Run to the Sun

We exited the park Sunday afternoon about 2:30 by the less-traveled east gate. 

This was the big day when the moon would pass directly between the Earth and sun in a rare solar eclipse. In most eclipses, the apparent size of the moon matches the disk of the sun so only the sun's billowing corona glows around the darkened center. Because the moon is at its outermost point, or apogee, in its slightly oval orbit, it appears a bit smaller and blocks less of the sun. This was to be a "ring of fire" or annular eclipse.

Our goal was to be on the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe for the solar eclipse, but we were hobbled by the stuck clutch on the Kawasaki Ninja. Without a clutch, mountain riding would require Marty to rely on brakes, not downshifting, in tight curves and downhill runs. Because brakes are prone to overheat and fade when used too heavily, this cut his margin of safety. We had to ride slower.

The ride was, as we'd come to expect, both beautiful and full of "twisties." The road climbed steadily to the highest elevation we'd been to on the entire trip, 9,900 feet. Despite the relatively dry winter, we saw huge snow banks. At one point I rode past a family having a snowball fight. We came upon an accident scene where park rangers were blocking what little traffic there was. Marty made a slow U-turn and looped back a half mile while I explained that he would not be able to stop and restart on the uphill grade. The ranger understood and let him pass smoothly by.

The exit checkpoint sits at on a treeless windswept ridge just before the road descends from the high plateau. The road down is excellent quality with two lanes in both directions and broad sweeping curves. It is the kind of run that forces you to shout 'Wheeeeee!' but you really can't keep that up for eight or so miles. The road builders did skimp a bit on guard rails, there were hardly any until the last mile or so when brakes would be red hot and failing. As a result the view was completely unobstructed most of the way down. There was next to nothing between me and and 2,500 foot drop.

Back at "normal" 5,000 foot elevation, we turned north. The sky was mostly overcast and there were even a few sprinkles on the windshield. I checked the hourly forecast for Lake Tahoe and it showed cloudless skies for the rest of the day. The lake sits on the west side of a tall north-south line of continuous mountains. In order to view the eclipse we would need to make it at least to the summit. Thirty miles shy of the turn west, my heart sank. We were faced with another road construction project. The sign told us to expect 20 minute delays as we rolled to a halt behind a long line of cars and RVs.