#8 on the hardest cycling climbs in California is Mineral King.  This was on my list last year as my final climb of Hack-bbatical 2020, but I got smoked out by the worst wildfires in the history of California.  It is one of the reasons this year the Hack-bbatical theme is “Unfinished Business.”  The other reason is that two years ago my attempt to climb Horseshoe Meadow was thwarted by winds so strong I could not walk forward and had to abandon the climb.

One of the hardest parts of the Mineral King climb is finding parking.  There is no way to park a car anywhere near the beginning of the climb on Mineral King Road.  After about 20 minutes of driving around I was able to find some open parking in the lot of the community center about 1.5 miles away from Mineral King Road. 

The climb started out warm.  I didn’t get going until 7:30am and by that time it was already 75 degrees and the sun was out in full force.  The beginning of this climb featured switchbacks through small ranches and oaks which like the day before gave my legs no time for a warm up.

The next section of the climb winds along the side of a mountain on a very rough road with the East Fork of the Kaweah River very far below.  As I was on the North side of the valley, the sun started to bake me early.  As opposed to the Sherman Pass ride the day before, this climb kind of goes up and down for the first 7 miles so you don’t gain any elevation to cool off.  It was just hot with a forecast of 105 degrees where I parked the car.

Needless to say, the Mineral King Road seems to elude to mining.  Within a few miles I ran into what seemed to be a well maintained mining apparatus.  I assumed the name of this would be “chute” but upon an internet search I didn’t find anything that looked like it.  I also looked up everything I could about mining in this area and couldn’t find anything that would educate me as to what this is even though this area was silver rush area in the late 1800’s. 

A little more work uncovered that it was built in 1909 by the Mount Whitney Power Company as a flume to carry water which it did until 2009 when a portion of it collapsed.  It was reconstructed in 2011 and put back into full use.  Those flume builders in 1909 did a dang nice job for it to last over 100 years and still only need part of it reconstructed. No, I did not do this internet search while I was standing there.

Finally, there was a short downhill to the Kaweah River Bridge built in 1923.  This would basically be the last of the downhill run.  It was time to climb and it had become even hotter.

Climb, climb, climb.  According to the description of this ride, there would be a ranger station at mile 11 where you are supposed to pay to enter the park or show your National Park Pass. There were even signs to that effect at the beginning of the road.  I was already to show my pass, but there must have been cutbacks as it just said there was a residence there. 

I was kind of counting on getting water as the description called that out.  No agua at this intersection unless I wanted to take the chance of knocking on the door.  I wasn’t that desperate yet, but I was going through water at a much faster pace then the day before due to the increased heat.  For some reason, it wasn’t getting cooler as I climbed.  It was getting hotter and I could feel it taking a toll on me.

Off in the distance, I could see a unique mountain peak.  I wasn’t sure what it was, but it was distinctly different than all the others.  I would find out later that was basically my destination hours from now.

I started to eat more thinking that would give me more energy. I had packed quite a bit of food and even tossed in a last second back up plan of an extra sleeve of energy chews with caffeine.  I realized at that moment I needed to ration my water for sure in case I didn’t run into another source.

The next 5 miles was more of the same.  Brutal sun, nothing but uphill and a terrible road with stretches of dirt.  I would say that this route is more of a gravel bike route than it is a road bike route.  In the late 60’s and 70’s Disney tried to build a ski resort up here. I guess since that didn’t pan out they abandoned ever paving this road again.

I was getting a little worried that I wasn’t going to be able to get back to the car with enough water.  It was a true worry.  Supposedly, there was a campground up here that had water but most of the campgrounds that I encountered last year didn’t have any running water or had shut it off.  Again, eat a little more and conserve what I had was the mantra.

I continued to keep my eye on that unique mountain peak. It was getting closer with each painful stroke of the pedal.

I finally reached the conifer tree line filled with cedar, redwood and some actual Sequoia trees.  That meant well needed shade and finally altitude cooling.  I also took this moment to reapply sunscreen.  I could feel salt on my skin which meant it was coming out fast than I was replenishing it. Not a good thing. By this time I had been out there four hours with another 9 miles to go.  9 tough miles on a bad road that sometimes turned into dirt. 

I was now two of my four bottles of water down and into the next two which was additionally concerning. With a little math in my delusional sundrenched mind, that meant this would likely end up being around an 8 hour ride ending back at the car.  From time to time there were cars that passed by. If it got bad, I could ask them if they have any water I thought. With all that thinking about water, I am glad I took this photo of the waterfall to prove it wasn’t a mirage.

Winding through the shade of the pines was a nice change as well as the cooler temperatures.  I might actually survive I said to myself. It both helped cool me down and act as a good distraction due to the amazing nature of the Sequoia trees.

My worry about my water was getting majorly real as I knew upon my decent I would encounter 100+ degree temps for the last 8 miles.  I was also down to basically one bottle now. Then, I saw a sign for a campground.  Agua hope!  Nope, campground was closed and the water was shut off.  Depression on top of depression.  Think happy thoughts I said to myself.  The ride description also said that there was a restaurant at a resort somewhere ahead of me.  They would surely help me right?  If they are open post COVID of course. If they didn’t go bankrupt during the pandemic.

As I wound around more Sequoia trees I saw some old structures and what appeared to be a building or two for forest service staff. The oldest of the buildings was right next to the road and built against what probably then was a giant Sequoia, but now is a giant Sequoia stump. Could it be? Would it work? A water spigot! Foiled again! Once again there would be no fresh agua supply for Mr Tim!

Cabins were a positive thing though.  In fact, within a mile I came upon what appeared to be modernish vacation cabins.  I am desperate now, so be prepared little cabin neighborhood. I will be knocking on doors, making new friends if I have to and circling uninhabited cabins if necessary to find water.  Then it happened.  I saw a big red cabin with a green hose next to the front deck.  It was clear that no one was home so I road up to it and turned on the spigot.  Water!  Magical wonderful water!

I immediately filled up a bottle with that fine exotic Sierra mountain hose water and drank it all.  Then I filled up the other three for the remainder of the ride.  I also drank about another half of the bottle before refilling and capping it.  I was definitely dehydrated. My throat actually burned as I drank the water. I could still feel salt all over my skin. All the signs you don’t want to see but need to read.

This was additionally just in time as I started to have cramps in my legs which are common for me when I begin to get dehydrated running. However, very uncommon for me when cycling. For the remainder of the climb, I would be battling cramps. They were mostly in my left leg so I would push and pull only with my right leg for portions of the climb to let the cramps subside. I also dug into half of my energy chew stash since they also have salt and electrolytes.  I had gone through all of my energy solution in my water bottles by now that is usually my primary source of electrolytes.

Yes! There was a resort like the description said there would be! And, it was open and there were people! No need to stop now that I have water though and the moment I stop the cramps will get worse so up the mountain I continued again with that jagged peak taunting me.

Past a campground that was actually open, past a ranger station that had a ranger in it, over two more dirt patches of road and around a turn to see kind of an apocalyptic sight of sorts. Cars lining the side of the road wrapped in tarps. WTF?

An internet search discovered that this is due to hungry Marmots! Here is an excerpt from Beware of The Car-Eating Rodents!

Marmots will eat your car. Well, not all of your car, but your radiator hoses. Some types of wiring. Brake lines and hood insulation too. If you’ve ever done much hiking in the Mineral King area of Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park, you’ve maybe used a tarp to seal off your car’s delicious underbody or walked past cars parked at the trailhead and wondered why they were wrapped up like big Christmas presents. I’ve seen cars disabled by the side of the road there, felled by a chomped wiring harness, and once returned to my pickup to scatter a small phalanx of marmots gathered at the front of the truck, no doubt plotting a strategy to get past my flimsy tarp defense to feast upon the Michelin-starred radiator hoses inside. The Mineral King marmots are particularly enthusiastic about the delicious rubber and plastic bits of your engine, but most any marmot population has an insatiable craving for the most sensitive, chewy of car parts.

Just past the cars I could see a parking area ahead with more tarped vehicles and some humans meandering around. I asked a hiker where the end of this road was and he confirmed I had made it to the end of the world. This was confirmed as I looked up and saw that damn mountain peak I had been chasing all day. 5 hours and 45 minutes to be exact. Time for a celebratory Cliff Bar. Hopefully, I wouldn’t be attacked by rabid snack bar loving Marmots.

Well, enough of soaking in the moment. That store/restaurant back at the resort might have some Gatorade or something else to replace those lost electrolytes. I still had half a sleeve of chews, but I was saving those for the short climb up from the bridge on the way back. So, off I went with my right leg doing most of the work and something I had forgotten existed…downhill.

I rolled right up to the Silvery City Store and limped in to see if they had anything for what ailed me. No Gatorade said the friendly 20 something storekeep, waitress, cashier, probably dishwasher, probably cook, and probably manager. Coke? Full on Coke? I want sugar and caffeine please. Got any? Any price is reasonable. If there is one in your purse I will buy it from you!

She looked at me and said, “If it is in a can is that alright?” I said, “If it were in zip lock bag I would take it.” I don’t even know what I paid for it. She went into the back for what seemed like forever. She came out and handed it to me and said, “It’s kind of warm is that ok?” I told her it was, but since this is also a restaurant maybe she could get me a glass or cup with some ice in it (That concept must not have been in their restaurant training manual at the Silver City Store.)

She thought that was a good idea and she would fix me up. That is until some guy started talking to her and she completely ceased taking care of me even though I clearly might die at any moment without that caramelized sugar water.

She sold him a Diet Pepsi, went to the back to get it and said to him, “It’s kind of warm is that ok?” I had seen this movie before about 4 minutes ago. It ended the same way. Warm soda. As my contribution to my fellow man that day, I reminded her there is a fix for that and how she could be the hero in this film and help the two of us out.

Off she went to get the glass and the ice, but then another person wandered through the door asking where the trash was which she was kind enough to show them. She then went out so the dining deck where people were having lunch and cleared a table. On the way back, both me and the other guy just say “Ice?” She said, “Oh yeah….ice.” Finally, out of the kitchen she came with a set up for each of us.

With my last bit of energy, I planted myself on the deck and swilled down the sugar and caffeine. I was a new man. A better man. A man who taught a server that ice with soda can change a persons life.

With four full bottles of water and a can of happy Coke surging through me, I embarked on the descent. It was as expected. Bumpy and challenging due to the horrible road. I blame Walt Disney for how uncomfortable this was. 24.5 miles of crappy road just because he didn’t get his way with that ski resort.

It was hot and then really, really hot. By the time I got to my car it was 107. Remember that estimate of 8 hours round trip? 8 hours and 21 minutes out there folks.

On the way I did see one thing I must have missed on the way up. This gate with Sky Hook above it. Maybe Kareem lives here? Anybody have any answers on this one? I failed at the internet search on that one.

The bottom line is that I survived and checked the box on the #8 hardest cycling climb in California which that day seemed like they should have rated it #1. That leaves one more climb to go to punch my ticket for all 10!

Final stats:

#8 Hardest climb in California (They lie. Much harder,)

53.4 miles roundtrip

7,248 feet gained

Time in the saddle 06:50:51