Day 8: To The Dalles

August 8, 2013

Overnight a few trains went by across the river, wheels squealing loudly on the sharply turning track. Other than that, the rippling river drowned out any noise from the girl scouts.

The weather was mild overnight. Low of 60F. That makes it easy to get started in the morning. But after 2 strenuous days I'm starting the day feeling a bit tired. I want to take a day off tomorrow in The Dalles.

Today's route duplicates a piece of my 2006 To Hells Canyon and Back tour. The day starts with 9 easy flat downstream scenic miles on a BLM road called Deschutes River Access. The road passes 4 primitive BLM campgrounds that appeared to be full. Fire danger is very high. Signs announce that smoking is permitted only in a car, on a boat, or while standing in the river.

Deschutes river access road. This is Oregon's most popular river for rafting.

The last part of the Deschutes River Access road is adjacent to Sherar's Falls, where the Deschutes river drops about 15 feet in a narrow basalt formation. It's part of the Warm Springs Indian reservation.

Sherar's Falls on the Deschutes river. Only Warm Springs tribe members may fish here.

At the T interstection below Sherar's Falls I turned left onto highway 216, crossing the Deschutes river on an old bridge. This crossing was part of the Oregon Trail, the first bridge across the Deschutes river which allowed emigrants to avoid deadly rapids on the Columbia river.

After crossing the river the road backtracks upstream for a quarter mile past the falls, then turns west away from the river, climbing steeply. After a couple miles I turned left into White River Falls State Park.

In 2006 I was here in late afternoon looking into the sun. Now the waterfall is facing the morning sun. To get a long exposure in such bright light I used sunglasses and the camera's neutral density filter.

The upper falls is visible from an observation area near the parking lot. You have to walk about 1/4 mile downhill to see the lower falls. You must scramble around the old hydro plant to get an unobstructed view.

White River falls drops a total of 110 feet.

The old hydro power plant was decommissioned in the late 1930's after Bonneville dam was completed.

After a long stop at the falls I continued west on highway 216 through an agricultural valley. Mt. Hood was straight ahead.

I took a 1/4 mile detour to the village of Tygh Valley for lunch. The lunch was good and the general store is very interesting to look around. Tygh Valley was once a bustling town on Oregon's main east-west highway. But the town rapidly declined in importance after the Columbia River Highway opened in 1916, diverting traffic to a shorter and less mountainous route.

Just west of Tygh Valley I turned right on to US 197 which promptly begins climbing a big ridge, staying far above the creek below. 5-6% grade on a sun-baked south facing slope, climbing at 4 mph with a gentle tailwind to keep the air stagnant. Very hot, teasing me with a view of the cool forested riparian zone below.

The road stays well above the shade during the climb to Tygh Ridge summit.

At the summit I had a view of Mt. Hood and a distant view of Mt. Adams.

View of Mt. Adams at Tygh Ridge summit. Today I'm closer but yesterday had a clearer view.

Fast descent to Dufur, where I took a short stop to find shade and a cold drink. The temperature was 90F.

The Dalles is 1000 feet lower than Dufur, but the road climbs 3 huge hills on the way down. The transition to man-made golden grass and orchards is striking. I could see wind turbines in the distance to the northeast.

Wind turbines and golden wheat stubble. I will see a lot of this in the next few days.

Traffic gets heavier approaching The Dalles. On the edge of town I turned left on Belmont Avenue which goes west with a good view of the Columbia river.

Columbia river, The Dalles bridge, and The Dalles dam.

Downtown is 3 miles west of US 197. I got a motel room for $55. Decent value. Dinner at a Chinese restaurant. The portion was so large I had a huge takeout box. Good thing my room has a fridge.

I'm very tired and want to take a day off. But I studied the maps and determined that I need to go 22 flat miles tomorrow to be staged for the next segment which will be the longest day of the tour.

I'm now in the low-elevation Mid-Columbia river basin. The weather will be hot for the next few days, so I plan to stay in motels.

Today's route was scenic and had almost no traffic. Most of the remainder of this tour will be on main highways with much more traffic.

Distance: 50.2 miles (80 km)
Climbing: 3184 feet (965 m)
Average Speed: 8.9 mph (14 km/h)

Today's ride: 50 miles (80 km)
Total: 408 miles (657 km)

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