Now we are in the mountains

Day 2  Colonial Creek Campground

Because we spent the energy to ride the extra 25 miles to Concrete yesterday it made today's ride quite a bit easier.  We started the day rising at 5 am.  I thought the time zone change would make us sleep in, but it was the other way around.  We had breakfast at the cafe next to the motel and chatted up some locals, who gave us the unwelcome news that tomorrow is rain, and where we are going, possibly snow.  Oh well, we will see.  

It is about 42 miles from Concrete to the campground destination.  The ride involved some serious climbing for he first time, especially the last 9 miles from Newhalem to Colonial Creek.  The day was overcast with some very occassional sun barely penetrating clouds.  Marblemount is the last real town before the campground, about 22 miles away.  We got there about 10:30 so we had plenty of time and we were wanting to get some lunch but the restaurants in town did not open until 11 or 11:30.  So we waited and got to meet Nick, a local oldtimer who told lots of stories of the old days and panning for gold in the area we are riding to tomorrow.  He advised we skip the restaurant and hit the train caboose conversion BBQ place, which had a smoker going outside and smelled mighty good.  Just as we were waiting for it to open, some rain began and we had visions of riding in the rain a day before we expected to and setting up camp in the rain after climbing in the rain.  It was not an inviting prospect.  Luckily the showers blew past and the afternoon was cool but relatively pleasant.   We started the climb up from Newhalem to the campground about 1:30 and stopped a few times to admire and photograph the spectacular mountains we are in.  It truly does look like the Alps.  There are glaciers and frequent cascades of water down the mountain sides and huge rock cliffs covered in moss.  Along the route the first few miles a gorge which leads to a power hydroturbine facility in Newhalem.  At the top of the gorge, extending for miles, right up to our campsite, is Diable Lake behind Diablo Dam.  When the time is right, the dam spillways are opened, the gorge fills with hard rushing water, down to the turbines and Seattle has light!  Not sure when they decide to do that but it was not today as the gorge had relatively a trickle of water.  

At the campground we met a young couple who are getting married this weekend in Mazama on the other side of the passes we cross tomorrow.  He was getting his bike ready to ride over the passes this afternoon and she was driving the car to Mazama to await him.  They gave us the unwelcome confirmation that it will rain tomorrow and the chance now is said to be 100%, instead of 80%.  We expect to get wet.  I will let you know how that turns out.  Plan B in case of intolerable conditions is thumbs out and snag a passing pickup truck.  John Coleman told me years ago, "An hour in a pickup is worth a day in the saddle."  True.  More from Mazama on the 'morrow.