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| The ride up to Ebbetts Pass |
I began to notice patches of fresh snow in the shadows alongside the road, evidence that yesterday's rain in the valley had produced snow at higher elevations. Highway 4 descends a bit to Hermit Valley, and there are a couple of small lakes on the south side of 4 that are probably fed by the Mokelumne River.
As Highway 4 climbed out of Hermit Valley to the 8000 foot Pacific Grade summit it became dirtier, with patches of mud and pine needles, which caused me to take a bit of extra caution. The road began its descent towards Bear Valley, but before it widened I encountered the unusual sight of a semi-trailer coming at me. There was no way the rig would be able to negotiate the sharp turns near the passes, so I assumed that it was going to pick up horses at a camp near Lake Alpine. In fact there were two other semis heading up and I passed one on the way down.
The temperature rose to a pleasant 70 at Bear Valley and gradually got up to 75 through Big Trees and I finally stopped in Angels Camp at Highway 49 for lunch. I had a turkey and avacado sandwich and coffee at a small cafe on 49, and I'll have to remember the place - the food and coffee were good. I also had a conversation with a couple from San Diego on a BMW GS who had been riding around in northern California. They were spending the night in Bridgeport before heading for home tomorrow. West of Angels Camp there's a 12 mile stretch of hills and curves before the road flattens after Copperopolis. From there it's a pleasant if unexciting ride to Stockton, the grassy hills golden in the Autumn light. After an unplanned half hour tour of Stockton (I missed the turnoff for the Highway 4 bypass - I think that you have to get on 99 north for one exit) I reconnected with 4, which I followed to I-5, then I-205 to Tracy, then I-580 to Castro Valley, the San Mateo Bridge to 101 and home, arriving a little after 5:30. Traffic was slow at various places in my direction (it was Friday evening rush hour after all) but it looked like 580 was a solid backup in the eastbound direction all the way from Livermore to Tracy.
The Suzuki once again proved to be an excellent long distance hauler, averaging 54-58 mpg over the 4300 miles of the trip with zero problems. My friend, Geo, called this trip the hajj to nowhere, and maybe he is right, but sometimes those are the best kind.
As Highway 4 climbed out of Hermit Valley to the 8000 foot Pacific Grade summit it became dirtier, with patches of mud and pine needles, which caused me to take a bit of extra caution. The road began its descent towards Bear Valley, but before it widened I encountered the unusual sight of a semi-trailer coming at me. There was no way the rig would be able to negotiate the sharp turns near the passes, so I assumed that it was going to pick up horses at a camp near Lake Alpine. In fact there were two other semis heading up and I passed one on the way down.
The temperature rose to a pleasant 70 at Bear Valley and gradually got up to 75 through Big Trees and I finally stopped in Angels Camp at Highway 49 for lunch. I had a turkey and avacado sandwich and coffee at a small cafe on 49, and I'll have to remember the place - the food and coffee were good. I also had a conversation with a couple from San Diego on a BMW GS who had been riding around in northern California. They were spending the night in Bridgeport before heading for home tomorrow. West of Angels Camp there's a 12 mile stretch of hills and curves before the road flattens after Copperopolis. From there it's a pleasant if unexciting ride to Stockton, the grassy hills golden in the Autumn light. After an unplanned half hour tour of Stockton (I missed the turnoff for the Highway 4 bypass - I think that you have to get on 99 north for one exit) I reconnected with 4, which I followed to I-5, then I-205 to Tracy, then I-580 to Castro Valley, the San Mateo Bridge to 101 and home, arriving a little after 5:30. Traffic was slow at various places in my direction (it was Friday evening rush hour after all) but it looked like 580 was a solid backup in the eastbound direction all the way from Livermore to Tracy.
The Suzuki once again proved to be an excellent long distance hauler, averaging 54-58 mpg over the 4300 miles of the trip with zero problems. My friend, Geo, called this trip the hajj to nowhere, and maybe he is right, but sometimes those are the best kind.
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| Home after 11 days and 4300 miles. |
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