Day 6: Milton-Freewater to ABC Mountain Retreat - Exploring Northeast Oregon 2023 - CycleBlaze

September 11, 2023

Day 6: Milton-Freewater to ABC Mountain Retreat

Today's distance is short but it's nearly all uphill, from the lowest lodging of the tour to the highest lodging of the tour. On the road at 9:15 after a quick stop at McDonalds to buy a breakfast sandwich to eat on the road later. No services today. The morning was pleasantly cool thanks to the high clouds.

Rare roadside flowers while climbing out of Milton-Freewater.
Heart 2 Comment 1
Bill ShaneyfeltIf it was not for sunflowers, fall roadsides would be rather grim...

https://oregonflora.org/taxa/garden.php?taxon=5524
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1 year ago

Today's route is mostly 3 to 4 percent grade. One area near the top is 5% grade. While climbing out of town I had views of the Blue mountains to the southeast, looking into the hazy sun. In the middle is the cleft of the North and South forks of the Walla Walla river canyon.

Looking southeast at the Blue Mountains. North and South Fork Walla Walla river canyons visible in the middle.
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Today's route starts on busy OR 11, with a wide shoulder and a rumble strip. Then a mile on Milton Road to cut the corner to connect to OR 204. Most of the day was on OR 204 which crosses the Blue mountains.

This is where a cyclist goes to pee when nothing else is more than 6 inches high.
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Charmaine RuppoltI remember those HUGE blocks of hay stacked up in the fields.
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1 year ago

Today's route has one scenic 90 foot descent on OR 11. One last chance to enjoy a green fold in the low desert before climbing to higher elevations.

The only descent of the day.
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I have not seen onion fields but I have seen uncovered dump trucks loaded with onions. Occasionally I see an onion that fell onto the road.

During this tour I saw the occasional escaped Walla Walla onion on the road.
Heart 2 Comment 1
Kelly IniguezWhen I rode the Lewis and Clark trail decades ago, I stopped at a roadside stand selling walla walla onions. They were available in 50 pound bags! I had fantasies of shipping a bag to my mother for the drive in movie theatre. I could imagine the look on her face!
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1 year ago

I'm discovering that red barns are relatively common in northeast Oregon.

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After climbing 1000 feet from Milton-Freewater I saw the first indication that the highway is closed ahead. The closure is 15 miles past tonight's lodging. OR 204 still had local traffic but it had no thru truck traffic other than the occasional ODOT dump truck. It was quiet and pleasant.

I did not know about this road closure.
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I had a flat tire caused by an easy to find goathead. Flat tire #2 of the tour.

Looking down.
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Today's ride has expansive, if not quite spectacular views. The view to the north was quite good during the climb, looking down on the Walla Walla river valley with no trees to obstruct the view.

Milton-Freewater far below.
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I started to see trees a little above 3000 feet elevation. For several miles OR 204 stays on the edge of the trees, so I still had frequent views looking down. The high temperature in Milton-Freewater was 90F but I climbed into cooler temperatures. High in the low 80's. I never got overheated.

Looking back while climbing into trees.
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Today I'm climbing with a heavier than usual load because there are no services until the end of the day tomorrow. I'm carrying a large stockpile of food, even 2 beers.

Small and large.
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Charmaine RuppoltLooks like a painting, with the small and larger barn. :)
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1 year ago
This fruit stand was closed.
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I climbed on the edge of the forest for miles.
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I only got into the forest near the end of the climb, above 3600 feet elevation. There were very few houses on the barren lower hills, but the forested area has more houses. It's all private property. Not National Forest yet.

Byzantine Catholic Cathedra.
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Log house for sale.
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Dense forest near 4000 feet elevation.
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I arrived at ABC Mountain Retreat at 3:50 PM. Elevation at the entrance is 3950 feet, then the gravel road descends 50 feet to the cabins.

Tonight's home.
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It took a few minutes to find somebody to show me to my cabin. My phone doesn't work very well here. The cabin is quite large, sleeps 7. But it has no plumbing. The toilet and shower are 500 feet away.

My log cabin.
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The only source of heat is the wood stove. The wood stove is also used for cooking. The cabin smelled extremely smoky. I opened the window and door to ventilate the cabin but it didn't help very much. The smoke permeates everything. I never used the wood stove but I did use the microwave and the mini-fridge.

The cabin sleeps 7, has electricity but no water.
Heart 4 Comment 2
Charmaine RuppoltNice cabin you stayed in - - but no water?!
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1 year ago
Wayne EstesPorta-Potty 50 feet away, water faucet and full bathroom 500 feet away.
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1 year ago

Near my cabin is a trail that goes 1/4 mile downhill to a small lake. It's a different universe than the low desert where I started today.

Lake 1/4 mile downhill from the cabins.
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Later I was told that I should get phone service up on the highway. So I walked up on the highway to inquire about the road closure at Oregon Tripchek.com. It said the road is closed until further notice. No reopening time or date. The lady at ABC Mountain Retreat said that today is the first day of the closure, and that they are replacing culverts before repaving. That explains the multi-day closure. I will check again in the morning to see if it reopens tomorrow, but I doubt it will.

I went to bed with the window wide open above the bed to get non-smoky fresh air. I gradually closed the window as the night got colder, but never closed it completely.

Distance: 21.5 miles
Average Speed: 5.0 mph
Ascent/Descent: +3091/-209 feet

Today's ride: 21 miles (34 km)
Total: 189 miles (304 km)

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George (Buddy) HallThe only flat I've ever had while riding on Panaracer Tourgard Plus tires was caused by a goathead in eastern Oregon. Pesky little things!
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1 year ago
Wayne EstesFlat #2 happened just before I climbed out of goathead country.
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1 year ago