Day 43: Home to Oakland, Oregon

August 21, 2009

Overnight it got down to 48F, surprisingly cool. I got up at 6:30 and went for a soak in the hot spring. It was still chilly in the shady forest when I got on the road at 9. Today's route is very familiar. I've biked it on 3 previous tours and driven it far more than that. Getting back to highway 38 was easy, mostly downhill. Less than a mile down highway 138 I leaned the bike against a guard rail and hiked an informal trail a hundred yards to try to see Toketee Falls. The main Toketee Falls trail has been closed for more than a year because of a landslide. The view from the highway side would be pretty good if one tree was removed.

Partial view of the North Umpqua river cascading down 120-foot Toketee Falls.If only that one tree was removed... The main access trail is closed because of a landslide.

Then I continued down the highway, following the North Umpqua river downstream. Today I lose another 2100 feet elevation but have the usual gentle headwind from the west.

Highway 138, North Umpqua river, and "mitten" rock formation.

I stopped at the Fall Creek Falls trailhead to hike the 0.8 mile trail to the falls. The trail goes alongside a creek in a lush canyon. Much more scenic than the nearby Susan Creek Falls trail.

I hiked the enchanting 0.8 mile trail to 50-foot Fall Creek Falls.

The morning's ride is all in Umpqua National Forest. Then I rode a few miles through BLM land, and finally into privately owned land starting at Idleyld Park.

Most of Umpqua National Forest is overgrown from a century of fire suppression. I rode past several large burned areas, and firefighters are still working on a big fire in the forest. But I never had any smoke problems.

Highway 138 and the North Umpqua river. Extensive blasting was done to build the highway.

I had a late lunch at Munchies in Glide, then stopped to look at the Colliding Rivers.

The "famous" Colliding Rivers in Glide. Not much colliding now, with very low flow.

A mile past the Colliding Rivers I turned right onto North Bank road. North Bank road is 17 very hilly miles with mostly open pastures, no shade. Fortunately the temperature was only about 83F, cooler than yesterday despite descending another 2000 feet. The weather has gone from above normal to below normal.

Sheep grazing an irrigated field along North Bank road.

North Umpqua river from North Bank road.

North Umpqua river and North Bank road. I'm almost home.

North Bank road ends at Highway 99 in Wilbur. I turned right, north to Sutherlin, then over a small hill to Oakland (440 feet elevation). 9 dreary miles into the wind, half of it in a no-man's land sandwiched between I-5 and a railroad track.

Oakland Oregon is much smaller than Oakland California!

I arrived home at 7:30 PM, close to sunset. It was a long strenuous day.

I left home on the 9th of July and returned on the 21st of August. 43 days on the road.

Distance: 77.4 mi (124 km), 2 mi (3.2 km) on gravel

Climbing: 2179 feet (660 m)

Average speed: 10.3 mph (16.4 km/h)

Max speed: 35.5 mph (57 km/h)

Hiking: 3 mi (4.8 km)

Today's ride: 77 miles (124 km)
Total: 1,885 miles (3,034 km)

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