Before I remount the 10-ton bike and turn back, I snap a shot of us with the Rooster Comb in the background.

The Rooster Comb is that ridge of rock in the centre-right that crowns the steep grassy hill. I recognize it from photos that I've looked at and I know that I'm not supposed to be approaching it until tomorrow when I return to this area on a day trip.

I can feel heat radiating off the gravel of the stream bed (or is it a road) and I've figured out that it's over 100 degrees F here because everything is hot, not just me.

I'm overheating and need to sit down in some shade and take a break very soon.