Day 47: Baker City to Halfway, OR; Highway to Hell

August 17, 2015

Notes:

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2.) Climbing Today: 2,881 ft -- Total So Far; 112,590 ft

3.) Average Speed While Biking Today: 9.9 mph

4.) Mechanical Issues Today: none, (1 flat tire so far)

5.) Miles Remaining to Canon City: about 1,441

6.) Miles Traveled to Date on This Half of the Journey: 559

7.) Money Found Today: None (but see the narrative, we found something else)

8.) Total Money Found So Far: $0.10 (Will I find enough to buy a cup of coffee?)

The owner of the Baker City Knight’s Inn is a cyclist who has dreams of touring someday, so it was fun to talk with him. He told me three cyclists from Holland had arrived at 10:30 pm last night, exhausted because they had underestimated the effort to make the three climbs yesterday. They too had left from Mount Vernon (they stayed elsewhere from me, I never saw them), but they left later than me and paid the price in the heat. Oh well, I doubt I will meet them since I am ahead of them and I roll early to get some miles in before the heat demands its toll.

I had planned originally to go to Oxbow, OR today, but there was no place to stay and I couldn’t get anyone at the park service to return my call so I could ask some basic questions like; 1.) is there potable water available, and 2.) are there showers? So I decided to ride to Halfway, OR. It was a good decision, because when I did my original trip planning I had not figured the distance correctly, and Halfway turned out to be a 59 mile day; that would be far enough today after yesterday's Herculean exertion. Leaving Baker City, I came upon some deer.

Deer Graze in the Early Morn Near All These Small Eastern Oregon Towns

Early Morning is a Great Time to Photograph Deer

There were some early steep climbs that were surprising to me because my route generally followed the Powder River downstream, so today I planed on mostly having a flat to gently downhill day; except for a little hill known locally as “Cardiac Hill” for some strange reason. For those who didn’t already suspect it, I’m on the Highway to Hell.

The Highway to Hell; Apparently I'm On It?

After a moderately hard climb out of Baker City, here’s a view that shows the smoke/haze situation;

There once was a magnificent tree in the valley center that was used as a landmark by early explorers and Native Americans. But it was destroyed by “immigrants” as described below.

Ignorant New-Comers Cut It Down for the Wood

I’m following the path of the Oregon Trail, but I think it’s probably easier for me now than it was for the early settlers. Here’s a monument dedicated to the trail;

The monument itself is already 72 years old. As we rode along at cruising speed after cresting the hill and now enjoying some flat terrain, we passed a bit of discarded cloth off the road and Harvey spoke up; “I need that!” I replied “No, we don’t need something that was thrown away by someone else. Besides, it’s a little bit more extra weight.” Now Harvey got mad and said “But I’m the one who carries all the weight! All you do is sit and pedal. I want it!” Dealing with Harvey is sometimes like dealing with a teenager; who knew bicycles were so emotional? I thought logic might work, so I said “Why do you want it?” I expected him to reply “I don’t know,” but instead he said “The Hula Girl is injured and can’t dance. It’s not her fault, but without her dancing us down the road I’m not properly decorated for a bike of my class. I need something back there that adds to my pizazz factor.” Ok, that was unexpected and I didn’t have a good counter reply, so I turned around and we headed back. The conversation had carried us a ¼ mile or so down the road, and turning back was an inefficient use of my energy reserves, but so be it. We located the colorful piece of cloth and added it to Harvey’s rear end so he was now decorated a bit like a patriotic peacock.

Harvey Displays a New Toy; He's Become a Patriotic Peacock

The smoke covered a large part of Oregon and Idaho, so it was hard to escape it. I had been in it for days now, but it's usually just a misty haze that obscures the view of the landscape. Here's how it obscured my views of scenic mountains;

The day consisted of more ups and downs than I had expected. Maybe I’m just getting tired from the daily effort; I suspect there's a bit of psychological impact from the smoke as well. Here’s a view of the road ahead today;

Generally, I was following the Powder River downstream. It’s a very beautiful river, as are most all of these eastern Oregon streams.

The Powder River Valley is a Beautiful and Rugged Place

I already admitted that I’m on the highway to hell. But maybe it won’t be so bad, as it seems they have recreation in hell.

Maybe Hell Isn't so Bad; They Have Recreation?

The 1984 Hole-in-the-Wall slide did a lot of damage and caused the highway to be relocated at a higher elevation (part of the reason for some of my climbing this morning). Here’s a roadside info board about it;

Description of the 1984 Hole-in-the-Wall Landslide

You can see the scarp from the slide across the canyon.

You Can See the Landslide Scarp Near the Top

And a little farther along, you can look down and see where the old highway was buried by the slide.

The Former Highway is Seen Below Where it Was Buried by the Slide

My muscles were spent from climbing three passes yesterday, and today's occasional inclines were proving to be quite taxing. Part of the reason is the added heat load. It’s not just that it’s hot, but there’s hardly any shade to be found alongside the road.

The Powder River Valley Suffers From Smoke; Notice There is no Shade Along the Highway

Note the smoke in the photo above – it’s like that everywhere. When I do find the rare spot of shade, it’s time for a brief rest, a quick cracker or fig newton, and a celebratory drink of hot water. Hot water isn’t great, but it beats no water by a mile. People will kill for a drink of hot water if they have none.

When I Find a Rare Spot of Shade I Take Advantage of It

I had lunch in Richland. If the café hadn’t been open, I would have been demoralized. Cardiac Hill is right after Richland, and I needed a bit of rest and refueling before that challenge. The waitress was maybe 28 years old, and she called me “Honey.” Of course, she called everyone in the café that. There were abundant flies inside the café, but strange as it sounds that is common in eastern Oregon. You can’t keep them out, so folks here have just learned to live with them. It’s not just the little greasy spoon cafes, but even in the “nice” restaurants. Oh well, I swatted them away from my food as best I could, and I ate every morsel. While checking my email, I noticed an encouraging post from Daniel Wolf. Talk about perfect timing! I was concerned with the upcoming climb, and this post was just the boost I needed - traveling alone, it was really great to know others were thinking about me. It was almost 1:00 pm by the time I left the café, and the afternoon heat was quite intense when I set off to climb Cardiac Hill. Cardiac Hill is about 6 miles of climbing at a grade that averages 6-7% but is steeper in places.

This Summit Has No Name But the Locals Call it "Cardiac Hill" for Cyclists

But the real difficulty of Cardiac Hill for me is that there is absolutely no shade, and there is little shoulder. Guard rails lined the many curves alongside the steep hillside drop-off, so there was precious little room for a cyclist if two vehicles approached from opposite directions when you were negotiating your way up one of these steep curves. So I took it like I always do; one small bite at a time. It was about 6 miles to the summit, and I tried to cycle ½ mile at a time and then rest. I eventually made it to the summit.

I Made it - the Heat Made These Hard Ascents Much Harder

What the above picture can’t show you is how exhausted I was. I consumed more than half of my onboard water climbing the hill, so fortunately the remainder of today was mostly downhill. Near the summit I noticed that fences were anchored with rocks.

I suppose this is to hold them in winter storms. It seems to be a common practice out here as I later noticed other fences anchored this way. The downhill ride off of Cardiac Hill was exhilarating, and eventually I arrived in Halfway, OR.

Not sure why the town is named “Halfway;” could it be that it’s halfway to hell from somewhere? I stayed at the Halfway Motel, and like a lot of these small-town Oregon hotels I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the room for the price I paid. My hotel;

After cleaning up I walked a couple of blocks to the local market and re-stocked my supplies. I bought a microwave “Hungry Man” dinner for my supper and enjoyed it in the hotel room. The business area of Halfway can be traversed within a few blocks. Interestingly, the town has a flagpole in the middle of the street.

A Flagpole Sits in the Middle of the Street

I’m surprised that some Saturday night drunk hasn’t driven over it yet. But what really surprised me was this business;

A Combined CPA and Hair Stylist Business; I Suppose Either Way You Get a Haircut

It’s a Certified Public Accountant office and a hairstylist/barber shop located together. I suppose either way you get a haircut. I’m prepping for an early start in the morning as I prepare to enter Hell. Night all…

Today's ride: 55 miles (89 km)
Total: 2,856 miles (4,596 km)

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