Sunrise in Kings Canyon
After a night under the stars, I woke to the sun rising over the mountains. Because I didn’t have much water left — only about two liters of water and half a liter of Gatorade — I had a small breakfast. I decided I’d eat and drink at the same time while riding. Food was not an issue but water was.
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The roads in Utah continued to be flat and straight
My ride started with a mile or two short downhill followed by eleven miles of uphill against a headwind. I knew from looking at an elevation profile there was an uphill and afterwards it would be mostly flat to Delta. It was not fun doing the uphill and not drinking especially as the sun got higher. As soon as I got over the uphill and started down into the basin, I felt better about my water situation. However the shimmering salt flats, desiccated animal carcasses, and circling vultures suggested otherwise. I figured worst case I’d try to stop a car to see if they had water. This section of Route 50 was more lonely than the potion in Nevada. I’d only see a few cars an hour. During my ten mile breaks I’d sip the Gatorade. I really wanted to chug it but wanted to make sure my drinks would last. With ten miles to Hinckley I decided to chug it, and it tasted good. Then arriving at the gas station at the edge of Hinckley, I bought three bottles of Gatorade, and drank two of them right there.
This was the first day that I could not use my GoPro because all the batteries were dead. Unfortunate. The scenery was similar to the scenery in Nevada but different. The mountains of Utah look different. More rock with cliffs. There was also the salt flats that filled most of the basin. The road was straight for miles on end. The miles ticked off slowly until I neared Hinkley. Then farms started. The addition of farms and side roads as scale was welcome. They made things seem to go by faster. The green if the corn fields was another welcome change. The farming towns of Hinckley and Delta seemed better off than the mining towns of Nevada.
I checked into a motel for the comfort of a bed, and found a pizza place to avoid another burger.
The Wasatch mountains off towards Salt Lake City
Start: East end of King’s Canyon, Route 50
End: Delta, UT
Today’s mileage: 62.3 miles
Total miles so far: 871 miles
Average speed: 11.8 mph
Max speed: 31.7 mph
Travel time: (07:30 to 13:45) 6.25 hours
Total travel time: 117 hours
Weather: sunny, clear, 45-75 F
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