Scouting out a route and taking a big ride in the process...

  Well, I did the first part of the ride that I'm planning down to Sonoma County, because I had wanted to see what it would be like.  I have been toying with two options (basically), and this is the start of one of them, which involves going over Mt. Ashland, and coming down near Applegate Lake, before going into California.
  Turns out it's kind of a tough ride!  On the other hand, it was absolutely stunning and exhilarating to be out on those high mountain ridges, looking South at Mt. Shasta, North at Mt. McLaughlin, and everywhere at lines upon lines of other ridges that were between me and anywhere else.  I spent most of the time on FR 20, which pretty much parallels the PCT.  I even got to see some real live PCT hikers in their natural environment!  Shucks!
  I started out later than I would have liked (about 10AM), but as usual, once I got a couple of thousand feet higher up the mountain, the air started cooling off, and everything was fine.  It took me a little bit longer to get to Bull Gap than the last time I did it on my mountain bike, but I might not have been going full speed since I knew that I was just starting out what would be a long ride, not just riding up to the start of a long descent, as I have when I've ridden up there on my mountain bike.
  I had never actually ridden up to the ski area, or anything beyond it before, so the views that I found there really took me by surprise.  I couldn't believe how far out I felt after just 20 miles.  The road continued in decent shape for most of the ride, but there were many parts that were pretty rough.  One such area was the descent down to the junction with FR22, which appeared to have been paved at one point, though now it's just a dirt road with jagged bits of pavement riddled with granite jabbing out at odd angles, interspersed with potholes that want to swallow your wheels whole.  The climb before Wrangle Gap was also a bit precarious because it was littered with square baby heads and barely seemed to be able to cling to the side of the steep mountain it traversed.  The worst though was the last descent, which lasted at least 15 miles, and was pretty covered in braking bars from the logging trucks that use it.  It got so bad at one point that a water bottle hit the eject button and shot out of a King Cage!  Impressive.
  At the top of the ride, and near the start of the descent, I stopped off at Sheep Camp Spring, which was a highlight of the ride because it was probably the best-tasting water I've had in a long time.  It came gushing out of a rusty pipe, pretty much as cold as it could be without solidifying, and ran across the little road that branched off from FR 20, and crossed the PCT to get to it.  All around the spring were flowers whose names I don't know, but which you can see in the photos.  I soaked my shirt and washed my face and felt very refreshed when I left.
  After I finally reached the paved road I knew I must be close to a campground when I saw a bear cross the road and scramble up the hillside in front of me, and sure enough, about .25 miles down the road, I came to Beaver Sulfur Campground, which I guess is a group-only campground, and so was closed and deserted: perfect for a place to go swimming and eat my last sandwich!
  It was amazing how hot it was down in the valley, so by that time, even though I had only descended, I was really hot, so the creek water felt amazing, and by the time I had air-dried enough to get dressed to go again, I was thinking that I really should go back in, but thought better of it, and took off.  The ride through the Little Applegate Valley was nice, but I missed the cool air of up above, and it made me think again about what I might be getting myself into if I decided to take an inland route down through California.  As I was leaving Talent, I met another rider who pulled me all the way back to Ashland!  Awesome bro!
  Looking back on it, I think I probably should have taken off on one of the side roads at Jackson Gap, but as it was, I made it back just before dark, so maybe that would have required spending the night, or at least an earlier start.  I'd love to do this ride on a mountain bike, though I know that the ride back wouldn't have been half as nice as it was.
  After everything, I am looking forward to exploring this area more because it's full of truly awesome places.  This is definitely something I love about the Northern California/ Southern Oregon area: its richness in epic gnar!  And with that, I'll post this and be done with it!  I've made the photos larger, which I think is better, even though it makes the post super-long.  Hopefully it works out well.
  So have fun kids...and ramble on!

Up we go on 2080!

First view of Mt. Shasta.

First view of Mt. Ashland.

Bottle full of snow.

The road to come.

Mt. Ashland from the West, including the road I came in on.

Blue butterflies flying along with me.

Toward Medford.

Looking back West at Mt. Ashland, and the road I came in on.

Flowers at Sheep Camp Spring, right next to the PCT.

Looking East.

East, and the road I came in on as well as that to Sheep Camp Spring.

Big view as the final descent starts.  That way is California, and not more than a few miles away at that.

On the ride home from Jacksonville.  Up there is where I was in the Morning.