Day 11: Grizzly Peak Road to 5 miles S of Burney

a. ~4000’ gain, 59 miles (but we left the route here, so that info is not accurate in terms of defining the route). Night spent at ~3600’ elevation
b. Camped in a rough camp 100 yards off Tamarack Road.
c. Food: Full size grocery and several restaurants in Burney.
d. Road info: We eventually retraced our path from Stout Meadow back to 89 and took paved 89 to Clarks Creek Road, where we reconnected with the official route. By our route, once we had retraced our steps back to 89, it was all paved except for the 6 miles of dirt on Black Ranch Road, and for 3 miles of dirt on Tamarack. Following the routing we suggest in the Day 11 section, the road would be primarily dirt. Highway 89 has too much traffic to make it optimal for cycling.
e. Water availability:

i. McCarthur Burney Falls State Park.
ii. Burney

f. Miscellaneous Notes:

i. We did not stop at Burney Falls State Park to see the falls. We’ve since been told that the falls are lovely and well worth the stop.
ii. If you are an astronomy aficionado, or have an interest in SETI, you might want to take a slightly different route between Burney and Lassen. The SETI Allen Telescope Array is in this area, a few miles east of Hat Creek on route 22, and they welcome visitors. We have not been there, but did attend an interesting SETI lecture at our local community college that piqued our interest. www.seti.org
iii. If you don't mind carrying a fair bit of food and you prefer to avoid towns, you should stock up in Burney with enough food to get to Chico, enabling you to avoid the side trip to Chester.