2023-07: Montana De Oro State Park

Milestones

Bike to the campsite some distance away from my car,
How did I do, compared to my goals?…. Read to the end to find out about the “not-so-amazing” conclusion!!!
Recharge my e-bike in 24 hrs using a solar charger,
Extend my camping/biking to a new level.

It’s 256 miles from my house to the campsite. I left my house at 9:30am, and bought gas. Plenty of time to setup my tent and have dinner before sunset at 8:00pm. …… You would think.
Arrived on-time at 2:30pm on Wednesday 19^th alongside “Pacheco Valley Rd” just 3 miles south of the city of Los Osos. I still had to make my way to Environmental Camp #2 (a Hike-In, Primitive Campsite) which was about ½ mile from where I had to park.

My campsite sits along “Bloody Nose Trail”… coincidence?… irony?… wait and see…
Upon arriving, I noticed that the trail to my campsite was blocked by a GATE. I got out of my car and inspected the situation. I was VERY disappointed, but I wasn’t willing to give up. All I could think of doing was ride around the “left-outside-edge” of the gate. I would have to be careful, but it seemed doable, … possibly, maybe, somewhat unlikely.
First thing to do is unload my gear from the car and load/lash it all on my bike trailer. Unfortunately, I didn’t hold onto one of the bungee cords securely enough, and it snapped back and hit me just above my right eye. Not a great way to start.

While I was getting ready, a Park Ranger drove by and I asked him about the closed gate. He said, “Oh, no problem…. It’s not locked, but I will securely open it so you can go through easily”. I went ahead with renewed optimism, and completed my trailer loading process.

While I was loading my bike/trailer, someone drove their truck through the gate, and closed the gate behind them. So when I was ready to go up, the gate was closed. Aaaargh!! What was I supposed to do?… (don’t answer that)

The road leading up to my campsite did seem steep, but I was willing to try (later measurements on Google Maps showed the climb was an 8.3% Grade). I stopped my bike/trailer at the gate, got off and pushed the gate open while pulling my bike/trailer behind me. My bike weighs 50 lbs and my trailer (fully loaded) weighs 50 lbs. (I’m not telling you how much more I weigh)

I got through the gate, and tried to ride up the hill. But, I couldn’t make it. I tried 3 times, and slid backwards every time. In the process, I broke off half of my brake pads. That’s a repair job waiting for me. My bike wasn’t powerful enough… I was carrying too much weight… the hill was too steep… I almost gave up and went back to my car… but I just couldn’t quit.
I sat there, feeling like a failure, feeling stupid…. And then… It finally dawned on me that I needed to divide the load into parts. So, that’s what I did. I dumped my gear out along the side of the road, and loaded only 10-15 lbs of gear at a time on the trailer. That problem was solved. In total, I made 4-trips to get all my stuff to the campsite.

After the hill, there was 500ft of very soft sand, and I got stuck every time I drove through it. To get unstuck/unburied, I had to manually pull my bike/trailer forward, out of the sand trap. It took me 4 hrs to haul all my gear to the campsite. It should’ve taken less than an hour. I started setting up my tent at 6:30pm, and I finished dinner at 8:00pm. By 8:30pm thick fog rolled in and the temperature dropped to below 60F with the wind blowing at 10mph. I went to bed.

It was foggy and drizzled rain all night. I slept until 10:00am. My whole body hurt. I got up, made coffee and had breakfast. The entire 48hrs I was there, I never saw the sun.

On this trip, I brought solar panels and a charger to keep my bike energized. With 24hr/day fog, I only managed 20 watts/hr max. But, my bike charger used 100 watts/hr. It was a losing battle.

All that day, I rested and recuperated. I had brought a book, I got good cell service, so I responded to text messages and emails. Work asked me if I could do something…I responded with a picture of my surroundings… and said I would take care of it when I got back.
During the afternoon, another Park Ranger stopped by my campsite (just checking things). I mentioned to him that I found the gate closed, the day before. He said, “Oh we usually keep it open.” I asked him if he would open it, because I was leaving the next morning, and it would help me a lot. He said, “Sure, no problem… I will take care of that”.
That night it rained a lot more, and so everything was a muddy mess when I got up. I packed up, loaded the trailer, and headed down the trail. The following picture shows how much laundry soap I was going to need when I got home.

I got stuck again in the sand trap. I pulled my way out of it, but not enough to break free. Two hikers came up behind me and saw I was stuck. I think they were German or Austrian, from their accent. They generously offered to give me a push… I gratefully accepted, and I was off down the trail to descend the “Hill of Despair”. Did I mention I broke off half of my brake pads?… Here I am at the top of the hill:

So far, so good. Coming up on the second curve, expectantly awaiting to see an open gate…

Sadly, the California State Parker Rangers have a bad habit of over-promising and under-delivering on their “keep the gate open policy”. The gate was closed, and I was wet, tired, and highly motivated to “cut-corners”. So, that’s what I did. You see that small patch to the left of the gate post? That’s where I drove my bike, pulling my fully loaded trailer. (FYI, it drops off to the left into a ravine).

Lessons Learned: I’m still thinking about that. This was an unexpected failure and an unlikely success wrapped in a mess. But somehow, my conclusions are as muddy as my pants.
Ranking of this Trip: I’m actually surprised that I did it… the hardest bike/camping challenge ever.
P.S. — The reaction speaks for itself…

Every time I fail and overcome… I learn something. I wish I wasn’t so smart 🙁