6/9/2013 59km up the road camping
D59, T7, Av11.44, max65, Tot18539, 9378
Clear with westerly blowing, very cold
The view of the two mountains north of my location early in the morning, were enough to inspire me to arise early, 0700 that is, the sun was already upon me.
It is so important in this climate to choose a campsite that gets the sun as early as possible.
Though seeking shelter, this sometimes is not always possible.
The weather here is so forgiving, as the wind generally always drops away in the evening leaving a calm night.
Some campsites have been so exposed, any wind would have been disastrous.
The climb continued, I was stopping every 200m just to gather myself.
Soon the rhythm set in and progress though slow, that of 4-5km/hr, it was becoming continuous.
Some trucks fully loaded with second hand cars going to Paraguay were not travelling much faster.
Soon I came across the turnoff to Bolivia where Deirdre and I would have come out had we headed to the park.
Snow was now everywhere and the wind was bitterly cold.
I donned my longjohns. I had finally reached the top, though it was now undulating.
The only shelter I could find from the wind was a large rock to have lunch behind.
“What rock have you been living behind” this line made me laugh.
A guy pulled up to see if I was ok. It was his birthday, he was half drunk, a really friendly guy. He gave me two pears, water and an avocado.
It was about 1400 hrs, my plan to try and pass the highest and coldest point in the middle of the day had worked, or so I thought.
Riding on, it was so nice to clock some kms without pedalling.
The scenery consisted of huge amounts of ploughed snow on the roads edges to gravelly plain and mountains streaked in snow.
Vicuña were seen in some of the most inhospitable landscapes. They are lovely looking animals, finely built and a light brown colour.
They are protected.
Come 1600 the need for a campsite was upon me. The terrain offered nothing more than rocks the size of a football for shelter. I had descended little. It was going to be a cold night.
At a large bend, a gravel side road lead me behind piles of ploughed snow on the roads edge. This had to do.
Setting up was difficult in the cold conditions, it was already well below zero, with the puddles freezing before my eyes.
I was set up when the sun went down. Dinner was curried rice, it was too cold to look for the salmon to add. A couple of hot drinks were had.
I was in the tent at 1900hr, almost fully clothed.
At least the wind had abated as usual. Again, it was an exposed campsite.
It was to damn cold even to hold my book to read. I listened to music as sleep came.
D59, T7, Av11.44, max65, Tot18539, 9378
Clear with westerly blowing, very cold
The view of the two mountains north of my location early in the morning, were enough to inspire me to arise early, 0700 that is, the sun was already upon me.
It is so important in this climate to choose a campsite that gets the sun as early as possible.
Though seeking shelter, this sometimes is not always possible.
The weather here is so forgiving, as the wind generally always drops away in the evening leaving a calm night.
Some campsites have been so exposed, any wind would have been disastrous.
The climb continued, I was stopping every 200m just to gather myself.
Soon the rhythm set in and progress though slow, that of 4-5km/hr, it was becoming continuous.
Some trucks fully loaded with second hand cars going to Paraguay were not travelling much faster.
Soon I came across the turnoff to Bolivia where Deirdre and I would have come out had we headed to the park.
Snow was now everywhere and the wind was bitterly cold.
I donned my longjohns. I had finally reached the top, though it was now undulating.
The only shelter I could find from the wind was a large rock to have lunch behind.
“What rock have you been living behind” this line made me laugh.
A guy pulled up to see if I was ok. It was his birthday, he was half drunk, a really friendly guy. He gave me two pears, water and an avocado.
It was about 1400 hrs, my plan to try and pass the highest and coldest point in the middle of the day had worked, or so I thought.
Riding on, it was so nice to clock some kms without pedalling.
The scenery consisted of huge amounts of ploughed snow on the roads edges to gravelly plain and mountains streaked in snow.
Vicuña were seen in some of the most inhospitable landscapes. They are lovely looking animals, finely built and a light brown colour.
They are protected.
Come 1600 the need for a campsite was upon me. The terrain offered nothing more than rocks the size of a football for shelter. I had descended little. It was going to be a cold night.
At a large bend, a gravel side road lead me behind piles of ploughed snow on the roads edge. This had to do.
Setting up was difficult in the cold conditions, it was already well below zero, with the puddles freezing before my eyes.
I was set up when the sun went down. Dinner was curried rice, it was too cold to look for the salmon to add. A couple of hot drinks were had.
I was in the tent at 1900hr, almost fully clothed.
At least the wind had abated as usual. Again, it was an exposed campsite.
It was to damn cold even to hold my book to read. I listened to music as sleep came.
so much for stealth camping, the drivers all waving from their super heated cabs I expected. Their gestures were warming in themselves.
Snow and bicycles an unlikely combination
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Vicuña, always stop for a look.
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