Prairie Lick

Wednesday, July 19. Hartsburg, MO to Sedalia, MO.

The plan today was to ride 50-some miles from Hartsburg to Pilot Grove, continuing along the Katy Trail. We spent a restful night in Hartsburg, since the only thing in town open was The Hitchin' Post. The Hartsburg Inn, where we stayed, was very comfortable, but in most states, converting your garage to a bedroom and bathroom does not qualify your establishment as an "Inn".

We were out on the trail by 7:00am, and spent the first 2 hours in relative coolness and shade. Like yesterday, we were the first humans through the trail, and were covered in fine cobwebs in no time. Riding with our bandanas pulled over our faces (a la cattle rustlers) gave us the protection we needed from inhaling or ingesting too many of them. We didn't expect to see any locals on the trail today, due to the heat. Today's heat index of 111 would have kept any sane person off the trail.

And so it began to look as though our ride today would be scenic but uneventful, and we'd be off the trail right around lunch. It's nice to have a plan--otherwise, you wouldn't even get out of bed, would you?

Today's route was very scenic, and also historic. We rode along the Missouri River for some time, and passed an actual campground where Lewis and Clark and the Discovery Corps stayed in 1804. High up on one of the bluffs, a natural stone archway can be seen. The arch has been noted by every explorer who's come this way, and I'm noting it here so as not to break the chain letter. Explorers before L&C's time named it the Roche Percee (pierced rock), and the name has stuck. A town just beyond the arch is named Rocheport, and we stopped for a quick break there. They have a very nice little depot at the trail, complete with A/C, a cafe, bicycle shop, restrooms and city hall. Larry, whom we had met two days earlier at Defiance, showed up with his wife. He had finished up yesterday's ride in Rocheport, and was heading back to his home in Colorado today. He too had found the lack of services on the trail was a problem. By the time he got to Hartsburg, where we stopped for the night, he was out of food and low on water. Since the Hitchin' Post wasn't open when he came through Hartsburg, he continued on another 20 miles before stopping. We chatted for a bit and met his wife Jane, who had been SAG'ing his trip on the Katy Trail. It was here that Matthew broached the subject of continuing on to Sedalia instead of stopping at Pilot Grove. It would be a long day, but it would make tomorrow's day very short. And since we'd gotten such an early start on the day, another 25 miles wouldn't be too bad, would it?

It was now about 9:30am, and the trail was heating up. We shortly came on to a really stunning view of both the river on the left and the bluffs on the right. There is a natural water supply and the Lewis & Clark Batcave below the bluff, level with the trail (really. Go look for yourself). The cave is on private property, so I could only get a quick peek into a dark cave, but about 50 feet above the trail on the bluff were remnants of Indian pictographs. L&C did not mention them in their journals, but other explorers did make note of them. It's possible that they were made after the Discovery Corps came through the area. The bluff is exposed to the river, and easy to see from a distance. Matthew speculated that the pictograph may have indicated the presence of clear water to other river-going Indians. It's a beautiful spot, and we spent some time looking around the site.

The shade was giving out and the heat was rising, so we pushed on. We did see a couple of locals out on the trail, and a pair who looked like they might be touring. They blew by us as though we were invisible, but with them out of the way, we could concentrate on the small figure further up the trail. As we got closer, I saw a backpack left in the shade, and a lone figure, walking in the opposite direction. We stopped for a chat, and discovered that Uma and her dog Flossy, are walking the country from Wyoming to the East Coast. She's from Ashland, OR, and last year walked from OR to WY. This year she's completing the journey, and had just found the Katy Trail about 5 miles earlier. Flossy had run off to spend some time in the shade, and Uma was going to collect her. We exchanged contact information, wished her a good trip, and headed on. Boonville was only about 5 miles away, and it was still before noon. We decided to have a quick snack, and wait for lunch until we got to Pilot Grove, another 11 miles down the road. As we pulled up to the restored depot, we saw a restored caboose and decided to look around while snacking.

I've never been inside a real caboose, and this one looked like it could be pressed into service at any time. Another visitor came in while we were there, and she told us about her first train ride from Kansas City as an 8-year-old girl. She hadn't heard about the rail line being converted to a bike trail, but said she could see herself riding the trail with us.

And as we climbed down from the caboose, another couple of riders pulled up to the depot. Joe and Pat are 5th and 3rd grade teachers from Glenwood Springs, CO, and were riding the Katy Trail in the opposite direction from us. They had started with BOB trailers and another friend, but the friend wasn't feeling well and decided to follow them in a car and take their trailers with him. They were meeting in Boonville at the depot to have lunch in town. They assured us that the trail ahead of us was mostly shady, and we'd have no trouble making it to Sedalia. Good thing, because now it was almost 1:00pm.

The trail out of Boonville was shaded, but we'd already done 40 miles and the heat was beginning to break me down. And was I imagining it, or was the trail sloping up?

We passed by, or through, maybe, a little burg named Prairie Lick. There was nothing trailside that would indicate that the town still existed, but when I saw that name, I knew that was the definition of today's ride. Hot and dry. We'd both filled up our Camelbacks with ice and water before leaving Hartsburg. Matthew carries 100 ounces, mine is 72 ounces. By the time we reached Boonville, we were both out of water, so we refilled there. What we needed now was lunch.

Pilot Grove was now in sight, and we found The Lunch Box Deli right off the trail. A sandwich, chips, and a chocolate shake all tasted great, and a I had a bottle of water, too--just in case. We got some ice from the deli, and filled up with water one more time before hitting the trail.

Clifton City was 12 miles from Pilot Grove, and Sedalia another 12 beyond that. Turns out that I had not been hallucinating about the trail slope--we were riding the last licks of the Ozarks. From Pilot Grove to Clifton City, the trail rose gently for long crawls, but then sloped back down for pedal-free periods. The trail was canopied in shade for the majority of the 12 miles, but when the canopy disappeared, we felt the lash of the day's 111-degree heat.

The last 12 miles into Sedalia took us out of the rolling Ozarks remnants and into the flat, broad Osage plains. While this meant we had less shade, the breeze helped keep the temperature bearable. The Katy Trail dumped us onto the city streets in Sedalia, and we found ourselves at another restored depot, where the Sedalia Chamber of Commerce has its' office along with a museum and gift shop. All closed, since it was now 6:00pm. There was a spur of railroad track outside the depot, with a sculpture celebrating "The Cradle of Ragtime Music". Scott Joplin wrote "The Maple Leaf Rag" while living in Sedalia. Further along the depot's plaza is another large sculpture, created from iron. The sculpture was a collaboration between local schoolchildren and a sculptor. The iron piece is difficult to describe, and difficult to capture with my camera. In a roller-coaster type of design, a collection of characters are dancing along this rail line. Characters including musicians, children, chickens, pigs, bunnies, horses, dogs and cyclists mix with iron images of the MK&T trains and the (historic) Hotel Bothwell. Which is where we are staying tonight. The hotel was originally opened in 1927, and restored in 1999, with 48 rooms, the Ivory Keys Lounge, an Italian restaurant, and coffeeshop. It was in this hotel that Harry Truman found out that he'd gotten the nod from the Kansas City political boss to run for the Senate. He'd go on to serve two terms in the Senate before becoming President.

So after a very long day in the saddle, and 75+ miles in the heat and humidity, we're in Sedalia. We have one more day on the Katy trail, less than 40 miles. Then we're on to Kansas. I've heard from several sources that the heat is supposed to break in the next day or so, and Joe & Pat mentioned that the humidity tapers off after we reach the 3000 ft elevation. We will continue to watch our hydration levels, and hope for cooler temps. Right now, though, I can hear my pillow calling to me. More later from the dusty trail.