I am in search of another fresh water spring that Mike told me about. A sandy track turns off my gravel road towards the hills and I struggle over it.
Saratoga Spring sits in a small basin surrounded by a curve of bare hills, black, brown and gray – looking almost like slag heaps, mining tailings, [...]
The next day I wake and my mind is still full of yesterday’s encounter. The men are breaking camp in the distance and soon speed off in a huge cloud of dust. I cook breakfast and break camp more slowly and then get on my bike to cycle fifty miles over corrugated deep gravel road, [...]
Also tagged california, death valley, wild placesWhen I return to the men’s camp site dinner is ready and people are scattered around eating and talking. The conversation drifts over a variety of topics, as it always does in large groups. One man is expounding volubly on the difficulties of negotiating life in prison. He is discussing the conflict that exists between [...]
Also tagged california, death valley, peopleThe following morning I set off towards the end of the valley where sand dunes shimmer in the distance. I round a corner and find myself confronted with a veritable tent city near the base of the dunes, an American flag flying in the centre of a ring of tents. A lone figure is seated [...]
Also tagged california, death valley, fortuitous meetings, peopleWhen I leave Bishop the wind is still icy and it blows me smartly along the highway to Big Pine where I stop to stock up on water, filling my two four litre bags to the brim. I ask the guy at the service station for information about the road. The man, it transpires, is [...]
Also tagged california, death valley, mountainsWith the clouds hanging heavily on the mountain tops and a fierce, frigid, wind blowing from the north I ride back to the highway. Once I reach the highway a north wind is a tail wind – for the most part – and the ride to Bishop, where I hope to have somewhere to stay [...]
Also tagged california, hospitality, windIn Yosemite Valley I heard rumours of hot springs around Mammoth Lake and so I quizz Doris and John for further information. The critical clue I already have at my disposal is a green church marking the turn off on the highway. John, however is able to furnish much more specific directions and a reasonable [...]
Also tagged california, camping, hot springs, magic, wind, winterDoris, John and I set off in the morning in their car for a day trip that will encompass the area around June Lake, Mono Lake and Brodie. We start by driving past the series of lakes on the scenic route into June Lake which I skipped the previous evening in the very uncharacteristic, for [...]
Also tagged california, hospitality, waterOn the other side of the pass I am presented with a landscape that I could have never imagined. I drop effortlessly 3000 feet down into the valley on the west of the Sierras feeling like I am suddenly on another planet. People had talked to me of the high desert and I realise now [...]
Also tagged california, hospitality