August 14, 2005
Day 11: To Diamond Lake
I got on the road at 8:35AM, hoping to have a bit more daylight for today's long ride and roadside attractions. There were a few downhills near Lost Creek Reservoir but otherwise it was uphill all day. Today's destination of Diamond Lake is 3600 feet (1100m) higher than my starting point. The road is busy with people from the Medford area going up into the mountains on a Sunday. Fortunately the road has a small paved shoulder most of the time. The first few miles of the road stay very close to the Rogue River with good views.
Then I climbed a big hill and descended to Lost Creek reservoir. It's the only large man-made reservoir I saw on this tour. Many cars passed me pulling boats. Hopefully that traffic will go away after the reservoir.
Beyond the reservoir the road is somewhat boring. Very straight, lined with trees, with no river views. Near the town of Prospect I turned onto a parallel back road to go to Mill Creek falls. It was worth the time and effort. Getting to the trailhead only adds a mile to my route. I had to hike 1/4 mile to the falls viewpoint. The hiking trail and falls area is owned by Weyerhauser Corporation. The surrounding area is a commercial tree farm but I suppose that the trail and waterfall area won't be logged. Most similar roadside attractions are public parks. It's interesting to see one that is privately owned, yet still free to the public.
100 yards past Mill Creek falls is Barr Creek falls. It has about the same drop but much less flow. The view is less obstructed.
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After visiting the waterfalls I continued on back roads to the town of Prospect. I was hoping to stock up on groceries there but I couldn't find a grocery store. I didn't want to spend time wandering around town so I continued up highway 62.
The next roadside attraction is the "Natural Bridge" just south of Union Creek Resort. I didn't know what it was, so I hiked down the trail. The trail has good views of the fast-moving and very frothy Rogue River. The main attraction is an area where the Rogue River disappears underground into a lava tube for 200 feet. It's interesting to see but I couldn't capture a decent photo of it.
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I stopped for a late lunch at the restaurant in Union Creek, deep in the National Forest. I arrived at 1:30PM but there was still a wait for tables. I waited more than 30 minutes for a table. I didn't want to waste so much time but I also wanted to be well-fueled for the big climb to Diamond Lake. While waiting for the table I stocked up on groceries from the limited selection at the store across the road. I won't see another grocery store for at least two more days.
After eating a huge meal at Union Creek I stopped at the "Rogue River Gorge" area on the edge of town. The walkway has views of the Rogue River in a 40-foot deep and very narrow canyon. This course of the river is a lava tube with a collapsed top. The water moves incredibly fast through the narrow canyon.
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A few miles later I turned off highway 62 to try to see National Creek Falls. After going 1.25 miles downhill the road turns to gravel and a sign says it's another 2.5 miles to the falls. So I turned around and climbed back up to the highway. I don't think I have the time or energy to see the falls today. There is still a big climb to Diamond Lake.
I had been biking near the Rogue River all day but soon highway 62 diverges from the river and begins a steep climb to Diamond Lake. The highway climbs up to 5400 feet elevation before descending to the lake at 5100 feet elevation. I pulled into the South Shore picnic area, then wandered around looking for the hiker/biker campground. I found it a very short distance to the east. It's a free hiker/biker campground with 5 campsites. It has its own toilet building, paved walkways, a communal campfire area in the middle, and a picnic area on the lakeshore. It was only built recently and it appears to be very underutilized. I was the only one there and it appeared that nobody had camped there recently. Perhaps many bike tourists don't even know it exists. I arrived at 8:30PM, shortly after sunset. First on my agenda was to make a homebrew shower before it got too cold. Afterwards I made dinner in the cool darkness.
Today was a long day, both in distance and in climbing. It took me 12 hours to get from this morning's campground to this evening's campground. The weather was warm and sunny but not as hot as previous days because of the higher elevation. The deserted hiker/biker campground is a pleasant contrast to last night's crowded and noisy campground. It was a tiring day but I didn't feel any aches and pains. That's good because tomorrow will have a similar amount of climbing. My average speed was very slow because it was almost continuously uphill.
Distance: 62.3 mi. (99.7 km)
Climbing: 4600 ft. (1394 m)
Average speed: 7.3 mph (11.7 km/h)
Maximum speed: 41.0 mph (65.6 km/h)
Hiking: 2 mi. (3.2 km)
Today's ride: 62 miles (100 km)
Total: 542 miles (872 km)
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