Chilly night while camping was swiftly replaced by the heat and scorching sun. Luckily I set off around 8:20am but should have done it 1.5h sooner. Official touring maps I am using wanted me to get on a highway which obviously I was reluctant to do. I was super lucky to meet this older couple with an RV and a will to haul me and my bike to the next highway ramp. Thank you guys! This saved me at least 2h, plenty of kms and elevation gain. Talking about climbs - first one was quite ok because of the tree line shade, cold creek and ‘low’ heat (25*C). By the time I started my second climb the sun was blasting and I was running out of water. Firefighters saved me for the second time in 3 days… There literally is not a single place to replenish water! I was passing by some ranches and properties but I didn’t dare to stop and ask. Idk it’s like the owners are having a contest for the creepiest gates and front yards. Totaled cars? Check. Fake skeletons on a rusty tractor? Double check. Chuky-like dolls? Yep. Tomorrow is a big climb right of the bat so I’ll try to roll out around 7 am. Hopefully will finally make it to the shade of big sequoias but I don’t think it’s that close. Will see!

P.S. I realized why my Strava averaged power is so low - because I am literally not pedaling on any descents, thus have an output of 0 watts. Is there a way to change from avarage power to normalized power in Strava? + Should I increase my own weight in order to account for all the gear I am hauling? This gotta be a penalty of 30 Watts on steeper climbs, right?