Coleville to 20miles south of Ione (71miles)

Today was another hard day for me.  I made it through the first 2/3rds all right, but then I was exhasted and really didn't feel like riding the 20 more miles to camp, but I made it.

The day started a little late, our tandem friends, Doug and Terese, had an appointment with the bike shop to try and get their tire fixed.  So with the earliest start time possible being 8am, I was able to sleep in a bit.  By 9am we were on the road, though the tire wasn't able to be fixed.

Yay for hotels when you're exhausted.

The day started out tough!  The hills were some of the steepest that we've had on this whole trip, made all the tougher because we had thought we were done climbing for a while.  Eventually the hills evened out and we were able to get into a good climbing rhythm.

Rest break after those awful hills.

After a quick lunch at a restaurant/general store in the Coleville national park, we finished up the climb and headed down the mountain.  Then a quick ride brought us to Ione, where we stocked up on food for dinner.  Bob, Doug, and I purchased some fantastic Ice Cream, mine was Huckleberry...Yum!

Crystal falls, was amazing.

After that ice cream I was ready for bed, and had no get-up-and-go to finish the days ride.  With 20 miles to go I was counting down the miles.  With 13 to go I started counting down the quarter miles.  The Forest service campground, Panhandler, was gorgeous.  We were right on the water, and had plenty of room to spread out our tents.  A quick dinner, and some blog posts, and I was off to bed.

Joe, my hero for having extra pedals, and bob.