Stagecoach 400 (192) - Team Loco ed. Part 2

 The Stagecoach 400 is one the long standing premier bikepacking race routes. Five years ago, Team Loco, Shannon & myself, set out to tour the route a week before the race. Everything was going to plan until camp on night 3. Short story: we bailed from the route and had been wanting to finish what we started ever since. I highly suggest reading that installment before going further with this one as it sets the tone: Stagecoach 213 Team Loco Ed. Yes, you should read the first part :) (NOTE: All text in purple is contributed by Shannon!!)

Our route going south to north. Easy, there's only two climbs!! :)

Fast forward to late 2021 and the topic of completing the route came up again. The difference this time around was we actually put some dates on the calendar, you know, commit to it!! Since high temps were a major reason for us bailing in 2017 we opted for the second weekend in February. Should be perfect...we thought.

Okay, so it's been FIVE YEARS (and it feels like 10 in a good way) since we left the route back in 2017. I hadn't done any multi-day bikepacking trips since then, just overnight trips. I'd gotten into endurance trail running, and was a little nervous about being able to find those 'gears' for big days in a row on the bike again. My amazing husband, and coach, said "You'll be fine, you've already got the endurance, you just need to start doing long rides again." So I started doing big days for a couple months leading up to this. That doesn't sound like much, right? BUT, the body is amazing, it remembers what it used to do - and he was right. I also had a new bike, that I had never loaded up, and I wouldn't have much time to test how things were going to fit/pack. Scott Morris said to me, "Bikepacking is like riding a bike." I guess I'll be fine. Being a little scared for a big effort is a good thing. ;)  

Our next hurdle were the logistics of the ride. The Stagecoach 400 is a loop that starts & ends in Idyllwild, CA, but we needed to start down near the southern end of the loop just east of El Cajon. Hmmm. I reached out to the current race director, Meg Knobel, about our plans and asked if she was free to join us for a portion of the ride. She thought she could and also found a friend who was able to let us park near the start. We were still holding out hope of not needing to drive two vehicles over to SoCal, but we'd need a shuttle either from the start or at the end of the ride. Enter my buddy, Evan. We've done many cool outings over the years, but he wasn't sure if he'd be in town that weekend. As luck would have it, he arranged for some trail work up near Idyllwild the day we were arriving and could take us down to the Days Inn we booked in El Cajon. Excellent!! Now, we could simply carpool and meeting at the Binary Bicycles HQ in Casa Grande made perfect sense for Shannon and I. We then arranged to leave my car in Idyllwild at the community center. (you have to contact them via email and leave a small donation for this) It was all coming together. Stoke was high!!

In the final days leading up to departure, I made some cue sheets for us and checked on the forecast. Ahh, it appears word got out that Team Loco was heading west as the pleasant 60's & 70's we had been seeing for Borrego Springs were now being replaced with the words 'heat wave'. Greeaat. mid-80's to low 90's were now in our future. What were the odds. Don't answer that. We would not be denied and figured our schedule may have us in the hotter part of the route late in the day and early morning. Perhaps we'd catch a break.

Quick reference cues. Mileage on left is how far to that cue.

The cues overlaid on the elevation profile.

We had set some goals for camp locations each night. The first day would be shorter in distance since it was mostly uphill, so we targeted Granite Springs CG - a primitive spot but it had pit toilets & water. Day 2 we thought we could cover some ground with all that downhill and aimed for the area around the Diablo Drop & Fish Creek CG. The final night would hopefully help split the final climb to Idyllwild so Bailey's Cabin was the goal. Would we reach our goals? Let's find out.

Pro-tip #1 (this may be the only one) top off gas in AZ before crossing into CA, but who knew the AZT was here?? Hmmmm. Good thing we went in Feb - we thought gas was expensive then! 

My setup: Binary Bicycles SSP Ti 29er. Cowboy camping each night out.

My new Juliana Wilder (Santa Cruz Blur) - traveling light, but with full camp comfort goods (down quilt, inflatable pad, pillow and fresh clothes and socks). 

Piles of crusted snow greeted us in Idyllwild.

Spreading out the junk show making sure we don't forget anything while we wait for Evan. Hey, it's expensive to look this homeless!

Evan greeted us shortly thereafter and we began our trek south, grabbing some Thai food along the way. The scene at the El Cajon Days Inn was interesting. While we checked in, Evan tried to help a drunk guy to his feet as he was so out of it he was sprawled in the parking lot. Sure hope that fella didn't drive there. Yikes.

We ended up getting a great night of sleep in spite of the anticipation of the ride. The Days Inn actually had a decent continental breakfast. Perhaps that's why it rated fairly high for a budget hotel.

Rolling out of the urban jungle. We had about 5 miles of city-ish riding before linking to the official Stagecoach 400 route, then a few more miles until we hoped to spot the location we last left the route.

Most of the early miles had a bike lane or good shoulder which was nice since it was rush hour on a Thursday. You can't tell from the photo above, but this is where the ALL DAY LONG climbing started - and the crazy winds.

Descending into the Dehesa Valley, we'd join the official route at the bottom.

Hmmm, perhaps had we seen these signs last time while riding through in the dark, we wouldn't have tried to camp where we did. Oops. 

Sloane Canyon and the first dirt.

Hahaha!! There it is, the spot we were busted by the rez police in 2017.

Into the unknown and isn't it splendid??

I hadn't noticed the roadside holes filled with all sorts of animals until Shannon pointed it out.

Cubbyhole alley.

Photo by Shannon.

We'd hopscotch along the California Riding & Hiking Trail, CRHT, all weekend.

The climbing really gets going as we spot a large swath of slickrock below.

Just as we were gawking at our surroundings, we heard some loud barking below. The original cue sheet mentioned chasing dogs and true to form here they came. I could see them far below, but dang, they zoomed up the steep hillside hellbent on reaching us. The first dog to pop up on the road was a rather large pitbull, couldn't tell what the other dog was, but it too was huge and loud!! They kept pace with us for a good while (it was pretty impressive, with the grade!), but never lurched or really got uncomfortably close. We kept our calm and simply talked to them. We rounded a corner where an old rusted out car frame sat by the roadside and that must be the end of their terrain. The chase ceased and we could relax once again.

A much quieter pace now.

Photo by Shannon. Not to worry, John isn't actually about the careen off the cliff.

I made it over a few ruts before stalling out. Photo by Shannon. I didn't even attempt this, I immediately got off to make sure I got the photo - I mean, uh, save my legs ;)

Ahh, there it is. The first hike-a-bike of the ride. Didn't take long and we were glad the dogs had retreated before this area.

My turn sucking wind. Photo by Shannon.    

Topping out in a residential area, lots of wildflowers!!

Cool view from the mini summit before descending towards Alpine.

Loveland Reservoir looking a bit low.

Our first checkpoint of sorts: Alpine. A quick convenience store stop to grab chocolate milk with a second breakfast was in order. 

We stopped at a gas station for some goodies, and the lady behind the counter was seriously worried about us:

lady: "ARE YOU RIDING YOUR BIKE IN THAT WIND?! BE CAREFUL" 

me: "Yes, but it's not too bad."

lady: "Are you going all the way to the top?!"

me: thinking... how do I answer this, the top of what? I say "We are riding into the hills, we will be on dirt, away from traffic."

lady: "Well, BE CAREFUL!" 

Crossing over to the north side of I-8.

Easy pedaling as we enter the Viejas Valley.

Long steady climb up the Viejas Grade.

Sprawling views to our right showcasing where we've been. Legs were registering orange at this point...

We were about 3/4 the way up the grade when I spotted Meg riding down towards us!! So glad she could make it out to ride some miles with us. She noted we were nearing the top where there was a roadside water spigot.

Talk about convenience!! Yes, the water spigot at the top of the climb was amazing! But bad news... the batteries in my GPS were dead. (because apparently BOTH SETS of my lithium AA batteries were not new *facepalm*).

The girls take off on a fast descent towards our lunch destination.

We arrived in Descanso around 2p for lunch at Veronica's Kitchen.

My SPOT tracker was pinging a low battery warning, so I grabbed a pack of batteries. I typically use ultimate lithiums, but they only had regular alkali batteries. I was curious to note how long they would last. I also picked up a 4-pack of regular AA batteries here for my GPS. Popped two in, and wondered how long they would last, over lithium, which I'd only ever used. Commence battery test mode!!

The menu at Veronica's Kitchen had a wide selection and I couldn't decide what to get. I did see their Monday special was a shrimp & bacon burrito...but it was Thursday and I couldn't find it on the regular menu. I asked if I could still order one and was told I could, but not for the special price. Shrimp & bacon, who cares!! Serve it up!! It was one of the better burritos I've had in a long time and it was huge.

Photo by Shannon.

We had made good time to here with only 10 miles remaining until our camp.

Some quality hike-a-bike in Cuyamaca State Park. My legs were in the red by this point in the day.

Meg rode with us up SR79 and a bit more singletrack before she needed to head back. Thanks for coming out, providing some Stagecoach pro-tips and we'll see you in the AZ desert this fall!! Meg is super awesome! 

We began our final uphill miles to camp along the East Mesa Fire Rd. Looking back to the west we could see a shimmering Pacific Ocean. Every day (all 4 days) we could see the ocean from some point up in the mountains, it was so cool!

The last bit of 2-track before reaching Granite Springs CG.

Photo by Shannon.

This part of the day and route was absolutely stunning. The trail pictured here was not part of the route, but we went right past it, and it looked so dreamy!

We rolled into a primitive camping area, no one around. There were pit toilets and a water pump (needs to be filtered). We found a giant tree, was more like four trees in one, to camp by. It was 4:30p. We weren't used to arriving to camp so early. Now what?

We set up camp, ate dinner, which comprised of a can of vienna sausages and handful of Cheese-its for me. I wasn't all that hungry after that huge burrito. Meanwhile, I had saved half of my burrito for this very moment, and it went down easy as I sat comfy on my sleeping gear. Nightfall seemed to come quick and I glanced at my phone to see what time it was. I asked Shannon to guess, she thought is was close to or after 7p. It was 6:04. We couldn't believe it. We chatted for a bit, then both relented calling lights out by 6:30!!

I slept fairly solid until after 11p, then dozed on/off until first light around 7a. Jeez, that was 12 hours in my sleeping bag!! I actually slept well too! I never do while bikepacking, but this may have been the first good night's sleep on the trail EVER! All night long the wind continued to blow, but we were protected by the huge canopy of this oak tree that reached all the way to the ground around us. Glorious.

Photo by Shannon.

Camp view in the morning. That tree was a monster!!

Really nice to have water available at camp.

We immediately switch to sweet singletrack leaving Granite Springs CG.

Switchbacks for breakfast while basking in the early morning sun.

Yeah, this didn't suck. Totally awesome.

Photo by Shannon. The trails up in this area (Mt. Laguna) are good.

 I had only ridden a few others in previous visits over the years, and this area was a treat as well.

What a way to start the day. Some climbing, some descending, but we knew we had one good climb coming before we could think about the long descent to the desert floor.

Photo by Shannon.

Transitioning out of the tall pines.

What a view!! Overlooking Rattlesnake Valley and the Lucky 5 Ranch (We'd soon be on the other side of this valley) while being able to see the snow covered San Gorgonio Mtn. near Big Bear Lake. PeakFinder app.

Photo by Shannon. Here we see John eating his second breakfast of bear claw, during the climb. He seemed to pull one out to eat each morning!

Granite Springs CG is over there somewhere.

Reunited with the tall trees on Pine Mtn. Rd.

We linked up with the Sunrise Hwy for a short climb.

The first of many Anza-Borrego Desert State Park signs we'd encounter.

We have to go way down there.

Meg told us about some great singletrack on route, the Lucky 5 trail. She also noted that some riders opt to stay on the Sunrise Hwy during the race. I'm going on record as saying that's weak. Take the trail!! Skipping it should be an instant DQ. The Stagecoach 400 is a mountain biking route, act like it. Plus, the singletrack is fantastic. /rant. The trail is amazeballs, it burns NO MATCHES, and there is NO reason to skip it! The views!

Looking back across Rattlesnake Valley. You can barely see Pine Mtn. Rd. on the far hillside.

Photo by Shannon.

A short climb brings you to the goods. Contouring trail through boulders.

Photo by Shannon.

Another fun section of trail.

It ended up being about 3 miles of fantastic singletrack before we crossed the Sunrise Hwy for good.

Pedro Fages Historical Monument. It also provided a back rest and shade for a snack break. Photo by Shannon.

The namesake: Pedro Fages Trail.

Crossing the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail or Perfect Cycling Trail - sadly bikes aren't permitted) AZT signs are better BTW.

The singletrack ended as we began a series of jeep roads. We met a couple of hikers who were very eager to hear about our adventure. They wished us luck and we were about to descend a notorious part of the route: Oriflamme Canyon. We heard it was steep and rocky and really had no clue on its rideability. It's rocky you say? Questionable looks? Excellent, just the way we like it - like back home!

The upper reaches of Oriflamme were tame and surrounded by lush green hillsides.

Yep, we're going way down there and beyond.

Cruising.

Morphing into desert as the rode gets a bit spicy.

Photo by Shannon.

Photo by Shannon. This drop looked kinda scary from a distance, but it wasn't bad at all! We had a lot of fun on this seemingly endless descent.

The road cut itself was rather impressive.

This was the steepest bit on the entire downhill.

Shannon making it look easy.

The lower portion of the descent had a lot of loose larger rocks, but was a fun ride down the chunk. We had a blast and noted the spike in temperature. It was now easily in the mid-80's.

Photo by Shannon. Hey look, we are in the desert now!

We pulled over for this caravan of Jeeps, but were glad we met them down here and not a few miles back on the steeper sections of the canyon.

We were now on a long, gentle jeep road descent.

Yep, we're now in the desert.

The sand flats and big views of Mason Valley.

Oriflamme Canyon: Check.

We'd now begin a paved section of the route along the Old Overland Stage Route, presumably what gives the Stagecoach 400 its name?

There were a few homesites along the way, big country out here.

The grade was slightly downhill, the miles were fast and not much traffic which was nice.

Our cue sheet indicated a few places along this bit to get water, but we didn't need any and were targeting Agua Caliente as our next stop.

Hard to image traveling by these means through here.

Seemed like an incredibly random location for a county park.

We both remembered to stand while riding as much as possible. No time for saddle issues!!

This must be our turn.

A bit of history here about the overland stage route.

Agua Caliente general store. Ring the fire hydrant looking bell for service!! I was about to hit it when the owner opened the door.

The selections inside were a bit limited, but we simply wanted a cold drink and something for dinner. The fella running the place asked if we were going to visit the hot springs up the road as it was only $3 for a day pass. While that sounded nice, it was a bit warm/hot outside and sitting in a hot spring didn't really sound super appealing. We were on the hunt for water and thought we may find a spigot/fountain at the park. So we rode the half mile or so up the road to check it out.

Shannon spotted the water fountain in this nice rest area next to the pay station at the park. Win!!

We were able to top off all our water and soak ourselves a bit, even if we'd be dry in the next 5 minutes. It sure did feel nice. There was a trash can and recycle bin nearby too, a bikepackers dream: water, trash, shade and a store all within minutes!! We were so glad we took the extra few minutes to ride up the road.

It seemed the limited traffic we had been seeing was all coming here!!

Photo by Shannon.

We made our way back to the Agua Caliente store in search for dinner. I spotted a spicy Korean ramen bowl. That's going to have to do. Everything on the container was in Korean so I wasn't sure how spicy it was or if I could add the spiciness myself. Only one way to find out. Shannon spotted some canned chicken salad and crackers which we both opted for. With our snacks on the bike, we were good to go as we had a couple of resupply options the next day. Back in to the afternoon sun we went.

Not a lot of shade in these parts.

Making our way down the open road.

This marked our turn off the pavement.

What does the cue sheet say? SAND!!

The cue sheet was spot on.

At least is was rideable and slightly downhill as it followed Vallecito Creek. (Imagine the sand was water.)

A SUV approached and slowed down as it neared. The driver lowered his window and asked if we needed any water. Like a good bikepacker, I told him we had plenty, but if they had any extra cold water we'd take some. The couple was eager to assist and began rummaging through their coolers. We were each handed a cold bottle of water then asked if we wanted tangelos? Duh, of course!! Then a can of lime Perrier was tossed at me. Fantastic!! They drove off happy to have brightened our day. Shannon and I laughed about it for a while. Trail magic in the desert is a wonderful thing.

It's like a sand freeway!!

We made our next turn towards the Carrizo Badlands up Arroyo Tapiado. Word had it that there were mud caves to explore. Both Meg and Evan had suggested we look for a camping location in the area. It was still plenty light out so we wanted to knock out a few more miles, perhaps getting close to the noted Diablo Drop. SO, about said Mud Caves... back in high school (I grew up in San Diego county), one of my teachers invited a friend and I to tag along with a group to "The Mud Caves". I had no idea where or what they were, but it sounded like a great adventure. We all piled into 4WD vehicles and went way out into the desert backcountry. The caves turned out to be literally made of ancient dried mud, and were crawl space only! We did several different caves that day and the last cave only three of us could fit in, literally by twisting and turning in the space on your belly. That afternoon when we tried to leave (miles of off-road driving), one of the vehicles got stuck in the sand. My friend and I tried hiking back to an intersection of two washes to wait and hopefully flag down another vehicle, but none came and it got dark. There were no cell phones back then. Long story short, we did get out, I got home, and my mom was MAD. She had been worried when we didn't come home, and rightfully so! It was so cool to end up coming back out here, 25 years later, and seeing where I had been.

Entering the Badlands.

Information about the area's caves.

Photo by Shannon.

Photo by Shannon.

Lots of side canyons off the main route.

Photo by Shannon.

Photo by Shannon.

Photo by Shannon.

Photo by Shannon.

Massive cliff band.

This was a really cool area to ride through and perfect time of day as most of our badland riding was shaded as the temperatures cooled off.

We initially missed the turn to get up & out of the canyon, but figured it out quickly.

Setting sun means we need to find a place to make camp. Thank goodness - my saddles sores were screaming!

Photo by Shannon.

Photo by Shannon.

We were now on a slight downhill slope on West Mesa and the riding pace picked up from earlier in the badlands. We found a nice flat island of land between two sandy roads that looked perfect for the night. We were both cowboy camping so it didn't take long to get things set up for the night. Now where's that spicy ramen? I devoured my chicken salad & crackers while I boiled water. Luckily, the ramen had separate packets for spice, heat and flavoring. Perfect. I went with only the flavoring and it was delicious, there was plenty to share too. 

Once again the almost full moon was incredibly bright, so not great stargazing which was a bit of a bummer.

We were now over the halfway point, tallying 55 miles on the day. Tomorrow would be another big day with a stop in Borrego Springs.

Late night shot from my sleeping bag. We thought the glow on the horizon was from El Centro? The red lights on the right from a series of windmills along I-8.

Same shot as above at sunrise.

Neither one of us slept much, but apparently I was fast asleep while Shannon fended off a curious fox who wandered into camp!! She kept trying to shoo it away, but it would not be denied. She told me it came over by me to inspect my stuff, but didn't find it interesting. She must've dozed off at some point because while we were packing our stuff up for the day she realized the fox scampered off with her dinner trash!! Mine was still next to my sleeping area, probably too close for comfort for the fox to nab it. The fox encounter was hilarious! I knew I shouldn't be leaving my trash outside for the night, but I was too lazy to pack it, and it was so close to me - what could go wrong? I was awakened at some point by a scratching noise. I thought it was rodents and grabbed my light to scare them away. I sat up, and aimed the light toward the noise. The cutest little face and head popped up from behind my bike, just as a cat would! A grey fox! Adorable. "What are you doing!?" I whispered at it. It was trying to dig into my trash bag, smelling the empty can of chicken salad. It kept coming back, and silently scampering around. I gave up trying to watch and fell asleep. As John said, the next morning, the trash was gone! The fox had carried it back to it's den. I felt bad! Poor fox and family! John joked saying it would be a good Farside cartoon... imagine the scene: the fox returns to the den with the prized trash "Look what I found!" and the other fox looks at the trash and says, "You brought BIKEPACKER trash? IDOT, THERE WILL BE NOTHING LEFT!" I've got to draw this :) 

A few sun salutations before breaking camp.

Super bloom!! Ok, maybe not, but there were a few flowers popping.

Our sand travels continued to the next cue, the Diablo Drop. We were both curious to see what it was.

Here it is! The Diablo Drop is an abrupt pitch off Middle Mesa into the Fish Creek Wash drainage below.

Vallecito Mtns. form a dramatic background.

Shannon making quick, smooth work of the Diablo Drop. Me?? Well...

The drop itself wasn't overly steep, but it did have a few deep rollers (they could swallow a whole bike!) to contend with. I figured I'd simply follow Shannon's track since she made it look so effortless. I rolled in, dipping through the first undulation, then the second - which was noticeably steeper, the third bottomed out my suspension and I could feel my weight going beyond the tipping point in slow motion. Man down!!! It was a comical wipeout, thankfully into soft sand. Body check: Good. Bike check: Good. Only halfway knocked my Garmin off its mount. May that be our only crash of the entire ride.

Photo by Shannon.

Photo by Shannon.

Photo by Shannon.

Fish Creek Wash was a single lane canyon for a while.

Photo by Shannon.

We were cruising down the canyon for a while, when another mountain biker approached. He was a local fella rocking an older 26er and said he'd been riding this area since the mid-90's. I bet he knows every nook & cranny out here. We found his vehicle about a mile farther down the wash at an open area deemed a trailhead.

Cool looking striations on the canyon walls.

We started to see a few other folks out camping, enjoying the wide open desert views.

A second mountain biker approached, this one had some bikepacking gear!! As he rolled up he asked Shannon if she knew a couple of his friends as she looked familiar to him. In the end, she didn't, but I was hoping this random rider would've known her from somewhere as she's witnessed a few odd encounters of mine on rides. He had camped farther down the wash in some personal favorite place and told us of the upcoming area's splendor. We were excited to check it out after he pedaled on.

We both were in awe of what we found.

Roadside BBQ??

Photo by Shannon.

Pretty much says it all. It was absolutely incredible in there!

Fascinating shapes on a grand scale.

Photo by Shannon.

Fish Creek Wash cutting through Split Mountain.

This whole area would be fun to explore over an entire weekend.

Photo by Shannon.

The canyon opened and the vehicles appeared.

It was now Saturday morning and the flocks of people were arriving. We could see a bunch of cars parked at the primitive Fish Creek Campground and we were so glad we didn't stick to my original plan of camping there. Seemed we timed our ride through Fish Creek Wash perfectly.

The sand continued and the temperatures were on the rise. We figured we still had almost 10 more miles of sand before our next resupply in Ocotillo Wells. Imagine our surprise...

Pavement!! Barely one mile beyond the primitive campground and it was slightly downhill. Win!!

Man that pavement felt good! The washboard sand riding from the day before was making sitting very tender!

Another Anza-Borrego sign!!

That's quite the yard collection.

Alrighty then.

Shade!! And a frozen Snickers bar!! We took a nice relaxing break at the Split Mtn. store in Ocotillo Wells.

Across the way, the Iron Door Bar wasn't open yet.

Found this contraption while taking a break.

This was the hottest part of the entire ride.

We left Ocotillo Wells around 11a and thought we could make Borrego Springs around 1p. The heat was now bearing down on us with no place to hide. I could feel it radiating from the asphalt on the gradual climb. Naturally, my front rotor decided it would be a good time to start making an irritating noise, so as Shannon rode on I adjusted my calipers. Took a couple tries and a slight massaging of the rotor itself, but it eventually was quiet. This was the low point of the trip for me. The saddle sores were really howling, the heat was cooking my body, we were climbing a really boring, hot highway, and I was really tired. I started to wonder if I even really enjoyed bikepacking anymore. Seeing the highway sign in the above photo made me fantasize about just riding to Julian (a favorite place of mine growing up), getting some famous pie and ice cream and never coming back to this forsaken desert. It had been a long time since I had done something this physically demanding and I started to wonder why I was doing it. I missed my husband, I wanted to go home, I'd had enough. I cried a bit. That's the thing about these kinds of experiences though - these kind of thoughts are not uncommon, and should pretty much be expected to show up, if you spend enough time out. More on this later! Meanwhile, I had no idea of Shannon's struggles, as I was almost a mile behind tinkering with my rotor. She's a real trooper and 100% correct, there's almost always a point in these rides where you have to quell the mental demons.

The East Butte of Borrego Mountain seemed to be a very popular OHV area.

It's called the Blow Sand area for a reason!! Look closely for the dune buggies.

At least we had a decent shoulder to ride on.

Hey look!! Another Anza-Borrego Desert sign!!

11 miles to lunch!! FINALLY!

Shannon climbing out of the Texas Dip. At this point I was telling myself this hill was just like one of the climbs on Marsh Station Rd, heading towards the AZT in Vail. "It's fine, almost there, no big deal, just looks long!"

For the most part, after we made the turn towards Borrego Springs, the road slightly slanted downward. Miles per hour kicked up and I didn't feel like I was slow roasting any longer. It felt like it was in the mid-80's. Coming from the Valley of the Sun, mid-80's are usually nice, downright chilly...in October. But in early February with no acclimation, they felt like upper 90's. Amazing the difference a season makes.

Outskirts of town.

We started seeing these giant metal sculptures, mostly of animals, some real, some fictional.

There were pullouts off the main drag for tourists to check them out. We kept pedaling as burritos were calling.

Montezuma Valley Rd. cuts a swath down the upcoming mountain range.

We made it!! Right at 1p too.

Meg recommended Los Jilberto's Taco Shop while in town. It was the right call and it was nice enough outside in the shade to kick back and relax a bit before starting the long climb out of the desert.

Photo by Shannon. Taco for lunch, burro for dinner, and Jamaica with ice on the bike in a bottle! YES!

More sculptures as we left town on a few more miles of pavement.

A giant serpent lurks in the bushes.

Our road turned and we could see a giant metal Scorpion coming up, we had to go check out. Turns out there was a giant grasshopper too. There was another couple there taking pictures, it was too good an opportunity to pass up.

These things were massive!!

The sculptures of Galleta Meadows are part of the Under the Sun Foundation.

The detail was remarkable.

Check out the wings. Neat.

Hmmm, maybe we can ride the Scorpion to Idyllwild?? Anything to get this over with... except, I was really curious about this place coming up called "The Willows"

Photo by Shannon.

No juice from this winery. 

We rolled through a few miles of tree farms & orchards before our next encounter with sand.

Good thing they have a giant gate to keep intruders out!!

Saw a lot of these signs over our 4 days.

Our 33 miles of pavement came to an abrupt end at Coyote Canyon.

We were now going slightly uphill, in sand, over washboard in the heat. FUn.

Smiling or grimacing?? Those were all fake smiles, to pretend I wasn't hating this, and trying to hide my foul mood ;) During this time I was trying to work on my bad attitude. Be thankful to have the opportunity to be doing this! Be thankful for the ability to do it, and thankful for a friend to do it with! I thought about Bonnie Gagnon, and how I bet she would love to be able to be here right now. Bonnie, those painful miles were ridden in new positivity for you, because of your amazing attitude! I kept telling myself "You chose this!" HAHA! 

This is a harsh, unforgiving desert. Even the Ocotillo & Cholla look dead.

The road continued to be rideable and we were slowly gaining elevation.

 He says it so noncholantly... while they were ridable, it was SO SLOW! At one point we stopped in the only shade that a practically dead ocotillo was providing. I said "Can we agree that, THIS IS TOTAL GARBAGE?!" What's worse than climbing washboard sand for miles and miles, baking in the heat, in the desert? Don't ask!

Signs of life!! A blooming Ocotillo!!

Our second water crossing and hint of the upcoming Willows area.

 Omigosh, we're not gonna die!

Photo by Shannon.

We watched a pickup truck barely navigate across a tricky first water crossing. We found a much easier way through without getting our feet wet...for now.

The Willows were our next checkpoint on the cue card and we had seen the pictures, heard the stories. We were very curious and a bit excited to check it out for ourselves. We knew it wasn't far, but didn't know exactly and that was ok. 

Coming up from Ocotillo Flat, through this pass at Box Canyon where the fella in the Jeep and his son were playing on the rocks. He offered us some ice cold sodas, yes, please!! Thank you!!

Photo by Shannon. Yep, it never ended.

Photo by Shannon. What. the. heck. It keeps getting better!

We bypassed the Lower Willows of the Collins Valley here.

The sand continues as the shadows grow long.

I spotted this motorcylce plate lying face down in the sand. Score!! I have a side hobby of collecting license plates and would you believe I found a California motorcycle plate on our Stagecoach ride 5 years ago?? True story. Stuffed it in my backpack.

Remarkable late afternoon light. THE SUN IS GONE - WE'RE GONNA LIVE!

The Middle Willows was the place of lore, getting close now.

Golden Hour sets in.

This gate marked our entry into the Middle Willows. Let's see what all the fuss is about.

Coyote Creek running above ground here.

Initially the trail stayed up on the elevated bank and was good riding, practically singletrack!! We then came to a deadend and had to help each other scramble down an awkward ledge. Shannon climbed down first, then I handed the bikes down as she maneuvered around them trying to secure footing. Once the small landing area was clear, I made my way down. We're talking only a 4-5' drop, but not a lot of real estate to work with.

We both brought sandals along for this very section of the ride, but as we looked at it, we knew they'd be useless, probably wouldn't stay on our feet anyway. At this point the trail IS the water, so hop in and start walking. At first, it was a little tricky to follow, but the waterway cleared and we knew it was the way.

Photo by Shannon.

Putting the Loco in Team Loco. This was nothing, little did we know what we were in for.

Yeah, it was kinda like this the entire way.

At first it was fun, something different for sure and it cooled us off nicely.

A real smile, this was fun. Water, how novel!

Photo by Shannon.

George always asks me if these routes are marked as a joke, well, in this case it actually was!!

One of the more clear sections.

Daylight began to fade as did our patience. When the route was clear, it was fine, but much of it was overgrown. There were a ton of broken reeds poking and prodding you every step of the way. My goggles were fogging so I couldn't really see out of them, but I was hesitant to raise them and get poked in the eye!! I took one in the ear instead. Some bits required lifting the bike over a group of down reeds, it was incredibly slow going as night took hold. We broke out our lights for the last bit and cheered when we realized we had finally broke free of the tangle. That section was completely nuts. Like, beyond LOCO. I bet it would be different in daylight, but at night, it was downright ridiculous! 

Photo by Shannon.

Our goal was Bailey's Cabin and it was only a couple more miles. We can make it!! It actually felt normal to arrive at camp in the dark, maybe tonight we'll get some quality zzz's??

We spotted a light ahead and as we arrived at Bailey's Cabin we found out we were too late. A group of jeepers had already staked their claim and were hanging out by a campfire in the back. They invited us over, but we really didn't want to intrude or have company for that matter. I did go back to say hi and check out the cabin. It looked really cool and they had cots all setup for the evening. They were an older group and I knew we wouldn't have to ride far to get to some quiet desert space as they weren't at the cabin to party. I knew I didn't have to tell John I didn't want to hang out or camp with these guys, because we both knew as soon as we got off the bikes, it was time for bed - STAT! It had been a really long day in the heat for us!

Bailey's Cabin, strung with LEDs.

Our third day was complete when we found a nice flat spot only a few hundred yards up the road. Ha! We managed 59 miles on the day and gained almost 2,000' from the valley floor. It was a cool comfortable night and set us up for a 35 mile ride to the finish the next day. Though the mileage and climbing don't look like anything, this was actually our longest, most tiring day. So glad to get to camp (like every day)!

Packing up camp. In daylight we could actually see Bailey's Cabin we were so close!! Haha.

 It was super windy that night, and I couldn't sleep at all. So frustrating, but even without sleep, the body got rest from being horizontal and off the saddle!

Our tracks from the previous night, too funny. 'Hey, that looks open & flat.' 90º turn to camp.

Still following Coyote Creek, but it's underground. We're left with more sand.

More sand and climbs. Let's get this over with!

We held a vote: 0-2 for seeing a single fig tree.

We knew from afar that we'd have to traverse up that steep sidecut. Didn't even have to look at the track. This particular area: Turkey Track was the confluence of Tule, Nance & Horse Canyons.

Up we go. It was as advertised from below.

Rugged AF too. Photo by Shannon. I was glad to be off the saddle! Time to stretch those hike-a-bike legs!

The temps were creeping up a bit quicker than our elevation gain at this rate. The shade breaks were a welcome respite.

Topping out, the surrounding area was turning more green and a slight cooling in the air could be felt.

Our second crossing of the PCT.

Some trail magic left for the through hikers.

Shortly after the PCT crossing we heard some vehicles coming up from behind. It was the jeep group from Bailey's Cabin the night before. One of the vehicles was super cool looking and we happened to catch up to the group when they stopped at a gate.

I'm not a car/truck guy, so I have no idea what it is other than it has a Jeep logo on the front.

Super rad looking though and built for the rugged road we just came up.

Has a Hemet Jeep Club sticker on the rear window.

Arch cairn by a ranch as we return to civilization.

The Jeep crew passed us again on this climb and offered water, but we were only a few miles from our next resupply.

How the heck are we still on Coyote Canyon Rd.??

Shannon tops out on a grinder of a climb.

It became a running joke, it'll never end!! How is this possible?!?

It literally took almost a whole day to get out of Coyote Canyon! Never ending!

Mailbox row did finally put an end to Coyote Canyon Rd. Adios!!

We made it off the road!!! Now in Terwilliger Valley.

Just a little climb to the market. This bit of road overlapped our 2017 route.

The Sunshine Market was a welcome sign. One final resupply & water stop before Idyllwild. It was Shannon's turn for the Vienna sausages!! Haha.

Photo by Shannon. Yes, because Vienna Sausages are only eaten on bikepacking trips, and why not round out a proper meal with salty Fritos and a chocolate cake to get back up the mountain to Idyllwild?! The woman who owns the store knows the Stagecoach event well. She asked me if I wanted to take a shower, or use her non-public restroom. I said thank you, but I'm waiting until I get to Idyllwild later today, to take a shower and wash my salt and dirt-encrusted body. She said, "Isn't it hard for a lady?" referring to the Stagecoach Route. I said "Yes, but it's hard for anyone!"

Seemed a bit ominous.

Don't touch this marker!!

We could hear scores of dogs barking at a nearby German Shepard Kennel.

Ahh, back on the California Riding & Hiking Trail.

It didn't seem to get a lot of use through here.

We did ride a fair bit and some sections were primo.

Others, not so much. Photo by Shannon.

The trail slowly degraded and as we climbed we neared Hwy371.

We made the call to get off the trail and drag our bikes up the 20' to the paved road, skipping what looked like certain downhill & uphill hike-a-bike only to gain maybe 1/4 mile.

Evan joked about this place while driving us to the start, he said it was always closed. We didn't bother to check, but there were a couple of cars in the parking lot.

We made the turn on Hwy74 at the Paradise Valley Cafe and took note of the tall pines & cool temps. Nine miles of fast paved downhill greeted us. We were flyin'!!

Idyllwild is up there, still some climbing to do.

Lake Hemet, another resupply on route, but we didn't need it.

We stopped for a short calorie break and Shannon asked if I saw the bobcat a few miles back. What?!? No. She said it was just sitting there, looked like a tree stump as she rode by. I must've had my blinders on. I still have never seen one in the wild!! Soon, I can feel it. Soon.

It was a 2 mile slow grind up beyond Hurkey Creek, not much of a shoulder on the road either. We were both relieved to reach our dirt turnoff. My legs were absolutely, beyond cooked. They hurt so much by this point, hadn't felt that kind of pain in years! But, the end was close - I could taste it!

We came from the distant valley below.

It felt good to get off and walk for a bit.

Idyllwild is over the left shoulder of Tahquitz Peak. PeakFinder app.

Looking west towards the Pacific Ocean.

Need a spare?

Nearing the final climb in the San Bernardino Nat'l Forest.

Old burn scar makes for an interesting scene.

What a magnificent day!!

Barely two hours earlier we were at the far end of the open valley. Traveling by bike is so rad.

Almost to the summit!! Yeah!! Last climb!!!

What a great ride!! HECK YES!

How was Coyote Canyon and all the sand on route??

Let's coast to the finish.

Yesssss!!! Welcome to Idyllwild indeed.

Team Loco did it!!

Photo by Shannon.

We brought a stack of quarters for a nearby campground shower only to find out the token machine only accepted dollar bills. We had some of those. $2 got you 10 minutes under the hot water. Felt so good to instantly get clean. We grabbed some food in town and started the long haul home around 5p. It was sometime after 1a when I arrived home and a bit later for Shannon. I got home at 2am, don't know how I did it, after not sleeping the night before and then riding 8 hours. So thankful John drove that long leg from CA!

What can I say, it was such a fun, relaxed pace with the best of adventure pals. Shannon always has a great attitude, even when things aren't going our way we can laugh about it in the moment. Our ride pretty much went to plan without much exception. We both enjoy riding all day and we knocked out some good long days at touring pace. I know we're both stoked to finally have this route fully completed. Can't wait for the next Team Loco outing, hopefully Beto can join on that one. 

I am so thankful to have such a great friend like John to do this with, and finish off the route, finally! It was a long time coming, but I think the timing was perfect. This was another incredible experience that pushed mind and body. I felt good every day, despite the normal pains and discomforts of this kind of adventure. Again, it put things in perspective, as these big efforts always do. Live in the moment, enjoy that moment, move forward, and be thankful. I feel so blessed to have been able to make the trip, and the ability to do it (thank you, God!). I would've loved for Beto to have been able to join, and I missed him dearly. He was back home cheering us on daily, all while doing his own endurance event of finishing off a grueling basketball coaching season. When I got home at 2am, he had tried to stay awake, sitting in the living room waiting for me. I am always grateful for his wonderful support!

The portion of the route we did had a bit much in the way of sand (probably 50ish miles!), but it was rideable. Lots of pavement too. It's hard to imagine riding this route under hotter conditions. Overall, the entire route is really cool as you get to ride through an incredibly diverse landscape. I'd recommend it to anyone, I just don't have much interest in coming back to race it. I would like to explore more in certain areas though.

Strava activity.

Route flyover via Ayvri.com