I am writing this post while being burred deep in my sleeping bag and after having somewhat regained vital life functions. 😅 What a ride! I don’t know how it works because even though it wasn’t particularly challenging, I arrived at the campsite completely drained. Probably the cold sucked the life out of me. First things first though.

Having left the previous camp by the Lake Almanor I wasn’t particularly satisfied with my breakfast so I decided to make a slight detour to get some carbs heavy pancakes in order to fuel the ride probably. Boy oh boy did these pancakes make me fly! At least that’s what I thought until I realized that I am surfing some occasional backwinds. 😬

Nonetheless the climb towards Lassen Volcanic National Park is a nice and steady 5% gradient over 26km with very limited traffic. First 15km are gradually climbing up in the woods up to the rangers gate. Right after that you are welcomed by a open valley with naked volcanic mountains towering over you. The yellowish tint of the rocks is caused by the sulfur which was actually quite harsh on my lungs as I was blasting by the active springs.

What was the hardest part of today’s ride was the temperature. I feel like I am always whining about it but that’s the reality. It was hella cold! Had to push out some watts in order to retain core temperature but legs and hands were freezing despite of the warmers and gloves. I shouldn’t really be surprised though - the amount of snow up top was over 3 meters and they only managed to open the pass last Sunday. For the descend I put everything I had and managed to make it to the camp but completely drained, hungry and cold. That’s why I ate two diners and had a hot shower. Worth it. 😌