The other day I had a crazy idea. I wanted to bike up Highway 9 all the way to Skyline and camp out somewhere up there. It seemed simple enough. I went to Big 5 and bought myself a cheap and small tent for $20 and cheap sleeping bag for $19. I picked up a nice pack for $40 from the Army Surplus store. I also got a few other smalls things like a flashlight, duct tape, first aid kit, etc. All-in-all I only spent $100 so I figured if it got me through even just one night it was worth it.

I didn’t know where I was going to campout but I thought that I could just ride up there and maybe hike around Longride until I found a suitable spot. Here was my route.

I left the house at 1:00 pm just after lunch. The pack weighed almost 40lbs and right then I realized that this was going to be a whole lot tougher than I thought.

I took a break in downtown Saratoga at the Starbucks there, got some water and rested before the big climb.

The ride up Highway 9 was insane. It was probably the longest, hardest thing I’ve ever done physically. You can’t stop peddling otherwise you lose all of your momentum. You just have to keep going until you reach the top. Once I got to Four Corners I took a right on Skyline. I rode another 4 miles or so down Skyline. I ended up going past Longride and to Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve. There was a small trailhead there where I chained my bike to a tree.

I hiked about 2 miles in from the road and through the Christmas Tree Farm. I found a fairly flat space down from the trail. It was nice a shaded.

I was all setup by 4:30, just in time for the Giants game. I bought a small AM/FM radio at Long’s just before. That was fun, just hanging out listening to the game. I had a hard time sleeping because the ground was so hard. I should have brought a small mat, they make a huge difference.

I woke up at 6:30 am, took down camp and hit the road by 7:00.

I had to hike back another 2 miles to my bike (luckily it was still there). The ride home although easier than the ride there was still a pain. There was a lot more climbing than I thought. I finally got home at 9:00 and jumped right in the shower. I was exhausted. After my shower I sat my ass on the couch, watched Sportscenter and ate an entire box of Golden Grahams. I doubt if I’ll ever do that again, it was really really hard. I would consider it if I had someone to experience it with. In total I rode 40 miles and hiked another 4. Pretty good weekend workout. Who’s coming to Yosemite with me?