Waking up the sound of the rushing river and the sun peeking through the trees is almost enough to make me a morning person. Almost. By this point, we’re able to tear down camp in just a few minutes, packing the bikes, setting up chargers and making sure to clean up after ourselves. I ventured to the bathrooms, which were quite nice for a campground, and came across a family of deer, enjoying the forest. I didn’t get any closer but they didn’t seem to mind the noise of the people.
Soon we were back on the road, riding out of the beautiful Sequoia Forrest. Of course we had to stop by the park store and I got another Ranger Doug window sticker, for Sequoia. We entered the rolling foothills southwest of Sequoia and took 198 down until we could get back into the good stuff. There was some great 2 and 1.5 lane roads out here and the landscape was a lush green I just don’t get down in the Mojave.
Once we got on to 190 towards Pierpoint, the road quickly went from a quiet back road to a hill climb, dozens of turns, including some pretty challenging uphill decreasing radius turns that challenged my ability to estimate a good entry speed. There were a few turns that were slightly overcooked but I managed to keep it shiny side up and stay in my lane. The same can’t be said for the cars we came across on our way up, however. I think the best way to show this sequence is with a sequence of images.
Eventually, we arrived at Pierpoint Bar and Grill, just in time for lunch. The food was fine, nothing gourmet out here in the back country. We continued out on Great Western Divide Highway (190) and quickly found ourselves back up above the snow line but with the sun out and an ambient temperature around 70 degrees, it was a beautiful ride. Another concerning sign presented itself “Road not plowed in winter.” I made a point of double checking the status of the roads and with no listed closures, we pressed on. We rode through the never ending pines and snow, up the mountains and down the valleys, enjoying the views and the relaxed riding. Eventually we made a turn onto Parker Pass road where we found the only snow on the road for the whole journey. It didn’t cover the whole road and we passed easily. As we head down towards the Kern River Valley, the snow and pine was replaced with sagebrush and stone.
The rest of the ride down into the Kern valley was smooth mountain roads. At this point Taylor and I were both tired and ready for some real beds. We consulted the map and cut across to 395 to make the ride back down to civilization. We arrived home around 5pm with plenty of time to get our clothes into the wash, have some decent dinner and I think I slept for 14 hours.
This was our first long trip together and it was absolutely fantastic. We’re already planning our next adventure, possibly the BDR route in Arizona, or Washington. Or maybe a trip up into Utah. More to come!