I watched my battery gauge closely as I climbed higher in elevation, interested in how much of a toll getting up to 7000k feet would take. Even though I had started out in Red Bluff with 90%, I had already dropped to 70% over the course of 40 miles. I wasn’t worried at all though. What takes a bunch of energy going up is sure to put in quite a bit on the way down easing any anxiety I might have had if I hadn’t experienced this before. Still, it always amazes me just how much energy it takes to push a 2 ton car up a mountain at 60mph.
The higher I climbed, the lower the temperature dropped and I soon started to see patches of snow alongside the road. I couldn’t help but laugh to myself as thoughts of my morning flooded my mind. I had been an hour away at Black Butte Lake, but the world couldn’t have been more different, with fall colors and the sun shining down temperatures in the 60’s. That’s the biggest thing to love about California, the sheer diversity of its wilderness. I quickly brought myself back to the present as I pulled into the Manzanita Lake parking lot.