It poured last night, but I awoke to a beautiful blue sky. I hope that Max and Zach didn’t get flooded out at their campsite. They were gone by the time I got on the road. I did not hurry – I did some laundry, got packed up and then went to the local convenience store to stock up on water for the long trek down the loneliest highway. I wouldn’t go through another town until tomorrow. I Left carrying about 2 gallons, which made for a sluggish start up the hill to the pass above Austin, my first challenge of the day. A few miles outside of town I ran into Michelle and Felix, a German couple who were traveling West. They had been on the road for about 4 months and were headed down to Baja California and then on to the rest of Mexico, Central America and all the way down to Argentina. Wow. I wished them safety and success! I continued upward, cresting Austin summit and then continued down the “Loneliest Road in America” –
There was a little traffic, but not enough to really bother me. I put on my music and just cranked out the miles. Sometimes on a bike tour you just have to do that. Amazing and friendly people still come along, even on the lonely road – like the guy who pulled up in his truck while I was taking a water and snack break just to see if I was ok and if I needed any food or drink. He was a fellow cyclist from Austin, Texas and was on his way home from a long road trip where he did a little west coast bike tour and visited friends. He was also a Warmshowers host in Austin and invited me to stop by anytime. We talked for a few minutes and then he was on his way. I crossed Hickson Summit and then had a gentle downhill slope towards Eureka.
I was about 15 miles outside of Eureka as the sun was getting lower in the sky and I started looking for a place to “stealth camp” – this is where you just pick an out of the way and concealed place and declare “This is my campsite!” The tough thing here is that it is very difficult to be stealthy and concealed as there are no trees or rocks or anything to conceal you. I came to an intersection where a long empty road went off to the left and then a short road, about 50 yards, went off up a hill to the right and dead-ended at a little cul-de-sac. Perfect! I selected a flat spot, pitched my tent, organized my stuff and started fixing dinner. Then I noticed a long line of vans and trucks coming down the previously empty road across the highway. I mean like 50 vehicles. I guess there was a mine down the road and it was quitting time. Each would stop at the highway before turning left towards town – shining their headlights right at me and my tent. So much for being stealthy! No one bothered me, thankfully – and once all the vehicles moved on it was quiet except for the occasional car or truck coming by on the highway.
Jeff and Carmenza's Adventures 