I had a great day in Pittsburg Kansas yesterday watching the
girls’ piano recitals. As usual, I was amazed.
Upon returning home, I had the urge to take a ride on the rail road. The rail
trail that is. I decided to make it the year’s first camping excursion. So with
a minimum amount of gear, I loaded up the ride and headed north with the wind
at my back, to destinations unknown. Well not quite unknown. I headed to Garnett.
However, I had never camped there before, so it was a first of sorts.
I took the one man tent, sleeping pad, and North Face bag
for my sleeping comfort. I also took some basic tools as always, a pair of long
pants, long sleeve shirt, bike lock, extra tire tube, and the cell phone in
case of engine failure. For food, I took a bag of nuts with a Hershey’s almond
bar and two PBJ’s, one for dinner and one for breakfast.
The ride between Iola and Garnett encompasses approximately twenty
five miles and is generally level with some slight grades throughout the ride. The
ride was nice. I was pressed for time however since I did not hit the trail
until about five thirty in the evening. I figured with the wind blowing in my
favor, I could press through and make it by sundown which I did. I did not have
a lot of time for pictures, However, I stopped and snagged one of the sun
playing hide and seek behind some clouds somewhere between Welda and Garnett.
It was better live though.
I arrived at the Garnett Lake just after sunset. I still had
just enough light left to quickly set up the tent and lock up the bike. In
looking at the camping requirements, I must say that I was a bit surprised at
the nine dollar fee. It was then that I remembered what I had forgotten; cold hard
cash. There was a couple packing up their fishing gear after fishing with their
children who I approached and explained my situation to. I asked them where the
nearest ATM was and they pointed me in the right direction. It was too dark to
ride at this point and I had already locked the bike down for the evening so I
set out on foot towards town. After walking a couple blocks north, I noticed a
van pull up next to me and stop. It was the same couple who had given me directions.
They were very nice in offering me a ride to the local ATM. They were very
generous and I was very grateful. After grabbing the cash from the ATM, I
walked back to camp. It was a pleasant night for a walk albeit a bit windy.
I checked the weather after talking to Kathy before turning
in and it looked like I was in for some possible rain throughout the evening
and into the next morning so I pulled the panniers off the bike and tucked them
inside of the tent with me along with the other things that I did not want to
risk getting wet. Sleeping was non-existent. It is a nice setting at the
Garnett Lake as long as you don’t mind trains on the hour, periodic traffic,
and an ongoing water dispute between the ducks and the geese, whose incessant
quacking and honking was torturous. Needless to say, I did not sleep well.
At about 3:30 a.m. the wind picked up and it started to
sprinkle a little bit. I could see that there was some lightening in the sky,
but it was for the most part distant. I rolled around for a while through a
couple of small weather fronts and finally decided that if I was going to beat
the weather, I had better start getting things together. At around 4:30 a.m., I
started packing up. In checking with the weather channel, it looked like I
would be fighting a pretty good head wind all the way back to Iola. By the time
I ate my PBJ breakfast and headed out it was approximately 5:00 a.m. I attached
my flashlight to my handle bars and headed south in the dark.
My flash light gave up the ghost in Welda but it was light
enough to see without it once my eyes adjusted. The wind also picked up after I
pulled out of the underpass just to the south of Welda. There is not a lot of
tree cover in spots between Welda and Colony and although it is small there is
also a slight uphill grade for most of the way. I was determined not to stop
until arriving at Colony so I pressed on. The wind was pretty bad and it made
for some very slow going. I had several heated conversations with the wind
while on this section but my hot air had no affect on Mother Nature. By the time
I reached Colony, I felt like I had ridden the exer-cycle on full tension for
about an hour.
Under the Shelter in Colony Kansas
I stopped in Colony and downed my Hershey’s bar and some
cashews. I then headed out for the final leg of my journey. The wind did not
cut me much slack for the remainder of the ride but I made it home about 8:30
a.m. Overall, it was a good first overnight bike-camping trip for the year. I
am sure that there will be more, preferably without the trains. I guess I
should have expected it. It is after all a rail trail.
Enjoy the Ride
