A DAY OF EXTREMES

On the climb up to Mountain Top Inn

DATE:  Sat, Oct. 29, 2011
HOME: Kernville, ca.  Whispering Pines Motel/B&B
DISTANCE:  55miles
ALTITUDE:
WEATHER: Perfect, but another day of extremes:  began at 42 degree, ended at high 70’s
NARRATIVE:
A great day of riding.  We began early – not only to outsmart the bugs, but we had a lot of climbing and many miles to go to get to Kernville.  At 42 degrees we had most of our layers on, but they were soon shed as our climb was 8-13% at the start, then settled in to a more gradual 8-10% grade.  Once the sun hit, the bugs began to gather.  Fortunately, we got to the 6,000foot level and, just like Sequoia NP, they pretty much disappeared.  We could then settle in and enjoy the ride through the vegetation zones as we topped out at 7200 feet.  The forest was beautiful, steep, and rugged.

At the top we had lunch at the Mountain Top Inn, which was cold when we went in, and hot when we began our descent.  Again, we went through all the vegetation zones, but a surprise was A Sequoia Grove, and a beautiful one at that, around 6,000ft.  Then, at around 4,000 ft. we suddenly hit desert again, but this was the harsh rugged desert.  Once we hit the Kern River the only green was the area immediately surrounding the banks of the river.

The desert near Kernville

At Kernville we found a really nice B&B/motel with rooms with a deck overlooking the river and the surrounding mountains.  In the late afternoon sun it was beautiful.  A great find for our last day on the road.  Tomorrow we ride in to Bakersfield and end our trip – for now. This section of mountains has been beautiful….the trip will be continued – in the Springtime when the desert is in bloom.