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Day 44: {between "N" and "O" on the map}
JULY 19: Blanding, Utah, to Hite, Utah, 79 miles via U.S. 191 and Utah Route 95. Average speed today, 14 mph. Total trip mileage to date, 2,803. Average daily mileage since June 1, 57.2.
The numbers above pale in comparison to this one: 106 degrees. That was the temperature in Hite, at the bottom of the
Plus there was no town, no place to eat lunch or get water, along the way. So Randy, who earlier in the morning checked out Natural Bridges National Monument as we rode, pulled up with lunch at 1 p.m. and 16 miles east of Hite. We made turkey sandwiches on the red-hot hood of his Volvo, wolfed them down, refilled our water bottles, and set out for final miles of the day.
Making the run almost tolerable were the spectacular red-rock canyons, washes and buttes of
But anytime we started to feel sorry for ourselves, we thought of going the other way. A British cross-country cyclist we met before lunch carrying all his gears told us he packed 10 liters of water before leaving Hite.
In contrast, Randy carries our gear and brings us water.
Our home tonight was a “housekeeping cabin” in Hite. It was actually a hillside mobile home cooled by a swamp cooler that could barely keep up. For dinner tonight we barbecued chicken we bought in Blanding.
Tomorrow’s daunting agenda: Climb out of this infernal canyon, beginning – we hope – at 6 a.m.