9-14-2017 Day 7

Another climb-day!  Only 43 miles and 3100 foot climb but the roads were good and mostly free of traffic.  It was we in the morning and a bit cold, but the climbing warmed me up well - you just had to pack up for the descents.  We enjoyed a midnight thunderstorm complete with high winds, lots of driving rain, and a cloudy morning in the 50's - perfect for some climbs.  The terrain has really changed however as we are now up in the mountains and no more straight flat roads - just lots of juniper trees.  We had a tailwind too - nice.  After getting through some road repair sites we ended up at Ward Mountain campground.  Paul P and I took a hike that was to be just a short muscle-relaxation stroll but ended up as a 1,000 foot climb, 6 miles and 2.5 hours!  I was ready to take a rest for sure.  That is when the rain started and while it was a bit cold, there was a set of double rainbows which were complete!  Amazing indeed!!  Tomorrow we grunt on to Ely, the place we started this fabulous trip.

"On the road again"

A beautiful break in the mountain

The cloudy cool weather was perfect for the climbs

The first summit - I added a foot to get 7,000 feet altitude

We are clearly getting closer to civilization!?

Road work of another kind

What a look back down the road!

The second summit!

A short stroll that ended up a 2.5 hour 1000 foot climb hike!

It actually was a nice trail

An incredible set of rainbows!!