineering accomplishment for the times. It was converted to a 1.25 rail trail in 2009 and is a small part of the Empire State Trail.

Pictured below is one amazing woman. Meet 72 year old Marianne. She rode her bike from Los Angeles, hopped on Route 66 and cycled to Chicago. From there she followed the Adventure Cycling Map to Washington, DC via parts of the C&O and GAP trails and now she is heading to Maine on the Atlantic Coast Trail where she will attend a fiddler’s conference.

No, she doesn’t carry her fiddle but does carry a bear cannister for her food on her recumbent bike. As a matter of fact a little black bear loped across the street in front of her just yesterday. But I digress… She will return home to Portland not by plane, train or automobile, but by riding through Canada. And she’s a solo rider, averaging about 45 miles a day.

She said she comes by her love of travel and the outdoors honestly. Her mother, who has now passed but lived well past 100 years of age, hiked the Pacific Crest Trail before it was even called the PCT. What a fascinating woman.

Tonight we camp by the Wallkill River and tomorrow’s route guides us through more of the scenic Hudson River Valley. We should be peddling through the Big Apple on Wednesday. 🏙️

Thanks so much for the follow, the questions, comments and of course the prayers that we count on.

Oh, and someone was asking about the what, where and why’s of this ride. You can find the quick answer to that here.

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NE Scramble: Day 4, Windsor Locks to Millerton, 67 Miles | If We Had Nickel

If we had a nickel for every empty mini liquor bottle we’ve seen on the side of the road we could help pay off the national debt. 😂 Ok so we might need a quarter for each one; the debt is getting up there. 💸. Some peeps call them shotskis; up here they are called nips. We call them trash and they are all over.

It’s not the first thing we noticed here in Connecticut. The bicycle friendly roads have wide shoulders and the drivers are uber courteous. The trees, waterways and rural towns we cycle through make for a solid ride.

And the elevation is no joke for these Indy legs. We cycled up and down 4,754 feet of hills yesterday, some of that due to an impassable bridge detour that added five miles to our day. Check the video to see how that all played out.

We crossed the Appalachian Trail just outside of Salisbury which was pretty cool and finally saw the sun when we got to our campsite at Taconic State Park.

So long Connecticut. 👋🏻 Hello New York! After our push-ups, planks, prayers and packing up we have a nearby coffee shop and 10 miles of a rail trail to kick off the day. Yay!

And PS: If you flew on a plane in the 60’s and 70’s it’s likely you received a shotski for free. 😉

NE Scramble: Days 1-3, Boston to Windsor Locks | Here We Grow Again 🚴🏼‍♂️🚴🏼‍♀️

Riding Stats Day 1

Riding Stats Day 2

Riding Stats Day 3