Planning for another 6 hours in the mountains. Weather was a complete flip-flop from the past few days. Weather today called for rain and temps around 50 degrees above 7,000 ft. So, I planned accordingly. I loaded up the Ergon BD2 with the following items in the above photo: 100 oz of Cytomax, 3 tubes, Topeak mini pump, Topeak mini-tool, 6 assorted nutrition bars, 15 endurolytes, Katadyn water filter, Buff skull cap, full finger Craft gloves, full leg warmers, GoLite gore-tex pac-lite jacket and pants, and maps of the area.
By the time I got up to the Pingree/Buckhorn area the temps had dropped to around 45 degrees and it was spitting rain. Nothing crazy, but I started off warm with the Buff skull cap, knee warmers, GoLite gore-tex jacket, and the full finger gloves. No reason to start off chilled to the bone.
I started by climbing up Pennock Pass. The higher I went....the lower the clouds got. By the time I got towards the top...there was a hard drizzle. I was super glad I packed the gore-tex jacket, cause by the time I descended the other side of the mountain it was pretty much raining. Rain + 35 mph descent speed + 15 minutes descent time = death if not dressed properly.
By the time I got to the bottom, the skies were clearer. I made my way south and west towards Pingree Park. This was a dead end, but I headed down here anyway just to see what options there was for future training rides. A quick snap of the camera, and I did a u-turn and headed back north on Pingree Rd.
I took Pingree Rd north for about 10 miles and the hooked up with Monument Gulch road....err....trail. I decided to ride this back towards the car in the opposite direction Carney and I rode it a few days back. This direction gives a more gradual sustained climb, rather than the grunt climbing needed for riding it the opposite direction.
My next mission...ride up to the summit of White Pine Mountain. This is a bad ass climb. Steep, rocky, and about 2,500 of vertical in one shot. Ugh. So, I start climbing....
...and climbing. Got up to around 9,000 ft and the skies decided to let loose with a chilly rain.
Rain and rocks made for tough going. A little riding and a little hike-a-bike. Lucky for me there was more riding than hiking.
Yep, this is the top of White Pine Mountain. Too bad there are no views today other than clouds, rain, and drizzle. This is what it should have looked like up here. Bummer. Off camera there is still a little snow up here.
The top of White Pine Mountain would be my high point for the day at about 10,200 ft. And I might add, that now my gloves, socks, and skull cap were collecting water. Great. Should make for a warm downhill run to 8,000 ft.
I took it easy heading back down the wet rocky laced trail...but still managed to chill the heck out of my body. My feet and hands were ice blocks....or close to it. When I got to the bottom I was sitting at about the 3 hr 45 minute mark. At the bottom the White Pine Mountain is the trail head for Donner Pass Trail. With roughly 2 hours left, I though...."Ah, why not.".....and started down Donner Pass Trail in hopes of warming up my internal engine.
I was rewarded with delightful singletrack. This trails rolls south for many miles. Today, I only hit about 5 miles of it. I was too dang cold to go any further. I continued on a loop that got me back to the vehicle and I bagged the ride at 4.5 hours. I was soooo cold in my extremities. Now was the time I wished my Ergon pack was filled with warm black coffee instead of cold Cytomax.
Pretty good profile today with about 5,400 ft of climbing practice. Legs also felt better today rather than yesterdays road ride up to RMNP. After today, I think I need to purchase some waterproof gloves and some magic socks that will not soak up water. I cannot wait to get back up here on a clear dry day and throw down a good hard effort. There are a bunch of cold and wet photos here from todays effort.