self portrait
I may be going to hell in a bucket; but at least I am harvesting the ride.
Showing posts with label Frozen Head. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frozen Head. Show all posts
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Frozen Head
With several great rides under my belt in recent weeks, my tolerance for cold temperatures is at a high level, and I am now equipped with new winter riding boots.
Last weekend I had made the trip south for the first Snake Creek Gap time trial, and was caught off-guard by the 18 degree starting temp, so I opted for the 17-mile version of this race. The shorter route worked great, I finished strong, although with frozen feet. But in the end I had plenty left over for hanging around the camp fire.
I came up short rounding up the troops for a ride up Frozen Head, but I had always wanted to check out this route and my dog is always ready to go. So we packed up on a bluebird day and powered through the deep snow; seven miles to the top. There was snow all over the mountain, but the top was covered like a winter wonderland. I made it to the top freezing and sweating at the same time. Hank, the dog, looked like a snow ball and had icicles hanging off his chin and undercarriage. We rolled along the top of the mountain looking for the fire tower, and everything was blanketed in white. I had been over an hour since I last saw a sign, and longer since the last mention of the fire tower. It could have been easy to get turned around, except I could follow my tracks back out. But I kept on, and eventually started a long descent, which I was sure would have taken me deeper into nowhere (not a bad place to be, but the temperature was brutal and the deep snow made for slow going.) I made the call to turnaround. It was hard to do, but I thought I could have easily missed a turn.
The seven mile descent off the mountain was a blast. Like one long ski run.
When I reached the bottom and looked again at the map, I realized I had turned around just a quarter mile from the tower. I guess I have to go back.
Last weekend I had made the trip south for the first Snake Creek Gap time trial, and was caught off-guard by the 18 degree starting temp, so I opted for the 17-mile version of this race. The shorter route worked great, I finished strong, although with frozen feet. But in the end I had plenty left over for hanging around the camp fire.
I came up short rounding up the troops for a ride up Frozen Head, but I had always wanted to check out this route and my dog is always ready to go. So we packed up on a bluebird day and powered through the deep snow; seven miles to the top. There was snow all over the mountain, but the top was covered like a winter wonderland. I made it to the top freezing and sweating at the same time. Hank, the dog, looked like a snow ball and had icicles hanging off his chin and undercarriage. We rolled along the top of the mountain looking for the fire tower, and everything was blanketed in white. I had been over an hour since I last saw a sign, and longer since the last mention of the fire tower. It could have been easy to get turned around, except I could follow my tracks back out. But I kept on, and eventually started a long descent, which I was sure would have taken me deeper into nowhere (not a bad place to be, but the temperature was brutal and the deep snow made for slow going.) I made the call to turnaround. It was hard to do, but I thought I could have easily missed a turn.
The seven mile descent off the mountain was a blast. Like one long ski run.
When I reached the bottom and looked again at the map, I realized I had turned around just a quarter mile from the tower. I guess I have to go back.
Monday, August 24, 2009
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