Three Mountain Pass Madness

July 12, 2022

Todays was a climbing day made a little more challenging due to the lack of services along the route (should be read as there was absolutely nothing available) and the fact the the temperature topped out at 102 degrees (and there was no shade once we completed the passes…maybe 30 miles).

Fun things for today…saw a motorcycle gaggle ( they weren’t a gang) hanging out at the covered wagon on the first climb. Saw a horse with antlers on the road during I think climb number two. So we’re riding up the pass and I yell to Dan, hey look there’s a horse on the road. He almost crashes looking and then the horse with antlers ran across the road. That’s when I had my duh moment and realized it was an Elk. Also saw a fox run across the road about 8 miles outside Baker City. He ran right up the mountain on the other side of the road. So why did the fox cross the road? The same reason the elk did…I have no idea.

Sign of the day for today is the sign that wasn’t there. We climbed the third pass and as we reached the top to take a picture of the sign saying top of the Sumpter Pass and the specific elevation, it wasn’t there. Bastards! The only reasons we climbed was to get a picture of the sign (not really). The barn of the day picture is two pictures. One is the barn and the second is the town. Both are non-functional but there is a history (I’ll add in the historic signage picture too).

Just in case you thought the roads were all flat and covered in shade.

I can’t remember exactly where I took this. It’s a pano and I thought it was pretty. I think it’s the south side coming out of Prairie City

Hidden behind that beautiful covered wagon is a gaggle of biker dudes. This was a good stopping point on the first climb.

The horizon leaving Prairie City and climbing the first pass. The red thing on the left (the other left) is part of the covered wagon’s wheel.

Made it to the top of Dixie Pass and there was a sign!

The top of Pass two. A very welcomed sight.

This is the barn that was part of the town that no longer exists (Whitney Rails). The sign on the barn caught my eye. If you zoom in you can see it.

This is what remains of the rest of the town near the barn.

The educational portion of todays show. If you zoom in there’s a little history lesson here.

Any guesses? This was a well pump we found at a campsite we crashed about 25 miles before the end of todays ride. It was literally the only place we could find and water on the entire ride. Truly saved us!

Today's ride: 69 miles (111 km)
Total: 3,981 miles (6,407 km)

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Michele Gordon102 degrees without any shade ……just awful …….double up on that water storage 😳 huh ?
Great job in the climbs and soooooo glad you found that water pump 🎉🎉
Love the posts
Keep ‘em coming 🥰
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2 years ago

Michele GordonHi Ian …..ken and Mary sent this to me and wanted to make sure you read it in your blog

Ian,
Mary and I have been following your amazing adventure. If anyone is surprised by your trip so far they have not been following your daily trips around Boulder area. Definitely thought with your inner push you would have checked out “ Murderers Creek “. Your trip will be a memorable item to share with family and friends forever. Thanks for including us in your amazing trip. Not sure we posted this correctly so Ian got our message?
Ken and Mary
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2 years ago