Day 36: To Umpqua hot spring

July 25, 2006

I got up at 6:30 AM and biked 3/4 mile to McCredie hot spring. The main pool was not very hot. The riverside pools had cold river water flowing through them. One of the "back" pools was about 102F so I soaked there for a short time, then went back to the campsite to make breakfast.

On the road I backtracked to Oakridge. Very fast because it was almost all downhill. The only problem is that the shoulder is narrow and the road has a lot of trucks. On the edge of Oakridge I turned south onto Forest Road 21 which goes for about 10 miles along the shore of Hills Creek reservoir.

Hills Creek reservoir south of Oak Ridge.

Eventually the reservoir fades away and I climb gradually up the Middle Fork of the Willamette river. Today's route takes me on a little-used forest road that crosses a big ridge and comes out near Toketee reservoir. It's not shown on most maps.

Before this tour I was looking forward to biking the "West Cascades Scenic Byway". But it turned out to be a disappointment in many ways. Much of the riding for the last several days is in a tunnel of trees with no view of the river. Nearby big hills usually obstruct the view of the higher mountains. Only very rarely did I get a peek at the snow-capped high Cascades. The relentless heat also detracted from the experience.

Much of the last few days was spent in a boring tunnel of trees.

Eventually I turned away from the Willamette river onto Forest Road 2134. The pavement ended after 4 miles. I stopped to lower tire pressure to 25 psi for improved traction. The gravel road climbs steeply up Staley Ridge. My tires had barely enough traction to get up the steepest grades. I expected to climb above 4000 feet elevation but the actual summit is 4970 feet elevation. 3700 feet higher than Oakridge and most of the climbing is on gravel. The summit doesn't have much of a view.

At the summit I turned onto Forest Road 34 and began a long steep descent towards the Umpqua river. The descent has a few momentary views of the higher mountains.

My only view of Mt. Thielsen was this momentary peek.

Mt. Bailey has less snow than on day 4 of this tour.

Pavement resumes at the bottom of the descent, 1.5 miles before I turned onto the gravel road to Umpqua hot spring. The 2 miles of gravel to Umpqua hot spring was much easier to ride than it was on last year's tour. Last year the road had been deeply graded and had deep loose gravel. This year the road was only lightly graded. It less loose gravel but more washboards and potholes. I'll take washboard and potholes over loose gravel.

It was a hot day, so I waited until after dark to soak at Umpqua hot spring. Here's a picture of me soaking at Umpqua hot spring on a snowy January day.

I set up camp in the free camping area near the Umpqua hot springs parking lot (2500 feet elevation). The hot spring is 1/3 mile up a steep trail. The footbridge across the river had a structural failure a couple months ago, so now you have to cross the river on a fallen tree. After dark I hiked to the hot spring and soaked for a couple hours. It was a surreal experience. Many people came and went. The hot spring is on a steep hill overlooking the North Umpqua river. Across the river some people made a cluster of 5 (illegal) campfires and were beating drums. I sat in 100F water watching the fires, the river, the stars, listening to the drums, resting after an intense day of climbing in 100F heat.

Distance: 59.6 mi. (95.4 km)

Gravel roads: 22 mi. (35.2 km)

Climbing: 4360 ft. (1321 m)

Average Speed: 8.2 mph (13.1 km/h)

Maximum Speed: 39.4 mph (63 km/h)

Hiking: 2 mi. (3.2 km)

Today's ride: 60 miles (97 km)
Total: 1,689 miles (2,718 km)

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