Eclipse events span from coast to coast

On Aug. 21, the United States from Oregon to South Carolina will experience a rare and spectacular event: a total eclipse of the sun. The eclipse is the first to cross the country from coast to coast in nearly a century.

The total eclipse will not pass over Columbus, although a partial eclipse will be visible.

Viewing a solar eclipse is very dangerous without proper eye protection, so be sure to obtain special eclipse-viewing glasses, which can be bought for just a couple of dollars. (NASA recommends glasses certified and labeled as meeting the ISO 12312-2 international standard.)

Travelers who want to visit the path of totality — where the moon briefly, completely and spectacularly obscures the sun — will find plenty of interesting and unusual events and celebrations all across the country.

The total eclipse will touch land near Newport, Oregon, about 1:15 p.m. Columbus time. A few minutes later, the shadow will have reached Oregon’s capital, Salem, where viewers standing on the State Capitol steps will be able to experience 1 minute and 54 seconds of totality.

In Wyoming, the city of Casper will host a Wyoming Eclipse Festival during the week leading up to the eclipse, with live music, food and drink, a farmers market and museum events in the historic downtown. The festival culminates with eclipse-watching parties at sites such as the Central Wyoming Fairgrounds, Fort Caspar Museum, the Tate Geological Museum and the Backwards Distilling Company.

In Perryville, Missouri, all hotel rooms are sold out for the eclipse, but temporary campsites will be

time for side trips to the China Wall, Ice Caves and Teddy Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch.

Bikepackers carry the same gear as backpackers, with the addition of tools and spare bicycle parts.

Ideally, the gear ( including a multi- tool, chain breaker, spare tubes, tire levers, patch kit, chain lube and pump) should be distributed equally around the bike because riding single- track trails demands your balance.

The ideal bike would be a hardtail ( with or without suspension)

mountain bike with 27.5- or 29- inch wheels and bags for the frame, fork, handlebar and seat post.

But we’re proof you don’t need topofthe- line gear to complete the trail. Two of our three riders used panniers, meaning saddlebags on racks over rear tires, though they did face more mechanical issues on their 15- year- old bikes.

Plus, the width of the bikes with the panniers tended to disrupt the western wheatgrass and brush along the trail, leading to stops for tick checks and broken bike parts.

Resting points were key to a successful

trip, especially in the hottest parts of the day, between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. The cooler, north- facing slopes and pockets of woods made natural pit stops.

The drier, southfacing buttes lent themselves to purple coneflowers, prairie roses, bright yellow blooming prickly pear cactuses and the easily- recognizable yucca plant with its tall stalks. The wildflowers provided a contrast to the browns and greens dominating the landscape.

One note of caution: The area is experiencing a drought. A wildfire recently closed part of the trail and two campgrounds, but at the end of July, all sections were open.

We each carried 4 to 6 liters of water in daypacks, frame cages and luggage bags. Each campsite (CCC, Bennett, Magpie, Elkhorn, Wannagan, Buffalo Gap, Sully Creek — located at least 18 miles apart) offered handpumped drinking water.

Roosevelt first came to the area to hunt buffalo but later returned to work as a rancher and grieve for his mother and wife, who died the same day in 1884.

“The farther one gets into the wilderness,” he said, “the greater is the attraction of its lonely freedom.”