Carrizo Plain Tour - Map
I put together a quick map of our last trip. I put some camping icons and water icons to show where we camped and where we were able to refill on water. The water icon in the middle of the plain sorta obscures the camping icon. It was a beautiful, remote and hard trip but definitely worthwhile having survived it.
It’s probably best done in the spring or when the temperatures are not too hot. The services are far and few between once you leave Creston, so don’t attempt this trip if you can’t fix your bike or can carry sufficent water and food for a few days.
More notes to follow.
View Carrizo Plain 2009 in a larger map
Subscribe to Epicurean Cyclist
Russ,
Interesting route. As a professional geographer and cartographer I appriciate the map. I was hoping you would post something. I haven’t heard the term Carizzo Plain since my California Geology class early in college days. One of the great examples of a strike slip fault line. When looking at the Terrain view in Google you can actually see the fault in places.
What application did you use to create this map? I personally use and like Bikely.com. Two things I wish they would do, 1) add terrain view and 2) allow one to click on the elevation profile and see that location on the map.
Question for you, why did you choose to camp in Morro Bay State Park versus Montana de Oro State Park? http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=592 One obvious reason is that MdO is a bit of a detour and Morro Bay looks to be along your route. If you have never been there MdO is a terrific State Park. You might like the “wilderness camps.” I stayed in one a few years ago. There is running water and a table but not much else and you are pretty much alone in the camps.
MTBMaven - I made the map with google maps…if you have a gmail account and go into “map” mode you can create any number of maps and draw lines, drop in icons, etc.,
I like Bikely as well but it is fairly limited. I’m open to suggestions if anyone else knows a good mapping app that uses Google.
We stayed at Morro Bay State Park because it was fairly close to town (dinner was at a pizza/beer place :). I’d love to stay at MdO one of these days. I think the last time I looked into it seemed like the spots were really expensive ($60-$80..I’m assuming those are RV sites and not the wilderness ones though) and didn’t have hike/bike….Next time though, I think we’ll make the trip out there…
Have you looked into Microsoft’s mapping application? It’s now called Bing, http://www.bing.com/maps. Their mapping API (the development language used to interact with the application) is really advanced. Unfortunately there are not as many free mapping applications developed for it due to licensing stuff. However the product is way more advanced in my opinion. Out of the box you can create routes and add waypoint. In the end it may be comparable or less useful for your needs.
What was limited in Bikely?
This reminds me I need to finish writing my blog post review about mapping applications for biking. One of these days. Then again I need to finish my graduate thesis and study for the Project Management Professional exam as well. I guess I should ride my bike a bit less.
Hey Russ it’s Andreas from the LBC. Great looking trip man, very inspiring. I was just on a camping trip up in Big Sur this past weekend and drove past a few bike touring packs. I’ve been looking for a bike that i can setup to join in the fun. I found one for my girl but it might be a little too old for such a robust trip.
Question for you. You started out in SLO town, shall i assume you traveled there by train with your bikes from LA. Then when you got to Ventura you jumped back on the train again? I assume you made this happen with no help from a car out of Long Beach but wasn’t sure.
Thanks again for the great photos and inspiration.
Andreas,
Zip me an email if you want me to check out the bike. Bikestation has some Surly Long Haul Truckers in the shop right now which are perfect for the job.
Yes, we took the Amtrak Bus at 6th/Long Beach to Union Station. Boarded the train and detrained at SLO.
On the return trip we took the Amtrak from Ventura to Union Station, rode to the Washington stop and boarded the Blue Line back to the LBC.
R