August 3, 2001.
Oxbow to Baker City, Oregon. (74 mi.) Mile 3832
Westward
Ho!
I was unable to sleep last night as
predicted, until we got up at 1:00 am and moved
the tent from the hard asphalt to the soft, forbidden grass. Ah, much better! That
helped motivate us to get up extra early in order to have the tent back on the
asphalt and be able to give a
friendly wave to the Campground Nazi when he came patrolling past in his motor
cart at 5:30 am.
By 5:40 am we were pedaling
westward again, setting a personal best record for The Early Start. We knew we
had to do over 70 miles and climb over 4,000 feet, so it was essential we beat
the heat and wind. The author of "Bicycling Coast to Coast" called
today's ride, "a tough one, to say the least", and she proved right.
Climbing out of Hell's Canyon, early morning heading west
Looking north to
the distant mountains of the Eaglecap Wilderness.
We were lucky, though, because the
wind was moderate and the sun was tempered by occasional high clouds. Our
route followed the hot, monotonous Powder River drainage for many miles,
paralleling the Oregon Trail used by hundreds of thousands of overland
emigrants between 1840-1860. The only service was a pop machine on the porch
of a private home in the middle of nowhere, though that was more than the
Pioneers had.
Powder River
1) 
2) 
1) We discovered
a pop machine on the porch of a ranch house. We each drank 2 cans of pop.
2) The clouds
prove more interesting than the landscape.
Seven miles outside of Baker City,
we took a steep climb to the top of Flagstaff Hill and the Oregon Trail
Interpretive Center. Flagstaff Hill was a landmark on the Oregon Trail. The
Pioneers' wagon ruts are still visible on the landscape below. We shared a
hint of the relief they must have felt when reaching this point and looking
down on the fertile Powder Valley below.
View toward Baker City from the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center.
This fertile valley was a welcome sight for the overland pioneers.
Their wagon ruts are still visible below and parallel to the highway coming in from
the left.
When we emerged from the
Interpretive Center, a fierce headwind had kicked up, and we had to struggle the
remaining downhill miles to Baker City. We would have been in serious trouble
if we had been an hour or more later in our start this morning. We were tired
enough when we rolled into Baker City, just in time to make Bike Shop Visit
#19 to buy chain lube. Mike is off getting groceries while I catch up on the
journal. Tomorrow we have another day of similar challenges.
