(September 11 – written by Dave)
Tap, tap, tap, anyone there? Hello, is anyone out there? We are at Pine Flat Lake and I’m pretty sure that we are the only ones here. The only ones in the campground for sure. Perhaps the only ones at the lake as well. There is no one in the other 10 campsites and we can’t see a single home or house from where we are sitting. It is ghostly quiet really.
We followed the Adventure Cycling route today from Oakridge to here and as the day went on, traffic became less and less. The last road was a real goat track with no cars at all. Then we get here. What happened, did a war start somewhere and we were not informed? Is everyone glued to CNN? When starting this trip, I didn’t think it was possible to be in the middle of nowhere in this part of California. Well, we are in the middle of nowhere, with no one around to verify it.
As we got our pick of the campsites, we have the best view overlooking Pine Flat Lake (it really should be called Pine Flat Reservoir). We are sitting here now after dinner watch thunder and lightning roll across the hills on the far side of the lake. This, with no people and the feeling of being out all on our own – now you know why I’m worried.
Other than fears of the world ending, we had a good day. We rode 55 miles and climbed over 4,000 feet. We had a couple 1,500 foot climbs and a couple other short steep ones. We had morning tea in North Fork and lunch in Auberry. Neither town is big but they were massive cities compared to what we’ve found here at Trimmer. Trimmer is on the map, same font size as North Fork and Auberry but it doesn’t really exist in real life. Tonight Trimmer consists of Nancy and I – and no more.
Tomorrow we are in a bit of a quandary. First thing we’ll get up and check CNN to figure out what’s really happening. All things being OK with the world, we’ll eat and go for a bike ride. We have a destination that is 49 miles away but it includes over 7,000 feet of uphill – we probably can’t do that. Anyway, here comes the rain – so I’m heading to the tent where I’ll find my senior editor. We’ll see if we can get this post to go out…
Photos of the day follow…
Bass lake in the morning
Bass Lake with lots of dead trees – drought caused
Country scene from today
Nancy at moring tea – worried about the world
Nancy on one of our hills
San Juaquin River
Nancy at lunch stop – nice bars
Down then back up
Another view from the road
Lone campsite on the lake
Our campsite before the rains came
Leave Without Pay 
That is a bit creepy. Hopefully your night will be peaceful. I’m going to find a map and figure out where you are…I’ve never heard of any of those towns…probably why no one is there! Good luck with the climbing tomorrow!
Wow! You have been climbing lots lately. Enjoy the peace and quiet while you can.
Yes, a bit too much climbing! We are looking at the route south to see if there are some alternative routes – not really liking the profiles showing some 7000ft climbs ahead!
Yes, sleep well and don’t worry about the quiet. Some nights you can’t get the neighbors to accommodate your sleep schedule, so there shouldn’t be anything to interrupt you tonight. How the heck did you get the blog post posted if there isn’t anyone around?
We had mobile coverage, if you can believe it! And thanks for the AirBnB gift card – we used it the next night. Perfect gift!
I hope you don’t worry too much! I’d love to have a few days of that quietness, but a radio would keep you up to date with the world! Everything has been centered on the Hurricane & the destruction it (or they) have left behind! The Northwest has had the huge Eagle Creek forest fire leaving ash everywhere & just roaring through 34,000 Acres! Just enjoy the quietness, listen to the birds, bees, & frogs or crickets!
A radio would be nice sometimes, but then of course we’d have to think about charging it (or the batteries). I guess we’ll hear about it eventually if something really bad happens!
We know that feeling of being alone in the world. When we were on the Olympic Peninsula we pulled into a campsite and there was nobody there. It was Misty and dark and quiet as a church mouse. As we walked around the huge trees it felt like we were in The Blair Witch Project. Enjoy the Solitude and keep on pedaling.
It’s funny isn’t it? You don’t want it too crowded, but completely empty places can be a bit spooky, as if everyone knows to stay away but you!
Laura and I experienced the empty road riding across northern Montana. Not to the same extent but I did have to remind Laura that she needed to stretch in the shoulder, not the middle of the road. How steep is the hill you are facing today? The two of you have to be in amazing shape, I’m having a hard time imagining what the road is going to be like…
It was a really tough climb – steep pitches and seemed to be never-ending. But it made the next day seem easy – until the last bit up to our AirBnB!
The scenery is just beautiful…campsite looks great! So peaceful