6 July 2007
Got up at my usual 0430, did my usual coffee, dishes, email &
breakfast thing, then finished packing and left before 8. Traffic down
to San Ysidro wasn't bad, and I found the Post Office and a secret
phone number at Coco's; bought gas and mailed the first corner packet.
Then I headed north. I'm not sure why, but I decided to go up
395
instead of the coast. (Oh, wait, I think I figured it looked a bit more
direct than the coast, even though I'm pretty sure "quickest"
routes always go up I-5. 'Course, that's not the coast, either.)
Anyway, traffic wasn't too bad, although the day heated up pretty
severely. I got gas at Kramer Junction, even though I wasn't on reserve
yet, because a) I knew there was gas there, and b) I wanted to wet
down. Traffic up 395 moved right along, mostly at 10 over; occasionally
a truck or motorhome would slow things up for a while, but there seem
to be enough passing lanes that even they aren't a problem for long.
It was almost strange to pass through Lone Pine, as that's usually the
stop for my first day--but I've got to do at least 450 miles a day if
I'm going to finish this trip before August, and besides it was only
1330. When I started thinking about my next gas stop, I saw a sign for
Sonora pass, and it looked like the Mobil station near the Whoa Nellie
Deli would be a reasonable place to get gas. Distance wise, it was, but
it was $4.09 / gallon! I felt better when I passed the next station,
where it was $4.19.
My intent was to make it to Bridgeport, which seemed to have a plethora
of motels. When I got there, and stopped at a middling-looking one,
before I could take off my gear, the proprietor came out and quoted me
$129 for the cheaper of the two rooms he had left, and averred that
everybody else was likely full. He said Walker was 30 miles north, and
would probably suit me better, at least price-wise. So here I am--it's
$50 cheaper, but still pricey, to my way of thinking. And the little
general store down the street has pretty dear groceries; more than $17
for supper and breakfast. (But I'll have leftover bread.)
State: California
508 GPS miles, 67.7 moving average, 92.1 max (passing)
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