Day 42: Rainbow to Prineville; Over the Cascades, Chased by Smoke, Gonzo Day

August 12, 2015

Notes:

1.) You can leave a message for me by clicking on the comment icon towards the bottom of the page (you must be registered with the site, but it's quick and easy to do so). I enjoy getting messages from readers.

2.) Climbing Today: 5,030 ft -- Total So Far; 99,210 ft

3.) Average Speed While Biking Today: 11.7 mph

4.) Mechanical Issues Today: none

5.) Miles Traveled To Date On This Half of the Journey: 305

6.) Miles Remaining to Canon City: about 1,695

I was up early today, both in anticipation of the feat I was attempting and in recognition of the advantage of the early morning coolness. My room at Harbrick's was really quite cavernous and could have easily slept 3 cyclists and held their bikes;

I rode away in the eerie stillness of the early morn with a final look at Harbrick's as though I wasn't certain I should be leaving. But the mountains beckoned me onward, and I knew my fate today was to either succeed or fail in the attempt to ascend McKenzie Pass. No one was on the road but me. Other than a passing owl, the McKenzie River's gurgles were the only noise interrupting the morning quiet.

The McKenzie River is Quite Energetic This Far Upstream

Jim, the Warm Showers host from Sisters I met a couple of days back, was going to ascend McKenzie Pass from his side and meet me at or near the top and escort me into Sisters. He had offered to let me decide at that point whether I want to call it a day and stay at his place tonight, or else push on to Prineville. Jim suggested I stop at the Ranger Station to fill my water bottles before the ascent.

However, the Ranger Station wasn't open at 6:30 am as I silently cruised by. The day was just now beginning to get light.

I Was Out Ahead of the Daylight in Anticipation of the Climb

Firefighters had been working hard to control wildfires in both Oregon and Washington, and I passed a temporary sign pointing towards a "Heli-Base," a temporary Forest Service landing zone set up in a clearing. (EDITOR'S NOTE; this was a harbinger of significant challenges to come from the forest fires) I took route 242 up to the pass today, the scenic route.

In another lifetime, I used to fly small aircraft. Now I'm flying a bike, and I called in to Bike Central to get clearance for takeoff. Bike Traffic Control (BTC) replied; "Harvey-1, cleared for takeoff. Ascend to 5325 feet, maintain VFR." VFR is pilot lingo for Visual Flight Rules, meaning I needed to steer clear of clouds. Clearance obtained, I nosed Harvey onto the runway and we began our ascent. My route upwards was an Oregon Scenic Bikeway that attracted a lot of cyclists. While it appeared that the highway folks have the best interests of the cyclists in mind, they do cause some confusion with their signage.

Cyclist Highway Signs Never Really Make Much Sense

So, okay then, bikes can use the full lane. Well, actually, bikes always have access to the full lane, and they must have in order to make left turns. So signs like that are really for car drivers to school them that cyclists have equal rights to the roadway. But if we have access to the full lane, then what's this about sharing the road?

A Good Idea, If Only Motorists Understood

Again, that's just a sign for motorists to remind them that the roadway is shared ground and none of us "own" it any more than others. But now the signage got really weird;

Pedestrians Stay to the Right? That's Just Wrong

Uh, seriously? Of course bikes must stay to the right of the centerline. I understand if they want pedestrians to walk on the right that it's necessary to tell them (although one can question the wisdom of pedestrians walking on the right), but it's not necessary to tell cyclists to travel on the right any more than it is to tell motorists. But I appreciated their creative intent. I had worked moderately hard to reach this sign.

Glad to Get Here, But It Required Some Work

The road was quite shady and offered great protection from the insults of the sun, so it was some time after sunrise before I finally saw old Sol.

The Forest Protected Me From The Sun (Until I Reached The Other Side)

It had been some time since I saw the elevation 2000 sign, and I was thinking that perhaps they were not signing each 1,000 foot increment when I finally came across this;

It Seemed Much Harder to Gain The Next 1,000 Feet Than I Had Expected

Gee whiz, it seemed like that was too much effort to climb 1,000 feet, and I questioned whether I had the strength to climb the remainder and cycle on to Prineville. I had been climbing at 5-6 mph most of the time, and occasionally slowing to 4 mph. This was faster than my climbs in the Appalachians (3-4 mph) and I had not had to use my granny gear, although I had used the next higher gear often. The forest was lush on the western side of the Cascades, with large old-growth trees and thick underbrush. Harvey and I both needed some off-bike time, so we stopped for a bit of a stretch after BTC radioed "Harvey-1, maintain 3500 feet until further advised."

"Harvey-1, continue ascent to 5325 feet, be aware other VFR traffic is in the area." No sooner did we commence the climb again than a fully loaded tourist zoomed around the next curve and swiftly passed by as he descended. He looked to be about my age, maybe a bit younger, and I would have enjoyed chatting with him, but I understood the difficulty of making a quick stop when heading steeply downhill. Following behind him shortly was a lady who looked to be the Mrs., and she too couldn't have easily stopped on the steep grade, so I was disappointed to not get to chat with these 2 cyclists. While it had seemed very hard and took a long time to reach 3,000 feet, the 4,000 feet sign appeared sooner than I expected.

The 4,000 Feet Sign Came Sooner Than I Had Expected

At this point I knew that I would indeed complete the climb. Here's a bit of history about the pass;

Hey, Don't Bypass the Past History of the Pass

We should all be aware of the past history of the pass I suppose, else we are in danger of bypassing the past pass history. Approaching the top, I came upon a 20 square mile lava flow.

This Lava Flow Dates From the Time of the Mayflower!

This is the youngest lava flow in the U.S., and occurred about the time the Mayflower landed on our shores. So here's a view of my path ahead;

The Forest is Still Present, But It's Thinning as I Reached 5,000 Feet

Harvey and I did finally reach the summit.

There is an observatory at the summit which is made from lava rock.

Observatory at the Summit Made From the Volcanic Rock

On top of the observatory, a compass-type guide points out the local mountains. Here is the Northern and Middle Sister as seen from the observatory top;

2 of the 3 Sisters as Seen From the Observatory

One can also see Mount Washington from the observatory top. You can go inside the lava rock observatory and view the Sisters from windows designed to look at them. Here's the Northern Sister;

North Sister as Viewed From the Observatory Window

On the right side of the above photo you can see the window for viewing the Middle Sister. Anxious to roll on, I headed down the mountain towards Sisters (the town, not one of the mountains) and met Jim not far from the summit as he was ascending. He turned about and we enjoyed the long downhill run. A fully loaded solo tourist was making her way up as we zoomed down, and this time it was me who didn't want to try and stop on the steep grade to chat with her. I really admire the ladies who do this bicycle touring. It's hard to be a guy and do it, especially solo, but the added challenge of doing it as a solo lady is something I truly respect. Jim and I lunched in Sisters and had a very good chat; he's an interesting fellow indeed. I probably should have stayed the night at his place, but I wanted to make more distance today so I opted to move on. Jim escorted me out of town to be sure I got set up on the right track, then we parted.

Jim Rides a Recumbent; Perhaps I Will Too, Someday

One of these days I'm going to have to try a recumbent bike myself (don't worry honey, I'm just kidding - probably - maybe). The day turned miserably hot as I moved on, and I'd be remiss for not telling you that the heat really did bother me; for a while I wasn't sure if I was going to make it to Prineville. But I labored onward and carefully rationed my water and finally reached the town of Terrebonne. A refueling stop at a sports bar gave me enough energy to move on. My water bottles were completely empty when I reached Terrebonne, and I carried all of them with me into the sports bar. Folks looked at me rather strangely as I was awkwardly trying to get out of the bar with my 3 water bottles and the "auxiliary tank" Gatorade bottle and the "go" box consisting of the uneaten portion of the huge sandwich and fries I had ordered. And of course I had taken my handlebar bag in with me slung across my shoulder by the strap, so I was carrying a lot of stuff as I left. Let them stare, I needed my water! Water is precious in this dry Oregon outback. Moving on towards Prineville, I came across a winery named "Faith, Hope, and Charity." Strange name for a winery, I thought, so if one imbibed a bit too much from their wine you might say "I got drunk on Faith, Hope, and Charity." Such weird thoughts go through your head on tour.

I came upon some interesting chalky-looking rock. I might have investigated it a bit closer if it hadn't been so late in the day.

The Oregon outback is a mixture of high-desert and rocky terrain. There are lots of irrigation canals here, and some of them are quite enormous.

I finally approached Prineville some 14 hours after I started out this morning. Looking back up the valley behind me, I saw this strange-looking storm system closing in.

Strange-Looking Storm System Chased Me Into Prineville

That was no storm system; it was smoke from a forest fire chasing me into town! So I did what I could with the little energy I had left and hustled on, and the sun was nearly down as I entered the city limits. I cycled from before sunrise to sunset today, and I climbed McKenzie Pass on the way to a 91 mile day! It was enough, maybe a little too much considering the mid-90's temperature, and it certainly qualified as a Gonzo day. No time for much anything before bed, I ate the remainder of my sandwich from the sports bar in Terrebonne and prepared for tomorrow, glad to be inside and not out in the smoke which has settled in on Prineville now. Good night all...

Today's ride: 91 miles (146 km)
Total: 2,602 miles (4,188 km)

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