Panoche Hills

We spent our first night around a campfire at Mercey Hot Springs, listening to Isaac describe the Panoche Hills.

The Panoche Hills are a desert ecosystem located an hour west of Fresno, California. The hills are an oxymoron, seemingly barren and lush at the same time. Doubletrack dirt roads wind in and out of windswept grasses. Rippling hills that pan out as far as the eyes can see.

“The real kicker is the second climb. Very steep. Very loose.” Isaac muses, as his wok hisses over the campfire. “And when the sand gets wet it’s the stickiest clay in the world. Wheels go to from free spinning to not turning in 2 rotations and wrecks bearings.”

Luckily tomorrow’s forecast was clear. I threw on my 47mm WTB Ventures, topped them off with sealant, and replaced both brake pads before this weekend trip. I attached extra bottle cages to the fork of my Thesis, too. There’s no cell reception; “bring everything you might need” was our mantra …


To read more, check out the story in print form in Dropped Magazine Vol. 3 https://www.droppedmag.com/shop/p/issue-02-n79ym

GPX route on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/5105675109