Day 12: Baker City to Hot Lake

September 17, 2023

I had a good but dainty breakfast downstairs at the hotel restaurant. Away from the hotel at 8:35, but then I wandered a bit to take pictures in morning sun. Finally on the road at 9 AM, but on the way out of town I stopped at a supermarket to buy a sandwich to eat later.

Bar and breakfast room at Geiser Grand hotel.

I spent a few minutes wandering around Baker City looking at the buildings in morning sun.

Downtown Baker City seems to have stone buildings everywhere.

On the way out of downtown I took pictures of some historic houses.

Just east of downtown Baker City I crossed the Powder River for the first time. I've been in the Powder river valley since noon yesterday but this is my first time to see the river.

Going north from Baker City I had unobstructed views of the Blue mountains to the northwest, looking good in the morning sun but kind of far away. Views of the closer Wallowa mountains were mostly obstructed by nearby hills and the sun angle wasn't good.

Looking northwest at the Blue Mountains.

The trend is gradual uphill past dry farms that aren't irrigated, then high desert sagebrush and grass. The gravel section had some washboards and loose rocks but was still easy to ride because it's almost level.

2.2 miles of gravel northeast of Baker City. Wallowa mountains on the right.

Wallowa Mountain views begin near a barren hilltop after several miles of gradual uphill. Then a long 750 foot descent to the Powder river.

First good view of the Wallowa mountains ahead.

I started to see rabbit brush late yesterday. During this tour I only saw rabbit brush near Baker City.

Florific Rabbit Brush. Blue mountains in the distance.

The long descent is kind of deceptive because the Powder river isn't visible until near the bottom of the descent.

Wallowa Mountains and Powder River canyon. I will be on the road ahead.

This remote part of the Powder river has only a small flat area for irrigated farms.

This is my second and final view of the Powder river. I pedaled quite far in the Powder river valley but didn't see the river very much. Here the river appears to be pumped nearly dry. The flow was much larger in Baker City.

From here the river flows generally east to connect to the Snake river just upstream from (south of) Hell's Canyon. This is the end of the dry season, lowest flow of the year. The flow is much bigger during spring when snow is melting from the Blue mountains.

A 1300 foot climb begins after crossing the Powder river. This small river is deep in a hole. Most of the climb is in high desert with nothing growing more than 3 feet high. Far away from the irrigated farms. Traffic was very light. Few farms, few houses. More tranquil than yesterday.

The only services on today's route are at the Pondosa store. I already ate a sandwich I bought on the way out of Baker City, so I just got ice cream. To get to the store I walked past the living room where a family was gathered watching football on a giant TV. A well dressed young man walked out of the living room to be the store cashier.

The Pondosa store is a pleasant shady oasis in the high desert. I needed the shade after pedaling uphill in the sun, temperature in the 80's. They have a nice little park area. I enjoyed looking at the new-looking Studebaker freight wagon.

Studebaker freight wagon at Pondosa store.

Pondosa Store is a long climb from the Powder River but it's still not the summit. I continued climbing. A mile past the Pondosa store I stopped to look at Medical Springs. Fenced private property. I'm told the pool is about 100F. Once a resort, now a private residence.

Medical Springs. Private property since 1860.

Soon after Medical Springs I could finally see forest ahead. 90% of the big climb is in desert.

Finally approaching forest at 3800 feet elevation.

Today the sky was sunny until about 3 PM. Then it became partly cloudy. High temperature of 85F. Still above normal. The building clouds also corresponded with me getting up to about 4000 feet elevation once again. It's always cloudier up high.

I savored my time in the pines. This tour had fewer pines than planned because a road closure caused me to miss an entire day of pines in the Blue mountains.

I joined Catherine Creek about halfway down the descent. Still in dense forest.

After a long treeless climb on south-facing slopes, I was pleased to discover that the long descent on north-facing slopes is mostly forested. The forest only fades away a couple miles before Union.

I stopped to look at Catherine Creek State Park which looks like it would be a good place to camp. I'm surprised that I didn't see any cyclists on the Scenic Bikeway today (Sunday) or yesterday (Saturday).

The forest rapidly fades away downstream from the state park, but the road stays close to Catherine creek. A gradual transition from pine forest to deciduous trees, then sagebrush and grass.

Fewer trees as I follow Catherine creek downstream.

I passed through Union very quickly. It's getting late and I need to continue on to Hot Lake.

Union is where I leave the Catherine creek canyon and enter the Grande Ronde valley. The final 8 miles to Hot Lake are in a wide nearly flat valley.

I arrived at Hot Lake Springs hotel at 5:30 PM. It was a long day with a lot of climbing. I got my reserved room and went to the bar for dinner and beer. They had Pallet Jack IPA but the menu was just appetizers. My 3-course dinner was Caesar salad, potato soup, and meat ball marinara.

Hot Lake Springs has had many past lives as a resort, sanitarium, and hospital. It's an interesting place to explore on the inside and the outside. I posted more pictures of the lodge during my first first visit in May.

I know the owners, Mike and Tamarah Rysavy. I soaked with them after 9 PM when they were finally finished with work and child-related duties.

I like the tile mosaic in the lobby area. Union Hotel also has mosaic tile.

The lake really is hot near the lodge and soaking pools. The shore has signs warning that you can get fatal burns if you go in the lake. 100 feet from the soaking pools a pipe discharges about 1000 gallons per minute of 180F water into Hot Lake.

Wind was gentle during my visit now and during my first visit in May. The shelter alcoves are sometimes very important to prevent towels, robes, and shoes from blowing away.

Soaking and dressing areas at Hot Lake Springs.

Soaking in 102F water for hours is a decent way to end a long day of cycling.

I soaked with Mike and Tamarah until almost midnight. Way past my bed time. They told me many details about the hotel restoration and soaking pool development here, and his new contract to redevelop Bagby hot spring, a campground, and Ripplebrook store in Mount Hood National Forest. After the soak I went out in front to take a picture of the sleeping hotel.

Another awesome cycling route. Another day of awesome weather. Another awesome historic hotel. I'm tired but feeling good.

Distance: 53.0 miles
Average Speed: 8.7 mph
Ascent/Descent: +2153/-2775 feet

Today's ride: 53 miles (85 km)
Total: 393 miles (632 km)

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Gregory GarceauIt seems incredible that you could get fatal burns if you go into the lake. How hot is it? (Dumb question. It must be scalding hot.)
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6 months ago

Wayne EstesThe source spring flows 2 million gallons per day at 186F. In September they weren't extracting much heat for the building, so the water flowing into the lake is probably not much below 186F. I doubt you would be fatally burned if you get in the lake more than 50 feet from the hot pipe, but the insurance company doesn't want clueless visitors to make that judgement call.
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6 months ago

Wayne EstesTo Gregory GarceauI think it's a GOOD question.
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6 months ago

Wayne EstesTo Gregory GarceauMy arithmetic converts 2 million gallons per day to 1389 gallons per minute. Assuming a quarter of it is diverted to the RV Park and a couple adjacent land owners, it's still 1000 gallons per minute of 186F water flowing into the lake. I would keep my distance from the hot pipe, but there must be a large area of the lake that is pleasantly warm. Paddling is prohibited in Hot Lake because people would inevitably paddle too close to the source pipe.
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6 months ago