Shelter Valley is not named well.
Instead of the planned ride up to and back from Mount Laguna, we did something else. Perhaps it had to do with the cold temperatures. Perhaps it was the fog. Perhaps it was the high winds. No, it was all three. So instead to climbing into more fog, cold and wind, we drove down to Shelter Valley and did a short out and back in the sun. Yes, it was warm, but the wind was still something to contend with.
We parked our cars in front of the Shelter Valley Community Center and headed southeast on the Great Southern Overland Stage Road. The wind was blowing strong, but it was not ‘damn this is a strong wind’ strong. And after all, it was a tail wind. Joanne and I rode together, sometimes right next to each other and sometimes one would get up ahead. This would happen when I would stop for a photo.
Mount Laguna from the Great Southern Overland Stage Road
After descending Campbell Grade, the tailwind was really strong. I was in my biggest gear and it was not big enough. I knew I would pay for this on the return, but I was having great fun!
Joanne and I stopped at Vallecito Stage Station County Park for a bit of a rest. It seemed the longer we stayed, the stronger the winds became. We were 15 miles from Shelter Valley and we knew that we would have to fight the head wind on the way back so we decided that we should begin our return journey.
Mount Laguna from Vallecito Stage Station County Park
We turned back into the wind and maintained about 10 miles per hour into the wind. Along the way, we say a Coyote and the blooms on the cactus.
Actually, the return was not that difficult. We even had some tail wind. But the last mile was epic. Very strong, perhaps averaging 30 mph, side winds made our forward progress very difficult. We slowly inched our way forward fighting the side wind that was trying to knock us down. We were very pleased to see our van come into view!
Back at the van, the wind had escalated to ‘this is very strong wind, way too strong to ride in’! And and were in Shelter Valley. I guess it could have been better named.
Later, a clerk in one of the stores in Julian told us that the original name of Shelter Valley was Earthquake Valley. It seems it is easier to sell lots and homes in Shelter Valley.