19 - 29 July 2013

After a couple of great days with Reno and Tris I headed south on highway 68 along the western shore of Lake Utah – I'm sure it's a nice lake but the morning sun from behind the lake spoiled the views. Already in the morning it was hot as I hadn't experienced it before – every time I drank water it took only a few minutes before my mouth was dry again – and the soft drink on the back of the bike felt like jelly and tasted strange..... I took the back road from Goshen, past Mona to Nephi - beautiful ride through countryside, gorges and valleys with views to gorgeous mountains ranges. When I reached Levan around 16.30 it was only 105k (65 miles) and still fairly early, but the temperature was over 40C (104F) so I took refuge under the trees in Tim and Michelle's garden. They provided cold water and offered that I could pitch my tent in the garden. I had struggled with headwind most of the day but mid afternoon it had turned into a rare tailwind, so I was tempted to continue. However, Tim and Michelle were so nice that I decided to stay and enjoy their hospitaility and pleasant company. Early evening they took me for a ride up the nearby gorge with beautifully coloured red rock formations as well as sunset from the mountain top. When we came back we had a bonfire in the garden and interesting conversations – after staying with two Mormon families I found it particularly interesting learning the minority perspective from people living in a Mormon dominated community – not always that easy....

The next morning I continued south on highway 28 through dry and desolate nature over multi-coloured hills and mountains. My (ambitious) plan was to go 150k (95 miles) to Fish Lake expecting rolling hills but no real climbing. It was fairly flat through more dry and desolate valleys until Sigurd where I turned onto highway 24. I rested shortly with a family who confirmed that except for the last 8k (5 miles) it was “pretty flat”.... well, it depends on the perspective – if 20k (13 miles) of continous climbing 1,100 metres (3,600 feet) is flat then okay... I was surprised to learn that the summit was only 7,500 feet which meant my ascend starting point was much lower than expected at only 1,200 metres (3,900 feet). When I (finally) passed the summit it was a 15k (10 miles) ride downhill along another beautiful mountain range – dropping 300 metres (1,000 feet). It had been another hot day but the 5C (10F) lower temperature and more (head)wind made a difference – a warning of Grand Canyon where people say it might be up to 50C (122F). The climb had taken a long time and with 23k (15 miles) still to go, Fish Lake was no longer an option. Instead I pitched my tent by the lake shore just outside Burrville - a beautiful location and as it turned out the next morning just before the beginning of another long climb.

I got up early the next morning and started the long climb up to Fish Lake at 2,700 metres (9,000 feet) – 25k (15 miles) uphill of which 18k were steep. It was overcast which was nice for bicycling but when I got to Fish Lake it would have been nice with some sunshine.... without it was just a lake – not much too see. My intention had been going back the same way and then riding the highway but people told me it would be much more scenic to do a loop around some lakes and reservoirs before coming down to the highway at Loa. Longer and more hilly and it could definitely have been a beautiful ride but unfortunately the overcast weather took away most of the pleasure. From Loa it was a tough ride against the wind to Torrey were I stocked up before continuing on highway 12 to Grover – the last part took me through amazing gorges and past spectacular red rock formations. After getting water in Grover I only had to go a couple of steep kilometres uphill before I entered Dixie NF where I pitched my tent. Despite the elevation of around 2,100 metres (7,000 feet) it was very warm and dry and I had difficulty sleeping at night – not until early morning it cooled down a bit....

It was a tough morning where I immediately startet climbing Mt Boulder at 7-12 percent ascend. After a while I came to think of my trip to Balkan in South Eastern Europe where people constantly cheered me on and provided food a drinks when I rode in the mountains – and then....what I wish for I get; a woman stopped her car and provided cold juice and later different people cheered me on (one girl was shouting loudly while hanging half way out the car window). In general though, few people greeted me – those who did were mostly single motorbike riders; I guess they can relate to riding alone for hours.... With the long and steep climb it was pleasant with a cool breeze on another hot day. It was a long climb up to the summit at 2,900 metres (9,600 feet ) – especially because there were a couple of steep downhills on the way (fairly demotivating going 3 kilometres down in 2 minutes when it just took 30 minutes to climb it)... Most of the time I rode in the forest and from the few lookouts I couldn't see much as haze covered the many distant mountains. From the top it was a long steep ride downhill to small Boulder and then towards Escalante. After a steep climb to the top of a rim I (unexpectedly) got spectacular views of valleys and mountains on both sides... another downhill to the bottom of the gorge and then steep uphill again.... a very tough ride but well worth it with some of the most amazing scenery on this trip.... Approaching Escalante it was dark clouds and heavy rain ahead so I decided to a bit of bicycle maintenance while waiting for the weather to blow over... Escalante was only 90k (56 miles) but the climbing had been tough so I asked locals for camping advice. I was told to pitch the tent in the national forest 7-8 miles (11-13k) out of town and when suggesting it was more like 15 miles (24k) I was told no more than 9 miles (15k).... it ended up being 16 long gradually ascending miles (26k) before I could finally pitch my tent – and so late that I had to use my headlight when eating dinner....

Next morning I started early because I had been told that thunderstorms and rain always came in the afternoon in my destination Bryce Canyon. However, not this day as I rode straight into an overcast sky after only 30 minutes, so I decided to slow down and take my time and talking to different people along the way amongst other a single woman bicyclists (first ever). She was unusual in more ways being very social: over time I have noticed that people travelling 2 or more together are much more likely to stop and talk, while single bicyclists prefer a short conversation or not to stop at all. Again the weather was nice for cycling but negative for the views of the otherwise colourful rock formations along the road. The 35k (21 miles) to Tropic was mostly downhill and then 15k (10 miles) uphill though far from as bad as many people had warned me.... On the climb up to Bryce the weather improved a bit but when I reached the park thunderstoms and rain roamed around the area..... Having nothing else to do I bicycled the short distance to the closest viewpoints – truly magnificent and quite dramatic views with the dark clouds in the background. In the park I had to pay US 15 for camping, so obviously I camped just outside for free (why people pay so much for an outhouse and a picnic table I will never understand).... It's quite interesting visiting popular destinations like Bryce canyon where all businesses within 16k (10 miles) exploit the park name and add additional “drama” to the visitor experience e.g. “on the edge of civilisation". At the same time countless million dollars RV's/buses pull up because the Americans can't live without all their modern facilities/appliances... quite ironic – particularly because the RV/buses are named “frontier”, “pioneer”, "wilderness", etc. The Americans are also obsessed with time e.g. this rock is 2.5 billion years old or this cave is 10 million years old.... often followed by “oldest in the world”, because it sells tickets and the world to most Americans is the USA (very few know or care about the outside world). I think it relates to a “time inferiory complex” because it's a young nation. Personally I couldn't care less about the age – is it interesting/nice or not...?

It was a beautiful morning so I got up early and entered the park just before 8am - and to my great surprise nobody was there (so if you don't like paying for the Us national parks just come early – allegedly the tour companies cynically exploit this option). Despite having done all the closest lookouts the day before I re-did them all but now in better weather – though not without a challenge for my simple pocket camera as they all face east. After a couple of hours I rode the 30k (18 miles) on rolling (mostly up)hills to Rainbow point at (2,735 metres (9,115 feet). The clouds were already coming in late morning so at the viewpoints along the way I had to wait for the sun the come out - meanwhile I got to talk to countless people. At Rainbow Point it was overcast and only a few times the sun (shortly) peeped through the clouds – however, there was a nice view of an incoming thunderstorm and heavy downpour. When it got close I rode back down and out of the park – my intention had been staying another night in the forest but it was only mid afternoon so I decided to head on. Back to highway 12 and 23k (15 miles) down to highway 89 - I was supposed to go on a bicycle path but it was so bad that I went back on the road from where I also had better views... more incredible red rock formations; though unfortunately less amazing due to the dark sky (had I known they were there I might have stayed at Bryce another night and seen them in better weather the next morning)... When I turned south on highway 89 I slowed down a lot – terrible road surface, headwind, rain and uphill... nothing was in my favour. Also southern Utah drivers are the worst in the US – reckless and inconsiderate. Honking (and a few times yelling at me) despite I'm as far to the right as possible and racing close past me whether there is oncoming traffic or not; imagine having to break and wait a few seconds – it's not like there are hundreds of bikes on the road and it happens all the time; and why use the accelerator when there is no oncoming traffic instead of just cruising quietly around....? Anyway, when I reached small town Hatch early evening it was almost deserted as the Mormons (nearly everybody) were celebrating Pioneer Day (24 July), so I was lucky to find a guy who suggested I went a couple of kilometres out of town a pitched the tent by a small creek - it was a good spot but very muddy after lots of recent rain. I considered camping next to the creek but as the ground was practically level with the creek I decided against it should there be a flash flood during the night (common in this area at this time of year) - instead I camped on a nearby small hill... In the evening 50 cattle visited me and later I could see the fireworks in distant Hatch....

Back on 89 things seemed to have changed a bit overnight – people were slightly more considerate and the road was slightly better..... I rode 56k (35 miles) primarily downhill to the Zion NP junction through valleys with mostly forest...then 8 steep kilometres (5 miles) uphill to descend another 20k (13 miles) to Kanab at 1,400 metres (4,600 feet). Of course pleasant to ride downhill but I knew it would backfire as the Grand Canyon North Rim is about 2,400 metres (8,000 feet) – and since I go the same way back on my way to Zion NP I have to go all the way down to Kanab and climb up again! When I entered Kanab the temperature said 105F (40C) though it felt more like 95F (35C). I stocked up, checked my mail at the library and tried to get some information at the tourist info. - however, they hadn't been to Grand Canyon (excuse me !?!) and could only provide random folders I could read myself. Meanwhile a big thunderstorm had built up so I took refuge at the ranger station for 1½ hours while it passed town (here I got a lot of info.) – I don't mind the thunder and rain but on a bike I'm very exposed to lightening in the open ranges (lightening just killed 2 people in the park while a third person survived but is paralysed, so it does strike) …

With a heavily (over)loaded bike I finally headed out to camp in Kaibab national forest late afternoon... halfway there I met some people at the roadside coming down from the mountains – they had forgotton to put water on the cooler and hence overheated it..... Two guys were outside staring at the hot engine while a woman in the back of the car shouted out the window that I should give them some of my water.... I felt like asking her if she thought I always carried an extra gallon of water just in case I ran into unprepared tourists, but as everybody has been kind and generous to me on this trip, I decided to give them ½ litre without commenting her rude and selfish approach. Being in the US I probably need to state that I'm as anti-racist as can be but this experience just confirmed previous experiences that black people in general are very poor at planning/anticipating events. I continued on the rolling uphills along the terrible 89A; very busy with big trucks and lots of big RV's. Also the road quality was horrible – the remaining stretches of old road was bad but the newly repaired stretches were even worse; they must have forgotton the steam roller and padded it with showels. More uplifting was passing 200 beautiful old Ford T veteran cars coming down from Grand Canyon after day tour in connection with a world gathering. Finally at Kaibab NF I had to do finish the climb of 600 metres (2,000 feet) before I found a place to get of the road and pitch the tent..... Just before I went to bed I was treated with natures own firewoks - lightening in the distance.... Another warm evening where it was difficult to sleep....

It was a good camp spot except for one thing – it was very close to the road on a steep stretch so all night long trucks were either accelerating uphill or engine breaking downhill.... In the morning it was an uphill climb from the start - first 20 more kilometres (13 miles) on 89A up to Jacob Lake and then the same distance on 67 towards the park – a much better road and less busy without the big trucks... there were a few, short flat/downhill stretches but always followed by long, steep uphill stretches... There were no real views as it was through forest or what used to be forest before it was destroyed by fires. It had been a nice morning but climbing uphill I had seen a big thunderstorm cell building up right in front of me. When I reached the plateau and the road leveled out there was a lot of rain, thunder and lightening in front of me and when I got close I stopped for lunch hoping it would drift ahead. Instead it grew bigger so I progressed with caution until a firefighter stopped and insisted on taking me to the other side of the cell (30k ~ 17 miles).... I felt a bit like cheating but safety comes first and what good are principles being injured/dead... also I'll be going the same way back, so not to worry.... I rode the short distance to the the park entrance where it started raining, so I got some brochures and headed a kilometre back the road and pitched my tent in the forest. It turned out to be a good decion as another big cell built up over grand canyon which would have been no fun anyway. Instead I spent the afternoon writing this section for my homepage and reading about the North Rim.

Since the clouds come in already late morning and most afternoons provide thunderstorms my alarm was set for 5am – typical, a very rare overcast morning..... the weather changes quickly in the mountains, but I decided to snooze ½ hour and take my time for breakfast. I entered the park at 6.40 (just before the ticket guy met for work) and spent 35 minutes riding the 20k (12 miles) to the North Rim almost hitting a couple of deer crossing the road. Because of the weather I postponed my initial plan of biking additional 40k (25 miles) to Point Royal to the next morning and instead head down to the main area to see different viewpoints. Only about 10% percent of all Grand Canyon visitors come to the North Rim, so I was a bit shocked by all the cars in the parking lot, but to my great satisfaction there were very few people at the viewpoints – it's a big place and maybe the early hour and weather also had something to do with it, but whatever the reasons I enjoyed the tranquility and peacefulness just sitting at different rocks overlooking the canyon and admiring the scenery including numerous condors playing in the wind.... After a while the sun came out, slightly improving the views (and pictures) though clouds still hang low over the rim. Mid morning more people arrived and since I wasn't busy I talked to many of them (including a family I had met before at Bryce) – obviously it's summer holiday in Europe because English is not the prevalent language spoken in the national parks. Around 11am I left the area and biked the short distance up to the Widforss Trail where I walked a couple of miles and found a spot for lunch providing excellent views of the canyon. I don't know what I smell like (besides bad after a long time without a shower) but as it has happened before, hummingbirds come within few inches to study me – though, everytime I try to take a picture they change position in front of me, so until now I haven't succeeded. Darker clouds started to built up towards the park entrance so I decided to call it a day – a wise decision. Biking back to my camp just outside the park entrance I had thunder and lightening around me but I got away with a drizzle - however, a few minutes after I got into the tent it started pouring down for 3 hours straight....nice to relax in the tent listening to the rain drumming on the tent cover.... In the evening I had a bit of blue sky and sun, but not over the canyon where the sky stayed pitch dark.

In the morning it started raining just before the alarm went off at 5am – and it didn't stop until 8 where it was still overcast..... I considered going to the park but as I expected it to be only a couple of hours before clouds would come in, it seemed a waste of time since I had to ride 20k (12 miles) just to get to the rim (and the same back). Low on both computer and camera batteries and no possibility of recharging I couldn't work on my homepage, so instead I spent most of the day reading a book I had carried all the way from Florida – about time before this part of the journey ends.... Quite interesting staying in the forest all day - many animals and birds came very close to the tent either to loudly complain about my presence or out of curiosity e.g. a deer hanging around for some hours. Staying in my camp turned out to be the right decision – it rained on and off all day and for the third consecutive day the thunderstom came at 14.00. In the evening the weather cleared, also over the canyon area and here my limitations materialised staying outside the park – had I stayed in the park or been in a car it would have been easy to do a quick tour to the rim but not on a bicycle having to do 20k (12 miles) there and back; not that staying in the park campground was an option as it requires booking months ahead.... With a beautiful evening sky conprising countless stars my hopes for the coming day were positive....

Next morning (again at 5am) the sky was clear and it was cold – tempting to wait an hour to get up, but since I had waited several days for this moment I pulled myself together and got up... The warm coffee and breakfast helped a bit but riding down to the park was cold - especially my hands were numb as I decided to go without gloves. I had to ride an extra mile uphill towards the visitor center to get water before heading back towards Point Imperial and Cape Royal – approx. 40K (25 miles) there and back. The park rangers had told me it was flat – which is true compared to the rockies but still pretty hilly, so I was happy to have left most of my stuff in the camp and only brought a daypack.... First I did the 10k (6 miles) steep detour up to Point Imperial at almost 2,700 metres (9,000 feet). I wasn't really surprised not to get a view - this early and with the sun in the face I could only see the closest formations; the rest were hidden in haze and mist.... No reason to stay long so I continued towards Cape Royal doing countless stops (both official and unofficial viewpoints) along the way even though the views didn't improve much as they all faced east.... But when I arrived at Cape Royal I got a great view of the canyon as part of the viewpoint was facing west – a beautiful spot to have lunch. To my surprise the weather was still nice around noon and no threatening dark clouds in sight, so my hopes for getting views on the way back increased. And indeed – I got some very nice views all the way back... encouraged I even re-did the climb up Point Imperial and went to all the viewpoints around the visitor centre (that I had seen some days before) where I spoke to more people from Bryce. I must admit I was a bit sceptical before visiting Grand Canyon – especially having hiked down and up Colca Canyon in Peru being 4,160 metres (13,650 feet) deep or more than twice as much as Grand Canyon. But it was well worth the detour (even if I have to backtrack a lot heading up to San Francisco) – it might not be very deep but it's wide and diverse and I found it particularly interesting being able to clearly distinguish all the different time periods by layers.... And then a last thing – so many people had warned me about temperatures close to 50C (122F) – wow, were they wrong; at more than 2,400 metres (8,000 feet) the day temperature was pleasant around 20-25C (70-80F) and fairly cold at night, so I had to be in my sleeping bag and not just use it as a duvet...

Another 1000k (650 miles) since Saratoga Springs add the total up to 10,000k (6,250 miles). Sorry about the many pictures of which many might look similar - you might not believe it but I've only uploaded a fraction of those I took. Take it as a sign of my enthusiasm and how amazing I found this part of my trip.