I don't really want to leave Pacheco Camp, but today is the day that I ride to Paradise Lake to camp there for a few nights

I didn't sleep well last night and kept waking up. I finally got up around 8h30 and began a slow breakfast of strong coffee and the usual granola, tamari almonds and dried apricots. Now I'm packing up begrudgingly to leave Pacheco Camp.

Packed up, the 10-ton bike and I leave Pacheco Camp and stop near the Pacheco Spring tub on the way out

A couple of deer were drinking at the spring tub by this sign earlier this morning. I'm looking forward to Paradise Lake later today. I stopped there briefly during last year's Henry Coe trip for the first time.

My energy is high this morning and I quickly climb the 3/4 mile up to Pacheco Ridge in about 15 minutes, without a warm-up

I'm not sure where this burst of late-morning energy has come from; I guess I'm just excited about the trip. I have to keep telling myself to slow down and not use up all my reserves too early in the day.

The next stage of Coit Road is the short drop down to Mississippi Creek; this only takes a few minutes

Coit Road descends 550 feet here over about 1.1 miles. Part of the ensuing climb up the hill on the other side of the Mississippi Creek canyon is visible in the distance to the right.

Coit Road crosses the dry, rocky stream bed of Mississippi Creek at the bottom of the canyon

Rust-hued buckeye leaves contrast with the dark green of the oak trees in the area. A row of lanky grey pines on the next ridge looks down at this area.

I take on the final climb up Coit Road to County Line Road on the ridge above

This one rises about 300 feet over 3/4 mile and I walk the 10-ton bike up one of the steeper stretches that would have been rideable with a lighter bike.

I take a short break in the hot sun at the top of Coit Road where it ends at County Line Road

My cell phone says that I have reception here, but it's not enough to make a call and change my outgoing message to let callers know where I am.

I wander around the junction of Coit Road and County Line Road and take in the fine views

From here I can see back to Pacheco Ridge, which I just crossed, and the part of Coit Road that I just rode down to Mississippi Creek.

I look down across the Orestimba Wilderness through some burned chamise skeletons from last year's brush fire

In a couple of hours, I'll be at Paradise Lake, which is down below, more or less in front of the distant hills. It's definitely warmer up on this ridge, as I expected, and I'm sweating quite a bit.

The switchbacks down County Line Road from Coit Road to Orestimba Creek make for a fun downhill

For a mile, I glide down County Line Road, dropping about 350 feet in the process. The joy doesn't last long enough!

A few minutes later, the 10-ton bike and I find ourselves at the bottom of County Line Road

Down in the lowlands now, I begin the six-mile ride down Orestimba Creek Road. I'll gradually lose another 350 feet of elevation on this road, but there are plenty of little uphills before I reach Red Creek Road.

After a mile, I reach the old Orestimba Corral and stop at the picnic table for a Clif-bar-and-water break

It's noticeably hotter here and I wipe sweat from my brow, even though I'm not riding uphill. With each ridge crossing away from Henry Coe Park headquarters, the temperature tends to rise a bit as one approaches California's Central Valley.