I've heard a few awesome things about Bend, Oregon in the past, so I decided I should pay it a visit. Unfortunately to get there I have to traverse the Cascade Mountains, some of the steepest climbing I've seen yet. The mountain range is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the string of volcanoes that stretch down from Alaska. It's absolutely beautiful riding, and I hear the coast of Oregon is an amazing place. After Bend I'll be making my final turn west. Won't be long now...
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Day 73:
My new German friends told me about an awesome breakfast place at the bottom of the mountain, so I decided to pass on my usually oatmeal for once. I made sure to dress in tons of layers to survive the frigid morning mountain air, and prepared for an awesome 30 mile decent out of the park. Now that's the way every day should start.
Sure enough, JJ's Cafe lived up to its reputation - huge portions of eggs, home fires, corned beef, and pancakes. If only there was one on the east coast...
I piked up a homemade pasty for the road and headed off towards my next stop in the town of Mt. Shasta. This guy was looming in the distance all day:
Another volcano, that's the 14,000 foot peak the town is named after. Luckily I won't have to go over this one.
I arrived in Mt. Shasta with enough time to accomplish three things:
1. Laundry
2. Use a computer
3. Find a place to camp
But then I met these folks:
...and I didn't accomplish anything. Of course, they were a great distraction and wonderful people to spend the night with. The other cool thing about this northern route is it parallels the Pacific Crest Trail, the west's equivalent of the Appalachian Trail. These three guys were through-hiking, and had some awesome stories to tell. We spent the night together, primarily trying to track down one of Chris' friends who may or may not have a house in Mt. Shasta that we could stay in. Unfortunately she proved unreachable, so we grabbed some pizza and moseyed around town.
With no house, we decided to stealth-camp in the back parking lot of an outdoors store. Just as we laid our sleeping bags out though, one of the employees pulled in with the same idea. Forced to reveal ourselves, he gave us permission to spend the night. I guess that took the "stealth" out of our camping endeavors.
We finished the night off with some ice cream, disgusting donuts (who knew that was possible?) and a bottle of wine. Great success.
Miles Covered: 110
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Day 74:
In the morning we succeeded in causing a bit of mischief before heading our separate ways. I continued north, and eventually crossing into the final state on my journey:
OREGON!
One huge climb (and a huge decent) later I arrived in the town of Ashland. Being a bustling town, I decided to see what Warmshowers had to offer...and I hit the jackpot. I got in touch with a Bill, who lived with his wife right in the center of town. They gave me my own private cottage to stay in, equipped with a bathroom, kitchen, and comfortable bed. Booyah.
Bill and his wife are absolutely incredible too. They have biked around the world, and have amazing stories to tell. He is a wealth of knowledge, and shared tons of stories about his travels, the town, and my route to come.
Miles Covered: 80
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Day 75:
Immediately after leaving Ashland, I started riding up one of the steepest climbs yet. The road was named "Dead Indian Memorial Road" - that should speak for the ridiculous path it follows. Even Bill told me there would be 12 or 13% grades, easily the steepest climb yet.
Ashland is at an elevation of 2,500 feet. Within 13 miles I was at 5,000 feet. There's nothing easy (or enjoyable) about that.
After an agonizingly slow decent back down to 2,500 feet, I began another agonizingly slow climb up to 6,000 feet. This brought me to the campground 1,000 feet below Crater Lake. I arrived just as the sun was going down, so I decided to leave the park for the morning.
I rolled into the campground to find out it was full, but fortunately another biker named Adrian opened his site up to any hiker or biker that came in...now that was luckily.
I found the site, introduced myself, and started cooking up dinner. Completely exhausted after all the climbing, I passed out for the night.
Miles Covered: 100
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In the morning I climbed the three miles up to Crater Lake. I parked the bike at the visitors center and did a quick hike up to the peak of Mt. Garfield at 8,500 feet. Here are some of the amazing views that I saw:
With the exception of the climb and the hike, today would be a relatively easy 70 mile ride to the halfway point between Crater Lake and Bend. Plus there was a huge decent off the mountain.
About 10 miles out of the campsite I got caught in a huge hailstorm (again...) Who would have thought the only two times when my helmet actually came in handy were during hailstorms?
Just take a look at what was nailing me:
The storm finally tapered off and I got to the campsite soaking wet. Miraculously it was completely empty, so I set up camp, cooked my food, and got to bed at a decent hour with no distractions. Actually thinking I would get a great sleep free from noisy cars and barking dogs, I was rudely awakened at 3:00 Am by some crazy guy pulling his gigantic RV into the camp. So much for peace and quiet...
Miles Covered: 70
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Day 76:
Struggling to get all of my wet things dried out and packed away, I hit the road around 9:00. This was the final approach to Bend, and I could wait to get there. I was taking the Cascade Lakes Highway into the town, which was a beautiful scenic route along tons of lakes and up the Mt. Bachelor pass.
Views from the road:
(Lava):
Unfortunately I got my first flat since I left Moab - and it was a big one. Something in the road completely spliced my tire, so I had to switch it out with the spare. Good thing I only have 250 more miles to go!
After I reached the top of the pass at 6,000 feet, I had an awesome decent down to Bend. I got stopped halfway down by a guy named Tyler though, who was quizzing me about my trailer. He turned out to be a reporter for the Bend Bulletin, and I ended up getting featured in the next day's issue:
Finally, my arrival. Thank you so much to Alyssa and Ian who contacted a ton of people and found me a bunch of places to stay. I've never had so many options for houses to stay in before...
I ended up contacting Dave, Alyssa's old cross country coach, who is an amazing guy. He's biked across the country, coaches, rock climbs, runs, hikes, and does every other outdoors-oriented activity. He invited me to make myself home in his beautiful house, and started pinpointing things for me to do around town.
Miles Covered: 70
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Day 77:
I went with Dave in the morning to his cross country practice. I did an awesome 7 mile run along the river running through town, and instantly fell in love with Bend. I may be here for a while...
Brian! You are indeed THE MAN. You make my short coast to coast ride seem like a sunday training ride. Your pictures and stories make for a once in a lifetime experience. Good Luck in all you do. Keep on Biking
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