Day 21: Ely to Sacramento Pass, NV (September 19)

Sunset from Sacramento Pass

Getting a very late start (09:00) from Ely the road was all uphill to Connor’s Pass. It was not steep but just constant. I thought it was just my usual morning slowness but after an hour and a half of not getting into a speedier groove I realized it was because it was all uphill.

The scenery was more of the same basin-range with sage brush. It was still dramatic and beautiful.

Major's Place

After Connors Pass, I went to Major’s Place in Major’s Junction for lunch. It serves a small amount of food — probably all frozen-prepared but I enjoyed the chicken tenders and my Dr. Pepper. It was starting to heat up and I decided to camp out at Sacramento Pass, I took a long hour and a half lunch. Being a bar in the middle of nowhere, it seems to have a bit of a mystique. A biker rode up on his Harley. He was from North Carolina and said the last time he’d been there was 1976 but was taking a long trip around the USA and decided to stop by again. Another biker couple rode in. They’d last been a few years earlier and several times before that.

The ride down into Spring Valley from Majors Junction was one of those long straight runs that you wonder when you’ll get to the other side. It always seems about the same distance until you are there.

The slow but steady grade up to Sacramento Pass started to wear me down. It was getting hotter as the day went not cooler. I checked my little key chain thermometer; it said over 90 F. The heat was sapping my energy. After an interesting business making antler products with a massive gate formed from antlers, I pulled off the road, under a tree and took a forty minute nap before continuing up and over.

Sacramento Pass

I pulled into the Sacramento Pass Recreation Area rest stop (camp ground) for the night.

Start: Ely, NV
End: Sacramento Pass Recreation Area
Today’s mileage: 52 miles
Total miles so far: 722 miles
Average speed: 10.8 mph
Max speed: 36.3 mph
Travel time: (09:00 to 16:45) 7.75 hours
Total travel time: 99.25 hours
Weather: sunny, 45-90 F, mostly clear, light winds

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