Hopkins 4K for Cancer

July 25, 2003

Over the final mountain pass
Day 55

Lee Vining, CA to Yosemite National Park, CA



Before ever setting out on the road for this great adventure across the country, I had this day on my mind. It was on my first training ride that Travis reminded me that there would be many hills to climb on our way to reach San Francisco. As I was struggling up quite a steep (but short!) hill, Travis passed me by and said “you’d better get used to it, there’s a 9 mile stretch like this going into Yosemite.”



By now, we had climbed many hills—the Appalachians, the Rockies, not to mention everything in between, but still all I could think about was Travis’ comment about Yosemite. A few weeks ago in Utah we ran into a couple cycling from Montana to New Mexico that told us the grades on Tioga Pass into Yosemite reached up to 23%. While we were all certain that their statement was a little farfetched, it still lingered in my mind.



This morning when we set out, I was anxious. Tioga Pass would be the one last obstacle between our group and San Francisco. As we were about to leave the parking lot of Lee Vining High School a man and woman who were out on a morning ride stopped to see what we were up to. When we told them we were about to climb Tioga one of them responded “better you than me!” And we were off.



Since I didn’t know exactly how steep and how long the climb would be I kept a nice, steady pace without taking too many breaks. Soon enough we had gone 6 miles and reached the water stop. 6 more miles to go. I stopped looking at my computer after a while, and kept on pedaling when we reached a lodge/restaurant and saw other bikers. “This couldn’t be the top,” I thought to myself. But sure enough it was. We had conquered Tioga and the only part left was the downhill. As I was passing a woman before the descent she shouted to us “if you guys just rode your bikes all the way up here, you sure are incredible.” I smiled. Travis was right about the 9 miles, but it wasn’t so bad after all.



After a speedy descent into Touloumne Meadows, we quickly set up camp (putting all our food in the bear boxes) and began to explore the Park. Some people went on a hike, others stayed at the campsite to relax, another group took a shuttle to Yosemite Valley, and Emily and I explored for a while and then made our way back to Lee Vining for a bluegrass concert at the Mobil Station. By nightfall everyone went to bed, content that the last great climb was over.



Meredith Clayton