August 4, 2013
Day 4: To Alder Springs campground, Old McKenzie highway
Today will be the first day of the tour with significant climbing. But first I will do an unloaded morning excursion to Terwilliger Hot Spring. I left the campsite at 7:15 to begin the 8.8 mile ride to the trailhead. Much of that distance is flat, but it climbs 500 feet to get above Cougar reservoir.
After climbing to the reservoir Forest Road 19 stays remarkably level on a blasted ledge above the lake. I parked my bike at the trailhead, paid the $6 entry fee, and walked 0.3 miles through the forest to the hot spring. The trail has a nice view of a big waterfall.
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I arrived at the hot spring at 8:30 and soaked until 11. The long rest felt good. but I've barely started today's exertions.
It was an easy ride from the trailhead back to my campsite. Flat and downhill. I was back at the campsite at 12:15.
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I quickly packed up the dry tent and pedaled 3 miles to the restaurant in the community of Rainbow. After lunch I discovered my wallet was missing.
I anxiously pedaled 3 miles back to my campsite and found my wallet under the table. Just before I left the campsite my fanny pack fell off the table while unzipped. I didn't notice that the wallet fell out. I went back to the restaurant and paid my bill just as they were closing.
The trip would have ended if I lost my wallet. Today the only penalty was some anxiety and an extra 6 miles of pedaling. That got me thinking about which items are the most disastrous to lose. Must be careful...
Now I'm once again traveling up the McKenzie river on the Transamerica route. I got groceries in one of the two stores in McKenzie Bridge. A couple miles past McKenzie bridge I turned right onto the old McKenzie highway. The road is much narrower than highway 126, but it has much less traffic. No trucks allowed.
Highway 126 had been climbing almost imperceptibly while going up the McKenzie river. Only 1500 feet elevation at the McKenzie highway turnoff. But the McKenzie highway climbs nearly 4000 feet to cross the Cascade range. Most of that climbing is in dense forest. It's the original highway across the Cascades. Freshly repaved, but intentionally very narrow. Foliage encroaches on the road. It's a beautiful low-traffic forested mountain climb, but there are no mountain views under the forest canopy.
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8 months ago
I stopped for 1.5 hours to hike the trail to Proxy falls and Upper Proxy falls. 1.5 miles of hiking. Most of the trail is in forest, but part of the trail crosses a lava field.
Proxy Falls is an interesting waterfall because the apparent shape changes dramatically depending on the view. Viewed from the top it appears to be wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. Viewed from the bottom it appears to be narrow at the top and wide at the bottom.
The view from the bottom was the only unobstructed view. I got there just as the sun was setting on the waterfall. A tiny bit of the top was in the sun, but it didn't really ruin the picture. It would have been better an hour later.
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Back at the bike I felt very tired and my stomach was queasy. Drinking a V-8 helped. I probably got dehydrated at the hot spring.
Still another 3 miles of climbing to get to the Alder Springs campground. I arrived at 7:50 PM, about an hour before dark. Free, vault toilet, no water supply. I planned to filter water from the spring up the hill, but my van camping neighbor Mathias gave me water instead. He and I were the only people at the campground. It's very close to the McKenzie highway, but there was no traffic after dark because trucks are prohibited.
Today I saw 1 westbound touring cyclist. I'm glad to finally be off highway 126. The traffic was not pleasant between Walterville and McKenzie Bridge. Highway 126 should be avoided on summer weekends.
This was a long hard day, despite soaking in a hot spring for 2.5 hours. Much more climbing than the previous day, plus 2 miles of hiking. I need to take it easy tomorrow and stop in Sisters.
Today's weather was just about perfect. 60's and 70's in the morning and 80's in the afternoon. Moderate humidity, gentle winds. I've climbed to 3500 feet elevation so it will get colder tonight.
Distance: 47.2 miles (75.5 km)
Climbing: 3252 feet (985 m)
Average Speed: 8.7 mph (14 km/h)
Hiking: 2 miles (3.2 km)
Today's ride: 47 miles (76 km)
Total: 193 miles (311 km)
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