Day 81: Sequoia National Monument to Lake Isabella

September 11, 2014
Aspen Creek Campground to Lake Isabella
71 miles

Aspen Creek Campground to Paradise Cove Campground, Lake Isabella

For how often I look at the map of my route, it is shameful that I get lost at all. I made another wrong turn and it took me around Lake Isabella the long way. Things worked out though, because I found a free campground.

But first, I finished exploring the Sequoia Forest. My first stop was at Dome Rock. While I was up here, I could hear some fighter jets doing their sonic boom. Otherwise it was a very quiet, meditative place to be.



Next I walked a part of the Trail of 100 Giants. It had many weird turns and I neglected to grab a tour guide map thing, so I only saw a little bit. Contrary to what two people in a restaurant told me, Sequoia National Park is better. This doens't surprise me since neitehr of the women had actually been to the national park, and you would expect them to put the best sequoia groves in the national park.

What the roots of a sequoia look like.



Glad I wasn't standing underneath when this happened:



What do you do with a fallen Sequoia? Play!



I left the forests to return to the unforgiving desert heat.



The ride wasn't too bad because I was able to cool off every 20 minutes in the river that ran alongside the road. I would dunk my shirt and 10 minutes later it would be almost completely dry.



I saw this.



This belongs in an art show for capturing the essence of a nasty latrine, and the inadequacy of signage in getting people to take basic care of things they share. The sign says "Close lid and door when leaving. Help keep our toilet clean."



California doesn't actually have lakes, but they do have reservoirs that they call lakes. And then they take the water to grow grapes, and in the end they both shrivel up. The grape turns into a raisin. The lake just goes away.



I added well over 11 miles  to my trip by going the wrong way around the lake. If I had realized my mistake earlier I could have biked across the dry lake bed. It reminded me of "Holes."

Tomorrow I will be using the last section of my ACA map! About 500 miles to the border!