The Aftermath

All sensors green, the air throughout the Bay Area was clean! A day, finally, for the ride I'd hoped would be the finale of my Best Buddies 2020 Challenge: Mt. Hamilton. The ride I'd planned before the Fires.

I was anxious to survey the post-fire landscape. Lick Observatory, I knew, had been successfully defended.

The first sighting of scorched terrain was at the edge of the foothills, approaching Grant Ranch Park. The demarcation line was clear: the pinkish stain left by the fire retardant separated the blackened earth from the golden grasses.

At the Twin Gates trailhead, the hillside had burned right down to the parking lot. The next stark containment line emerged at Smith Creek, past the CalFire station. To the right, uphill: burned. To the left, a field: spared. A few wild turkeys poked around in the brush.

Where they had not been totally incinerated, charred stubs of wooden fence posts hung suspended in the barbed wire. There were wide-open vistas that I don't recall.

The heat had been enough to melt at least one metal marker.

I was mystified by the occasional tangle of white material that looked almost like the hide of some unfortunate animal. That made no sense, fur would have burned . . . Then it came to me: Fiberglass. The flat, plastic reflector posts that line the edge of the road are made (in part) of fiberglass. When the rest was vaporized, the fiberglass was left behind.

Nearly all the pines that once dropped their enormous cones onto the roadway were gone. The cleanup has been underway for some time. Many of the dead trees have been removed, the sides of the road now dotted with their stumps.

The fire had burned the top of the mountain, encircling the observatory. Exposed animal trails criss-cross the slopes. 

I'd heard that one (unused) building had been lost, but didn't expect to see it. 

On my last visit, I had (uncharacteristically) continued a short distance on San Antonio Road to admire the vista. What a lucky choice that was, to have taken it in just a couple of months before the backcountry burned right up to the summit.

That was then.

This is now.

Then . . .

. . . now.

Despite all my lollygagging, I covered the 39 miles and climbed 4,890 feet at a faster pace (8.7 mph) than in June (7.9 mph).

Winter rains will bring mudslides and green grasses. But it will take decades, for the trees.

Best Buddies 2020 Challenge: Stage 15

There are many advantages to riding in an organized event: rest stops with food, water, and portable toilets, and SAG (support-and-gear) vehicles that can save your day. As I thought about designing a suitable ride of my own for this year's Best Buddies Hearst Castle Challenge, I regrettably decided against attemping a 100-mile ride. Restrooms, food, and water are not reliably available; facilities in public parks, for example, are often shuttered. The possibility of being stranded far from home was intimidating in this era of social distancing.

I considered four 25-mile loops; my home would, of course, be a fine rest stop. But that wasn't very exciting. A friend thought I might Everest and offered to support me. That was flattering, but . . . no.  And so I hatched this idea to bike on 15 consecutive days, which would beat my previous personal best (9 days).

Hazardous air quality interrupted my ride series; I managed three stretches of consecutive days: 5-4-5. I had reached out to former teammates to join me for some rides, but unpredictable conditions made planning infeasible. I wanted the final stage to be significant, but not wanting to delay it indefinitely I settled for a modest route through a part of the Bay Area blessed today with a temporary respite from wildfire smoke.

On a Sunday morning, this route was particularly traffic-free. The cycling infrastructure has been improved, including a lovely bit of green bike lane at an intersection I generally avoided after being bumped by an inattentive driver. Good to know, but it will be quite some time before I might bike to the office again.

 

I'd brought some snacks to refuel, but as I puttered along I had a better idea. Sugar. Butter. Flour. Might that bakery be open? [Yes!] After all, completing my Challenge called for some celebration. A too-rich, decadent chocolate truffle cake was my lunch.

By adding a few hills, I climbed 1,225 feet over 42 miles. On my road bike, there was no excuse not to tackle the climb to the water treatment plant. I felt strong heading up the hill, why did I think this would be so hard? Then the final punishing stretch came into view. Photos never quite convey steepness, but in this view from the top notice how the road seems to disappear.

I had saved one more special treat for this day: my last Mango Tango.

And thus concludes my Best Buddies 2020 Challenge: 15 stages, 370 miles, and 13,272 feet of climbing.