Day 3 McKenzie Pass!

-
Tuck in and prepare for the 15 mile riiiiide down! But wait...we need to back up to getting to the top...before we share the exhilaration of that downhill experience. OK. Early up and quick breakfast in Camp Hoo Doo. I know. Great name. Then a photo opp at the beautiful river that lulled us all to sleep during the night. Our sag wagon savior Lesli dropped us at a safe point saving us the scary no shoulder semi truck competition and high traffic zone. Once we were safely delivered, we all used our version of Lauran's anticipation/trepidation scale to begin our 22 mile, 4,000 + feet of elevation climb to "the top!" Listening to the sounds of the deep woods, inhaling the sweet sweet smells of the pines and thoroughly enjoying the ever changing terrain as we made our climb up up up. Around one hairpin turn a clump of snow. Then an elevation sign. Then a section of burned pines. Then as far as you can see; endless amounts of lava starting at Belknap Crator. And of course, the white capped peaks of 3 sisters. Seriously, they are dazzling at every angle. Once on top, we hung out and "oooed" and "ahhd" at the Sisters where a few photo opps were taken. We then climbed the stairs to the observatory, chit chatting about each of our experiences throughout the day and thinking of the last leg of our day, all smiles.  Finally...the ride down! Wow. seriously, we did 15 miles in 37 minutes and 54 seconds. Woo Hoo! Feeling the wind go by your ears like a midnight train...corner after corner of smooth lovely turns and even more beautiful views of the valley below. Hard not to give a "Yee Hah!" on a ride like that. We ended our day together with a lovely meal at a nice restaurant. Good friends, good food, good conversation. Thankful for that awesome day....We are getting out our anticipation/trepidation scale for tomorrow. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

            






Comments

  1. Tina BrittJuly 22, 2022 at 12:13 PM

    Beautiful scenes & great pictures!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. TheresaJuly 22, 2022 at 4:11 PM

    Great pictures! The downhill is probably the best feeling for your tired legs. Is Pete the only man now?

    ReplyDelete
  3. VarettaJuly 23, 2022 at 9:18 PM

    The view are beautiful and great group shot!!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 11 Halfway, Oregon (population 303) to Cambridge, Idaho (population 328)

-
Image
Well that was an interesting night for sure! I slept in the shack "out back." On my way to the shack to go to bed,  I saw a large feral cat. That sprang my imagination into high speed. Hmm I wonder why it ran under the shack? Will birds and snakes crawl into my shack? Oh bother! When I finally went to sleep, I slept well. No creatures visited in the night.  Monday morning. Up bright and early! Lauran gave me a gentle reminder to wake up. As she had already perked a pot of coffee, I was eager to get up and get going. We all bustled about the place packing and preparing for today's climb; almost identical to yesterday's trajectory. Today we hoped to get started an hour earlier to avoid the predicted high heat. We might make all 58 miles if we planned it right. Donning some very strange looking duck billed visors, we set off into the rising sun. What a fantastic morning. Flying up over hills and down the other side on Hells Canyon Rd. I got a great view of an Elk standin...
Read more

Day 5: Prineville to Mitchell, Oregon - 42 miles, 2,123 feet of ascent at ~5% grade

-
Image
Early to bed, early to rise is key when trying to beat the extreme heat of the day here, which begins searing down upon us as soon as 8:30 am. With Lesli, our confident sag wagon driver, singer / song writer and chef extraordinaire, at the wheel, we took off promptly at 6:30 am from Barnes Butte Bungalow, a funky cool Airbnb house in Prineville, OR. The group decided the previous evening it would be prudent to drive the 5-ish miles to Ochoco Lake at the eastern base of Ochoco National Forest to avoid riding on the no-shoulder, heavy truck-trafficked road those first few miles. Good decision! A crescent moon nestled against a stunning bluebird sky above made for a dramatic backdrop as we began pedaling at 7 am sharp bundled up against the cool morning air. Today would be a long climbing day, which most of the riding group embraced with a twisted sense of glee. Having trained at sea level for this epic adventure, let’s just say that I’m a wee bit less enthusiastic when it comes to unrele...
Read more

Off Like a Herd of Turtles

-
 A friend of mine; Dale, always says that.  It is appropriate as usually we are on a float and that is departing pretty slowly.  It is not how fast you are off the starting blocks, but the pace you run the race.  Finishing up today at a place called Fern Lake and a nice camp spot for all.  But there is a bit of a climb to get there....a small one, sorta a warmup for the Rockies. 
Read more