Western Express Day #13 Red Canyon Campground, UT to Cedar City, UT
Western Express Day #13
June 13 2021
Red Canyon Campground, UT to Cedar City, UT - 71 Miles
Start 7:06AM, Finish 5:32PM
Ride Time: 7:59
Ascent: 4681'
Descent: 6213'
Tour Total Miles: 850
I slept well stealth camping at Red Canyon Campground alongside the dried out river bed and across from Highway 12 and the bike trail. Last evening I had sat here drinking beer and editing yesterday's report. There was a tree stump where I perched for awhile, and watched motor traffic on the highway 12. I never saw any of the cyclists from the relay race. I went to bed and had weird dreams. I got up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water. It was cold out, and the stars were brilliant. I had a full view of the Milky Way. I didn’t fully envelope myself in my sleeping bag during the night, but it was chilly. it was a quick pack up this morning and I returned a few cans of beer to Brian. I was freezing riding out of the campground and down along the bike path. I was still in the shadows of the canyon walls and was traveling downhill. All of a sudden the bike path ended and I was out of the canyon. I was back on Highway 12 for the last last few miles. I had started Highway 12 in Torrey, and had enjoyed the beautiful scenery and sites. I had spent three nights camping along it. This morning I was wearing my cycling shorts, short-sleeve jersey, and sweater. I was cold on the long downhill out of the canyon so I stopped put on my rain jacket. My fingertips and legs were still freezing, but I didn’t bother to pull out my gloves or rain pants.
There were dozens of crows hanging out in the scrubby pastures. They were big and black, like glistening charred wood. I noticed a barb wire fence running along the highway for the last mile of Highway 12. I crossed over the Sevier River and took a right on US Highway 89. My breakfast stop would be in Panguitch seven miles away. Today marked the halfway point of the tour. I’d finish map section two today in Cedar City, and I’d be more than midway through the total tour mileage and days on my itinerary. I was also halfway through my vitamins.
The Sevier River valley was wide and I was headed north. The early morning sun was beaming on me and my fingers were still cold. I kept trying to warm them by rubbing them on my thighs. There was sage brush and grass to my right, and scrub and scraggly trees to the left. The river was forty feet wide and rushing with water. A large range stood on the other side of the valley. I’d been passing a lot of roadside deer skeletons in various states of decay. They’re striking because of how large they are.
I rode up over a bump and entered Panguitch, population 1520 and elevation 6660', and founded in 1864. I was unable to locate a breakfast spot on Google Maps and ended up at Wonderlust Cowgirl Coffee, which was essentially a drive through coffee joint with picnic tables out front. I ordered two egg and bacon sandwiches, a lemonade, a large cappuccino, and a cinnamon roll. I uploaded yesterday’s report while I woofed down my food. Before leaving I removed my rain jacket and smeared sunscreen on my face. I also flipped to the next map panel.
As I was riding through town I discovered that this weekend was the annual quilt walk festival, and quilts were hung along the main street. Panguitch had a long association with quilting dating back to Mormon pioneers. There was a small commemorative park and sculpture that paid tribute to settlers whose lives were saved during a snowstorm because of a quilt. I took a left on State Highway 143.
Riding out of town there was a short bike path that ran parallel to the highway. A dog walker shouted out, “I’m going to pick up the poop!”. I hadn't even noticed the excrement. I was headed back up into the mountains, and passed a sign saying that snow tires or chains were required for the next 45 miles, November 1 through March 31. I passed a second sign saying that the road was closed between Mammoth Creek to Brian Head when the light was flashing. Fortunately the lights weren’t flashing toady.
I was climbing and getting hot, so I pulled over to remove my sweater and add sunscreen. I rain into eastbound cyclist Kaitlyn, who was originally from New Zealand. She was riding from San Francisco to Boston. She mentioned that she was studying at Harvard and lived in Somerville. I shared all of my route information, and asked if she had any reconnaissance for me. She had suffered wheel problems, and had to turn around and had lost time. She mentioned that the Mammoth Creek wildfires would not be a problem for me. Kaitlyn was riding a mountain bike with 29" tires which would be great for off-roading. She had wanted to switch out her bike but it had been tough to find a new bicycle during COVID. She mentioned that there was another solo female cyclist behind her.
There were lots of large flies out this morning that were trying to attach themselves to me. Eleven miles an hour seemed to be the point at which I could outrun them. Unfortunately I was going uphill. I managed to kill two this morning and one yesterday. Finally, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I knew that the moment I pulled over it was gonna be a race. I braked and a cloud of flies enveloped me. I retrieved my Deep Woods OFF from my front pannier as fast as possible, and practically emptied the can. I reentered the Dixie National Forest.
It was a slow and steady uphill. The next thing I knew, I was surrounded by pine trees. A female day cyclist passed me coming the other direction at mile marker 38. There was a deep canyon to the left of the highway where a stream was rushing with water. Up on the ridge the road crossed over the stream which was about twenty-five feet wide, three to four feet deep, and clear. It felt refreshing to be cycling next to cool flowing water.
I finally arrived in Panguitch Lake, which was quite large. There were a lot of people out boating and fishing. I stopped at the Bear Papa Resort where I purchased a pink Gatorade and had two water bottles refilled with ice water. I rode a few miles around the lake and then stopped at Pantech Lake General Store for one more Gatorade. Back on the road I met eastbound Korean cyclist Sang Jung. He had started his tour in Washington and rode to San Francisco. He was riding the Western Express to Pueblo and then the Trans Am to Virginia. From there he would travel up the eastern coat to New York. He seemed to be loaded down, and I noticed a bag of apples his rear pannier.
I continued climbing and a group of day cyclists came racing down from the pass. It was a large group and one of them yelled out, “Way to go! Yay!”. Suddenly I found myself surrounded by aspen trees. I was at 8500’. I passed a large area filled with piles of giant black rocks, which reminded me of McKenzie pass in Oregon. I later learned that there had been a volcanic eruption here a thousand years ago. I then rode through an area where three years ago there had been a fire. I passed a flashing sign that read, “Mammoth Road Closed”, ostensibly because of the recent fire. I continued ahead on State Highway 143.
I passed the storm gate capable of shutting down the highway in case of heavy snow. I continued climbing through the burned landscape and crossed over into Iron county. I was at 8860’ by noon. I passed a sign warning 'High winds and drifting snow; Highway may be impassable in winter'. Another sign warned 'Day plowing only next 10 miles'.
Mammoth Creek was flowing below to my left. It was about six feet wide. I once again began to pass living trees but could still see plenty of burned dead ones. The sky was clear with the exception of four wispy clouds. There was a slight smell of burn in the air. I crossed over the creek and it was now to my right. It was cool and breezy up on the ridge and I kept climbing. By 1 PM I was yet higher up on the ridge. I felt a little tail wind which I appreciated. I was at 9920', and there were wide-open pastures to either side of the highway and trees beyond that. At 1:30PM, I was at 10,400’ and still climbing.
I entered Cedar Breaks national Monument. My toes were cramping and in a lot of pain. I was at 10,590’ and came to the intersection of Highway 148 going west towards Cedar City, which was my destination for the day. I met east-bounder Claudia from Quebec who was riding from San Francisco to Pueblo and then on to Yorktown and then back up to Quebec. While we were there talking, east-bounder Peter showed up. He was making up his own route. He was from Berkeley and was studying at Santa Cruz. He was trying to make it to Bryce Canyon today. Peter was blogging at: ca2ma.com
There never was a sign the top of the pass. Cedar Breaks National Monument was filled with tourists, and I stopped to enjoy one vista. I relished a speedy downhill and passed the snow gates on the other side of the pass. I took a right on Highway 14 and saw a sign for steep grades and 25 mile an hour curves ahead. At 3 PM I passed the 9910’ summit for the Highway 14 route which was 680’ lower than where I had just come. After eight hours of climbing, it was downhill time.
Racing down the mountain I kept having problems with my odometer. The little metal disk attached to the spoke kept sliding out of place. It would probably effect today's odometer mileage. I’d already begun trusting Cyclemeter more than my bike computer. After leaving the mountain I headed through a narrow canyon, that eventually opened up into a valley. Cedar City stood at 5,846’ elevation, which meant that I descended 5000’ in thirty minutes time. I was back in the desert and the valley was hot.
Welcome to Cedar City, Festival City USA. I rode over to Policy Kings Brewery where I enjoyed several Big Red Ales. Afterwards I rode over to my Warm Showers hosts, Ken & Pat. They were big bicycle enthusiasts and loved to host cyclists on tour. Coincidentally, Peter whom I had met up on the pass, had stayed with them the night before. I shaved, showered, did laundry, and plugged in all of my devices. My power pack had been at zero percent. Pat made a fantastic dinner of shredded chicken pasta, corn on the cob, and artichokes that Ken had grown in his garden. I was exhausted from the days climb, and edited this report before going to sleep.
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