Day 3: Rest day, excursion to Klamath Lake

July 9, 2020

I slept late and had breakfast at the Waffle Hut next door. A chain that I had never heard of. Good conventional breakfast. I saw a few mask scofflaws paying for take-out.

At 10 AM I pedaled west on Main street a few blocks to the Link River trail. On the way I stopped to take a picture of a multi-story building that stands alone on the west edge of downtown.

Leaving the hotel I had to take a picture of this striking building on the west edge of downtown.

I expected the trail to be a city or county park but it's actually on property owned by PacifiCorp, an old hydro project. The 1.6 mile trail is an access road for the diversion canal. The canal goes level from Upper Klamath lake while the Link river goes steadily downhill to Lake Ewauna. After 1.6 miles the water in the canal drops about 50 feet to a turbine near the river.

Zigzag entrance to the Link River trail. The trailhead is adjacent to a small PacifiCorp hydro plant.

The trail is mostly rough gravel but also has sections of loose sand. It's very popular with pedestrians. Bikes are allowed but I didn't see any other bikes. The trail is much more difficult than the typical "bike path".

I don't understand why this stream is called Link river instead of Klamath river. It flows out of Upper Klamath lake and goes 2 only miles to a much smaller lake called Lake Ewauna. The stream flowing out of lake Ewauna is called the Klamath river but for some reason the stream flowing into the lake is called the Link river.

The Link River Trail is a 1.6 mile long canal access road (canal out of sight on the left).

The trail ends just past the dam at the outlet of Upper Klamath Lake. The dam appears to raise the natural lake level by at least 5 feet. A portion of the falls of the river (namesake of Klamath Falls) is now in the lake.

1921 dam built by the predecessor of PacifiCorp at the mouth of Upper Klamath Lake. The dam diverts water for hydro power and irrigation.

Back on roads I stopped at the small park at the southern tip of Upper Klamath Lake. It has a great view of the lake and marina. Upper Klamath Lake is Oregon's largest lake.

The lake looks and smells good to me but Wikipedia says the shallow lake is naturally eutrophic-high nutrient concentrations create smelly toxic algae that depletes oxygen and kills fish. The Applegate Trail avoided Klamath Lake because livestock would die if they drank the water.

A century of farm fertilizer runoff around the lake has made it even worse, a condition called hypereutrophic. The problem must be mainly in shallow stagnant areas. I saw no algae in the south end of the lake which is deep and has some flow to the outlet.

View from Putnam Point, the southern tip of Upper Klamath Lake.

Then I pedaled a couple miles around the east shore of the lake. Past the marina and into a country club community with a golf course and canals. Fortunately it has a public park on the waterfront.

The east shore is a private marina and country club but it has a nice public park on the waterfront.

This side of the lake has views looking northwest across the lake towards the Cascade range and Crater Lake. I had a long conversation with a woman who walked up and asked if I mind her smoking a cigar. We talked for maybe 30 minutes. She lives in Marin but is originally from New Zealand, 57, very fit, an avid road cyclist. But cigars are her indulgence. The contradictions were amazing. A female athlete who invited herself in to the male-dominated world of cigar aficionados. I didn't ask her name. The world is a better place with interesting people like her.

Looking northwest across Upper Klamath Lake in the general direction of Crater Lake.

Then I backtracked around the shore to the west side of the lake. It doesn't have such good mountain views but it has a large city park.

Moore Park on the west shore of Upper Klamath Lake.

I have time to spare today so I spent a long time at the private park on the east shore and at Moore park on the west shore. This is my only chance to have good views of Klamath lake during this tour.

Upper Klamath lake at Moore park. 4143 feet elevation at the time. It slowly drops during summer.

Telephoto view looking north from Moore Park. The distant mountain is 8934 foot Mt. Scott, the highest peak in Crater Lake National Park.

From Moore park to the Link river trail is less than half a mile of lakefront road. Most areas have private homes along the waterfront.

The only section of lakefront road that I saw today.

This monument is very fascinating. I didn't know Daughters of the American Revolution put up monuments about indigenous peoples' history. The plaque says it was erected in 1934 but it looks brand new.

Daughters of the American Revolution installed this monument at the outlet of Klamath Lake.

Getting back to downtown Klamath Falls on the Link river trail was much easier going downstream. Downtown Klamath Falls is 100 feet lower than Upper Klamath Lake.

During the return trip on the Link River trail I took one of the side trails down to the river.

Back at the hotel I ate breakfast leftovers, then took a 3 hour nap. I heard a huge amount of motorcycle activity during my nap. When I got up I found 20 or 30 motorcycles in the parking lot. A club from Portland just arrived. Tonight the hotel is maybe 20% occupied instead of 10%.

At about 5 PM I walked east towards downtown to take pictures and have dinner at the Thai restaurant on the far side of downtown.

I could see this building from my motel room. It is now rental apartments.

Klamath Falls is the only town on this 243 mile route that is big enough to have a traffic signal. The city population is 22,000 but the area population is about double.

Klamath County Government center in downtown Klamath Falls.

The modern courthouse replaces a courthouse that was damaged by a 6.0 magnitude earthquake in 1993.

Klamath Falls is not a fast-growing city so much of the city is fairly old. Main street looks pretty good.

Masonic lodge on the left. Downtown Klamath Falls.

This downtown pocket park appears to be a designated free speech zone.

Beautiful tile on this building. I suspect many tiles fell down during the 1993 earthquake.

After dinner I walked across downtown again, past the hotel to Riverfront Park. It's on the west edge of downtown where the Link river flows into lake Ewauna. The park actually has more lakefront than riverfront.

Train in Riverfront park in downtown Klamath Falls.

East of Riverfront park is a huge vacant gravel lot that is obviously a former sawmill. A 50 acre redevelopment project called Timber Mill Shores. Right now it's mostly empty lots but there is a 4-story hotel under construction on the waterfront. Closer to downtown a sign announces a sprawling 3 story building that will house an assortment of state agencies. The developer's web site brags that the development has geothermal heated sidewalks. It will probably take decades to complete the redevelopment.

Timber Mill Shores redevelopment in downtown Klamath Falls.

The mouth of the Link river is a popular bird watching spot. Actually the entire area is a popular birdwatching spot. Klamath Lake is a major stop for migratory birds on the Pacific Flyway.

Birds where the Link river flows into lake Ewauna.

Klamath Falls markets itself as Pelican City. There really are many pelicans at Upper Klamath lake and lake Ewauna. During summer, at least. I don't think pelicans could survive the winter.

Klamath Falls is the gateway city for everybody in California who visits Crater Lake National Park. But it's not really a tourist town. It has fewer tourists than Ashland.

I like taking a rest day in a place that has interesting things to explore. This was a good one, with easy excursions to Upper Klamath lake, Link river, lake Ewauna, Riverfront park, and downtown.

Today was totally sunny with a low of 42F (5C) and a high of 82F (28C). Typical summer weather in Oregon's high desert, 4100 feet elevation.

Distance: 8.8 mi. (14 km)
Average Speed: 7.2 mph (11.5 km/h)
Ascent/Descent: +136/-136 ft. (+41/-41 m)

Today's ride: 9 miles (14 km)
Total: 70 miles (113 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	2
Comment on this entry	Comment	0