From desert to coast
A photo-essay recorded on a bike tour around southern California. Idea for photo essay adopted from the living legend Kamran On Bike.
I solely relied on National Geographic map for navigating during my bike tour of southern California. It has every camp ground marked with remarkable accuracy. The distance and elevation served as a saviour several times during the trip. Seen above is a picture of my gear for the three week long tour. I was able to plan out every day’s ride conveniently with the map. List of complete gear and itinerary can be found here.
The Pacific Coast Bike Route runs along the entire coast of USA from the Canadian border to the Mexican border. The route passes through some of the most beautiful coastal places in the world. I started my tour at Santa Cruz and biked along the route for 4 days before turning inland. The route merges often with Highway 1 and passses through numerous camp grounds, rest areas and eateries. The photo was taken south of Bixby Creek Bridge which is visible in the distance. It is one of the tallest single-span concrete bridges in the world.
As I continued south along the coast I witnessed a variety of agriculture and farming practices. California produces nearly half of U.S. grown fruits, nuts and vegetables. Californian farmers are known extensively for their productivity and yield. Since drought was declared in 2014, the farmers have employed practices to further improve their efficiency. This picture taken near Monterey shows berry agriculture using partially biodegradable plastic mulch. The film helps in conserving soil water by minimizing evaporation losses and control weed growth.
As I continued my journey further south, I came across many Missions. California is home to 21 Spanish Missions that were established by catholic priests to expand christianity among Native Americans. The missions are along the historic El Camino Real, parts of which are converted to the current US 101 freeway. The missions can be located by following peculiar shaped bells that have been in place since the early part of the century. Bells were vitally important to daily life at any mission. The bells were rung at mealtimes, to call the Mission residents to work and to religious services, during births and funerals. During my tour, I visited two missions and found both to be equally beautiful and well preserved. In this picture: nave of Mission San Carlos Borroméo del río Carmelo
Wildfires pose the biggest threat to forest cover and people living along the forest belt. The Big Sur fire was the last major fire recorded in California. It burned down 130,000 acres of natural forest and over 50 homes. It was started by an illegal campfire and took 3 months to bring under control. I was shook by the incident and went on a few hikes around the affected areas to further pursue the story. The above photo was taken on one of those trails. The barren black mountain was once completely covered in green shrubs and short trees. The national forests offer ample places to camp legally. They charge a meagre $5 for Hiker-Bikers. The camp grounds offer benches, toilets, water (with exceptions) and food lockers for protection from coyotes and racoons. Unless one has decidedly made up a mind, there is very little reason to not use these facilities and camp illegally.
Plush vineyards in California spread thousands of acres and are responsible for 85% of the nation’s wine production. For over 2 days, I cycled through the vineyards along Paso Robles, a wine county. The places offer upscale lodging and wine tasting sessions. They also offer tours of the entire wine-making process.
Los Padres that translates to “the fathers” is a national forest along Southern California’s coast. It spans 2m acres and is home to many endangered species. The forest provides explorers with a plethora of opportunities to wander in the wild. It has well marked trails and mud roads. I biked in the forest for 2 days and did not meet any humans. At the campground too, I was the only human. Gusty winds flow through trees in the night and cause eerie sounds. Since I was very tired from biking, a slept like a baby that night. For some, it may be scary to spend time alone.
The Midway-Sunset oil field near Taft in Kern County is the third largest oilfield in the United States. The oil being heavy is difficult to extract. The basin uses thousands of pump-jacks to lift the oil to surface. This photo captured from Palm Drive in Bakersfield shows an endless span of pumpjacks operating 24x7. The pumps span land as far as the eye can see.
Isabella Lake is an artificially created reservoir in the Sequoia National Forest. At 11,000 acres, it is one of the larger reservoirs in California. The town named Lake Isabella is situated just downstream of it. The town has streets marked in holographic blue boards to indicate disaster evacuation routes. The lake is known not to freeze even if atmospheric temperatures dip below freezing. The temperature at night fell to 20F when I camped in Pioneer point campground overlooking the lake.
Sierra Nevada which stands for “snowy range” is a mountain range running along the north-south direction. While travelling towards Death Valley, I crossed the range through the Walker Pass (5250 ft). This photo was taken at the top of pass where I left behind the green landscape. The terrain on the east side is completely arid and desert like.
While I was cycling legally around the Naval Air Weapons Station at China-Lake, I saw this plane hovering in the sky for prolonged periods of time. It then continued to perform manoeuvres like loops and knife-edge turns. At one instance it passed dangerously close, right above my head at a height of not more than 500 feet. I stood staring at it, with an admiration for the incredible silence of the engines. Half a second later, I was thrown to the ground, my shades cracked, the front tire of my bike lost its air and an ear-splitting sound hit me. It was the loudest sound I have ever heard. It took me about half an hour to set all my gear back and about 2 hours to lose the itch in my ear.
Death Valley is an apparent place of contradictions. It is one of the hottest places known to man, yet its peaks are covered in snow for several months. It is one of the driest places in United States, yet signs of water exist throughout the park. It is called Death Valley, yet wildlife continues to exist perennially. This photo was taken at the entrance of the valley. The route above Panamints range was the steepest yet with gradients of 7.5% for miles together. For some short stretches, the climbs were even steeper and I had to walk my bike.
During the 5 days I spent in the valley, I travelled to many inspiring geological wonders. The Ubehebe crater in the north of Death Valley is an unconventional crater. It is only 3000 years old and was formed due to the buildup of geothermal heat, not by a volcanic eruption. This photo of me cycling along the rim of the crater was shot from half a mile away (can you spot me?). It was the morning of new year and very few people were present at this attraction.
Death Valley has the lowest point in North America. At 280 feet below sea level, the temperature in summer is very high. The water brought in by the underground Amargosa river evaporates, leaving behind a dense deposit of salts seen behind me in the picture. The area of the salt flat is about 20,000 acres. It serves as a popular destination for trekkers. Interestingly, the highest point in USA, Mount Whitney is only 90 miles from here.
“Are we in Mars, mommy?” a little girl queried as I just cycled in. She was overwhelmed by the sight and possibly by the early morning sugar treats in her hand. I too was overwhelmed by the gentle, artistic curves of sandstone and clay deposits. Wind and water shaped this natural wonder, and continues to influence the landscape of Death Valley even today. As I walked along the ridges I recollected a conversation I had with a local a day earlier. She belonged to the Shoshone Tribe. She said the ancestors of the land believed that rain and wind are merely His tools, and that He is the real sculptor.
This sand dune in the heart of death valley is another such creation. I have seen many artificial landscapes that are made to look natural. This is the first one that is a natural landscape but looks artificial because of its small size. This sand dune is merely 3 miles wide. Three things are required for dunes to form: a source of sand, winds to carry the sand, and a depression to collect the sand. Canyons on all four sides provide plenty of sand for winds to carry and deposit at places acting as natural “traps”.
In the early 20th Century Death Valley became the center of a lot of speculation. Conmen floated theories that the area had a natural mine deposit. The minerals that they claimed existed ranged from coal, which was eventually found, to gold and gemstones. The sudden boom in interest spurred rapid growth of townships around the valley which would disappear in a few years or in certain cases, a few months. This Opera Theatre in Amargosa is situated in one such township built by the Pacific Coast Mining Company. Marta Becket, a renowned dancer, rebuilt this theatre, painted it all by herself, and performed in it. She retired from dancing in 2012, at the age of 88.
I covered a total of 1000 miles over the span of 21 days. I crossed 4 mountain ranges on my way away from the coast and 3 ranges while travelling towards the coast. The steepest gradient I faced was a thrilling 8% downhill and a daunting 7.5% uphill. In the Mojave desert, I cycled for 3 days amidst 45 degree cross-winds of 10–28 Mph. It took me 3 days to cover a distance of 70 miles, which in normal circumstances I am able to cover in a day. That was not a pleasurable experience. This is the last picture of the tour, taken just before entering Los Angeles. I was thinking about all the wonderful people I met during my journey. Many people went out of their way to help me. Some strangers opened their homes for me to stay over. Some people offered me delicious treats during afternoon breaks. Many people helped me even before I started the trip, by lending their precious gear. I was particularly happy the entire day and was chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. It is difficult to recollect if the chanting caused happiness or the other way round.
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna,
Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama,
Rama Rama, Hare Hare
All photos are clicked by me using a basic tripod and a lot of patience. Please feel free to reproduce any content by providing a reference to my blog:https://medium.com/@kkrao/
