Day 12 - Ely Rest Day

                                             Sunday. June 4th, 2017

We wanted to get to Ely for our rest day, as it is the biggest city on our route between Fallon and Cedar City. This would give us more options of things to do. After breakfast, Ian and I walked (no cycling today) about a mile to the only bike shop in town and bought some Chamois Butt'r. For immediate use when we ride again Monday.

Earlier in the morning I got a text from a friend and ex-coworker named Quinn, who now also lives in St George. He had been following this blog and knew that we where taking an off-day in Ely. Since it's an easy 3 hour drive from St George, he offered to drive up and show us around. Quinn knows Utah pretty well and also had previously met Ian through work. We happily accepted his offer.

Quinn made it up to Ely by 1:15 in the afternoon, and we decided to go visit Great Basin NP outside of Baker, Nev. Baker would be our next destination on Monday, so we were able to scout the route ahead of time. As it turned out, it was pretty windy today and we were glad that we didn't ride. The forecast is a bit better for tomorrow. On the drive to Baker, we did pass another touring couple going east whom we had not seen previously. They are only one day ahead of us.

Great Basin NP is anchored by Wheeler Pk at 13,063 ft. It's an impressive looking peak with a glacial cirque on its NE side. It should be the highest mountain in Nevada as it dominates its surroundings. However, that honor goes to Boundary Pk on the Calif-Nev border, where it is dwarfed by the nearby higher peaks of the Sierra Nevada and White Mtns.

At Great Basin NP, we drove up the Wheeler Pk Scenic Drive to over 10,000 ft, the highest point of our trip so far. There was still snow up there and the campground was not yet open. We met a friendly Swiss couple up there who had just returned from an attempted hike to the top of Wheeler Pk. They made it through a lot of snow all the way to the uppermost ridge, but got turned back because of strong winds. They showed us a video they took near the top. It looked as if they could barely stand. They made the correct decision to turn back. Do the Swiss ever work?

We have not seen the two Swiss riders Markus/Markus, since Friday evening in Eureka. They could either be ahead of us, or behind us.

Thanks to Quinn for driving up to meet us and for his company. If not, we would have been stuck near the motel all day. GBNP was a beautiful  diversion for a day.

Tomorrow,  60 miles and only 2 passes to Baker.

Mike