I got on the trail this morning at mile marker 6.5 near Ithaca. There, a tall lady wearing a pink bikini top and running shorts was standing with a clear plastic bottle of water. Her hair was cut very short, like a military buzz cut, and had a metal shopping cart with supplies. Vegas definitely has its share of crazies. You could classify her in the marching to a different drummer category. I imagined what emotional cataclysm had resulted in her choice.

The day brought relief with clouds sheltering us at 35C (95F). I rode counter-clockwise into a stiff southeasterly wind. Up the hill once more, I shifted to the lowest granny gear. I made it with some difficulty and a big sense of accomplishment.

At the top of the hill is the junction to powerline road which is a rocky dirt road that leads toward Lake Mead. It, however, dead ends at the mountains. The powerlines continue over the ridges. At the junction is also a water pumping station and a solar array. The collectors follow the Sun's arc -- at this time of day they were all facing east.

There is a rest area near mile marker 4, and available water.