Mount Scott Ride

Much ado has been written about climbing Mt Scott in the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge, but I will offer you a little different view here. First of all,  the rest of the group I went with, all mostly 30's and 40's type individuals the talk afterwards was all about how fast, how quick, who got there first. Well.....I went too..... and while I wasn't the fastest, nor the first to the top,(actually I was because I cheated and started earlier)...... but the point that I need to address here is that I Made It! All the way to the top! And back down! And in one piece! And I am happy with that. One of the group bragged that he hit 51.6mph top speed (speed limit 25) coming down off that mountain top with gusty 20-30mph winds coming at us from all directions. Good for him. I hit 37 mph and felt very uncomfortable at speeds higher than that, mostly because of the gusty winds. The youngsters regrouped at the stop sign at the bottom and were just leaving the stop sign as I pulled up behind them. SO???? The one statement I'll make here is that I made it to the top, and back down to the bottom. I still have all my skin in place, and all my teeth where they belong. One of these days luck will run out for people who push the envelope, and believe me, a crash at 51 mph on that winding steep mountain road won't be fun. I guess with age comes caution, but for good reason. Old bones take a long time to heal.
For a little background....Mt Scott is in the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Preserve close to Fort Sill, Ok. It is not the highest, nor the most prominent, but does boast the highest paved auto road in the State. It is 2484 feet above sea level which doesn't sound like much until you take into consideration that the mean elevation at ground level is around 500 feet, then it becomes a bit more impressive. It is a very impressive looking mountain anyway, without being built up with any hype. .......

The road winds around the mountain twice and ends up at the very top. The views from there are impressive, and the entire preserve is a thing of beauty. The road climbs up the mountain at a steady 8% with occasional short sections that exceed 12% in a few places. It is a tough climb on a bicycle. Looking up the road on any section would look like this.......

And looking back down from there looked like this.......

Just so you can tell that it is one steep mother-mountain road. You can already tell that the view from the top will be amazing. And, it was. Mount Scott is a jumbled mass of boulders and rocks and is hailed in the local area as a rock climbers mecca. You'll find climbers from all over testing their skills on these rocks. I also noticed several of the soldiers from Fort Sill running up this road and back down. Now that would take some moxie. This a view of Mt Scott from the Medicine Park area where I left my car.

And a little Artistic view of a couple of dead trees on the way up

And then there is this...... I really don't know what to say about this...... A Boulderlanch?

Anyway, I did struggle in places on this hill on the way up, took my time, kept my breathing sustainable, and my heart rate within reason, and made it to the top. Again, I really don't see the reasoning behind the need to race up a hill like this, just making it to the top was enough for me. There was a small group of youngsters that pulled up to the summit parking lot while we were all there and I got one of them to take this group picture of us at the summit. He looked at all of us (he was probably all of 25) and exclaimed.... "You guys rode those bicycles all the way up here...... AWESOME!" I felt the need to agree with him, as I, for one, felt awesome indeed.

There were a few scraggly wind-blown cedars that manage to survive up at the summit, but mostly just rock.

Again, the view from the top (near the top here) was truly outstanding... you can look down and see the ribbon of road we started up from......

Winter just does not do this area justice, as in the summer, all is so very green here. After our quick descent down, we travelled west to the visitor center. I wanted to take in the center, but the rest were eager to get on down the road. So, we parted company here, they going south toward Cache and back to Lawton, and me to the west end of the preserve. On the way, here is some they missed.

There is a sizable wild bison herd in the preserve, there are no fences and the bison are allowed to wander where they want. One must use caution around these creatures as they are not pets, but wild animals in their native settings. They can be dangerous, they are very large and strong, as well as much faster than you might think looking at their bulk.
A little bit down the road is a remnant of better days. The ruins of an old gas station and trading post.

There were many beautiful scenes that people in cars never knew existed, but I noticed them on a bike right away.

And the old homesteaders rock cabin that people were driving on by without even seeing.

And so it went, 38 miles of history and scenic wonders went by as I rode along on my bicycle. I was thoroughly enjoying the things that obivilous car drivers ignored. This is why I like to ride my bicycle. Not to see how fast, nor how quick, nor even how many miles I can do in one day, but to enjoy what is there and see things that others fly by and miss completely. Time is endless while you are on a bike, so you can borrow a bit of it and explore what is there to see.

I even managed to see things on the way back that I missed on the way out. So you see, for me anyway, bicycling is a nivana thing, not just something to add stress to an already overstressed world. Kick back and enjoy what is offered, look, see, and take your camera with you so you'll always have memories. I've been wanting to do this ride for a long time now, not so much to test my mettle, but to see what I might have missed. Turned out, a lot! I may have to go back again to find some other things I missed on this trip. But one thing for certain, if I never climb to the summit of Mt Scott again in this life, I've done it once....... and that was awesome!