6/6/2003 7:00 AM
Kirkwood, CA
Wow. Six days later, here we are at 7800 feet elevation high in the high sierras looking out at a crystal blue morning sky. The sky feels so close here. Yesterday afternoon, the afternoon clouds were building is huge twisting pure white cauliflower bulbs that were swelling and expanding just above the sheer red-brown cliffs that surround Kirkwood valley.

Day 6: Volcano to Kirkwood
47 miles, 6000 ft
This is one long climb. About 6000 feet total elevation gain. So we started early (7:00) and managed to climb ahead of the heat all day. We had an early lunch at a gross biker bar where the proprietor was drinking whisky up at 10:30 AM. Fortunately we didn’t get sick or catch anything.

Riding up highway 88 was much better than we thought it would be. Not too steep and not too much traffic. And once you pull out of the trees at around 6000 ft, the views are amazing.

That night we stayed at our friends home in Kirkwood. We stopped at a grocery on the way up the hill so we were able to have a nice home cooked meal too. It was mighty nice of them to offer their place to us for the night.