Somewhere in the Desert to Tonopah, NV – 76 miles
Yesterday I woke up in the desert. It was actually a little cold in the morning. I made some oatmeal and cut up some bananas in it with coffee, packed up, and started riding. The terrain was a little up and down. I passed a military DOD base that looked interesting, and then I got to Warm Springs after about 25 miles which is where Brandon and his dad left my water the day before. It took me awhile to find it, but eventually I was able to track it down. I still had quite a bit of water, so I filled up a couple of my bottles poured some over my head and dumped the rest out to hang on to the jug just in case I wanted to send some ahead from Tonopah to Boundary Peak.
Warm Springs is an abandoned hot springs at the junction of Hwy 6 and SR 375 (dubbed the Extraterrestrial Highway because it goes by Nellis Airfare Base where Area 51 is). It was pretty cool to see water just bubbling out of the ground in the middle of the desert. I followed the hand dug trench up the mountain to where it was coming out of the ground. It smelled a lot like sulphur and the water was pretty hot. It almost looked like it was boiling in one section where it was coming out of the ground. At night I can imagine that the pool would be pretty refreshing, but it was starting to warm up and a hot pool sounded terrible. I wonder if that’s why ultimately they closed down. How many people would want to sit in a HOT spring in the desert.
I had two or three more passes before Tonopah. It’s hard to remember because it all starts to look the same after awhile. It’s crazy how quickly the terrain can change in just a day or two sometimes and then it will all look exactly the same for a few days in a row.
I was loosing energy and it was getting pretty hot. I stopped to eat some food, but it seemed I couldn’t keep my energy up. There was nowhere to get shade or rest, so I pushed on. Eventually I came to a rest stop which consisted of a few picnic tables, bathrooms, and some trees. Heaven when you’re in the desert. I chilled out for awhile and cooked some food to try to get my energy up. Two women stopped with their dog Zephyr and chatted for awhile. They were headed to Yosemite to do some backpacking. They gave me a bunch of food. Stuff I don’t usually buy because it would get gross after awhile in the heat like chocolate, cheese, and fresh veggies. It was a nice little morale booster and after chilling for awhile longer I finished the ride to Tonopah.
When I got to Tonopah I was still feeling really tired and all I wanted was some food and to be inside somewhere. The first place I came across was Tonopah Brewery. Perfect. I went inside, ordered some over priced food and beer, and relaxed. While I was there I met a group of people who were from Durango, CO headed to the Mountain Bike Championships in Mammoth, CA. I wonder what that consists of?
I left the brewery as it was getting dark and I was still hungry so I went to Burger King down the street to get some more food. Stayed until around 10 since they had wifi then headed just outside of town to setup my tent. I hate setting up my tent in the dark because you never know what might be just 100 yards away. I was exhausted though and as soon I laid down I was out.
Fresh food. Provided by strangers. In the desert. 🙂