Day 30: To Summer Lake hot spring

September 26, 2008

I got on the road at 8:40, heading north on US395. It was still chilly but the sun was shining and I had a gentle tailwind from the south.

North of Lakeview on US 395. Still many juniper trees here.

There are a few small hills but mostly it was a gentle downhill trend. After a few miles the sparse juniper trees give way to more open high desert. The first 15 miles had great pavement. Then the road turns to rough chipseal that is noticeably slower. In Valley Falls I turned left onto highway 31 heading northwest towards Paisley. The Valley Falls store was closed.

The basin has north-south ranges on both sides, the usual arrangement.

The desert becomes increasingly salty and sparse as I get into what must be the lowest part of the basin.

The lowest part of the basin is so salty that few things will grow.

A few miles later the land apparently has enough drainage to allow grass to grow.

A nearly imperceptible rise in elevation reduces soil salinity enough for grass to grow.

Heirs of frozen potato magnate J.R. Simplot control Oregon's largest ranch, the 1.3 million acre ZX ranch.Only 73,000 acres of the ranch is privately owned - the remainder is leased from the federal government.

Approaching Paisley the road stays close to the ridge to my left. In several places a big spring flows down the ridge and a ranch house is built near the spring's runoff. The last several miles to Paisley are through irrigated pastures.

This ranch house is truly an oasis in the desert.

In Paisley I had a late lunch at the Pioneer Saloon which was packed with people because the Homestead restaurant is closed today. I sat at the fancy wooden bar transported from Boston in 1910. I bought a few groceries and looked around the town. It doesn't take long to look around a town with a population of 345. Paisley is a remote ranching town that isn't exactly thriving.

North of Paisley I crossed the Chewaucan river for the last time, then was immediately back into salty barren desert. No irrigation.

My destination for tonight is Summer Lake hot spring which is 6 miles north of Paisley at the south end of Summer Lake. Summer Lake is a huge basin lake that is nearly dry much of the year. The brownish white salty lake bed is very obvious even when the lake is dry. I arrived at 3 PM, unusually early for me. It cost $12 to camp with soaking privileges in the bath house. The showers, sinks, and toilets use the hot spring water. The tent camping area has a great view of the lakebed and surrounding mountains.

Bath house at Summer Lake hot spring. Built in the late 1920's.

Bath house at Summer Lake hot spring. Part of the roof is being replaced.

The proprietor Duane filled my water bottles with water hauled in from Paisley. The hot spring water is safe to drink but it's just salty enough that it leaves you feeling thirsty.

I had a great late evening soak in the bath house after a large family group finally departed the bath house. They were extremely loud and seemed to be doing a lot of hitting and pushing.

Today was a beautiful day. Sunny all day. In the 40's early in the morning but 80F in the afternoon. The elevation is 4300 feet and the evening was pleasantly cool after the sun went down. It was nice to have a few hours to relax and rest. I like the rustic funky vibe of the place. I could see millions of stars in the dark sky.

Distance: 52.9 miles (84.6 km)

Climbing: 723 feet (219 m)

Average speed: 11.5 mph (18.4 km/h)

Maximum speed: 36.5 mph (58.4 km/h)

Today's ride: 53 miles (85 km)
Total: 1,340 miles (2,157 km)

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