After our morning hike, we returned to the bikes for a bit of trail riding. With the temperatures well below freezing and multiple shallow creek crossings, we soon found ourselves with heavily iced up bikes. Tire clearance was reduced to zero, front derailleurs were non-existent, and travel was slow.

In our downtime at camp that evening, we worked to free our bikes from their icy restraints, first by poking and prodding, then leaning near the fire. We finally resorted to removing the wheels and roasting them over the fire. Another first time experience…

After preparing the bikes for the next day’s journey, we prepared ourselves for the single digit temperatures of the coming night. Our first night out served as a nice test run, giving us just enough experience with the cold to know how seriously we needed to prepare.

All our clothing was dried over the fire, fire warmed rocks were placed in the feet of our sleeping bags, and the fire prepared to burn all night and be easily stoked back to life in case the cold was too much. Cell phone service was checked, backup rides were notified, and we hunkered down for the night.

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