What a memorable trip! The scenery was gorgeous up there. The Cannell Plunge is a MUST DO!! We got shuttled just below the 10k foot mark, just a bit below Sherman Peak. I don't know the exact temp, but it had to be in the high 40s. Once we got going, it took me about 20 minutes to not be freezing. The next couple hours seemed to be in the mid 50s or so. I was somewhat surprised that after two hours of riding, we were still in the 8k-9k elevation range. There was quite a bit of climbing during this first bit, but the temps made it bearable though the elevation took the wind out of ya!
Pretty much ALL of the Cannell Trail was beautiful... pretty typical Sequoia scenery. Once we hit the "plunge" it sort of turned into a sandier, softer descent with much more exposure than the rest of the trail. I actually liked the former part of the trail, while most seemed to really enjoy the plunge. The plunge was FUN, but just not as pretty as the rest of the trail.
OK now for the pics:
Papi sets up camp
Jady (tink bell) and me, 2 pink bikes, one port-o-potty
Serge (Big Guy) somewhere towards the top of Cannell Trail
Jady zooming by
I don't know what these are, but they were cool looking!
Serge motoring through at 9k feet
Big Meadow... still at 8k feet after 3 hours!
Here's the famous Log Cabin. Serge asked if we HAD to see the cabin. Steve said, "YES, WE DO!" Jady and Mark missed it (oops) and were sad and pissed. Sorry guys. Here ya go....
CPATFLASH
Steve says "Aren't you glad you got to see the cabin." Hell yes, I am. That was a sweet cabin!
OK, out of sequence. This was from Saturday's Portuguese Pass ride. I feel giant next to Jady.
OK Back to the plunge. This is the view right as you begin THE PLUNGE
I would guess this is a good time of year to hit Cannell. By the time we got to the bottom (around 2-3k feet elevation) it was in the high 80s. Quite a difference from the frigid temps up top!
:beer: