August 6, 2005
Day 6: Across the Klamath Mountains
Yesterday was an easy day but I knew today will be much more difficult. I got on the road at 9:25, heading upstream towards Agness. My rear tire was soft so I just pumped it up before I started. The road was almost always in the shade so it was pleasantly cool. I was surprised that the road climbs 800 feet and then promptly descends back to river level at the Agness resort. The Agness resort has a large restaurant and store but hardly anybody arrives via the road. Most customers arrive by boat. Most are day-trippers on jet boat excursions from Gold Beach. Some are rafters ending a 4 or 5 day guided float trip through the Rogue River wilderness. The place was mobbed with people as could be expected on a hot August weekend. But it seemed strange to me because I arrived on a road that has 1 car every half hour.
The rear tire was flat again just as I rolled into Agness, so I stopped to patch the tube. Then I ate an early lunch because I knew it would be the only civilization along today's route. After lunch the rear tire was completely flat again. This time I replaced the tube.
A short distance past Agness the road crosses the very-green Illinois river where it flows into the Rogue River. I took a short swimming break because this is my last opportunity to be close to a river today.
After the swimming break I began the big climb in afternoon sun on a south-facing slope. Very little shade. A sign warned that the road ahead is "one lane with turnouts". But the road is actually two lanes wide most of the time. The one lane sections aren't a problem because there is no traffic.
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I climbed and climbed and climbed, sweating profusely in the heat. It was 90 degrees in the shade but hotter than that in the sun. There isn't much of a cooling wind when climbing at 3.5 mph (5.6 km/h). I started the climb with more than a gallon of liquids but drank my last water 30 minutes before reaching the summit. I was hoping the road would cross a small creek somewhere but I never found water. Visibility was poor for part of the climb because of a nearby forest fire. I couldn't see the fire but I could see and smell the smoke.
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Late in the afternoon I arrived at the Bearcamp Overlook at 4600 feet elevation (4350 feet higher than the Agness resort). My Oregon Recreation atlas indicates a campground at Bearcamp but I could only find a picnic area with no water. I would have camped there if it had water. I had no choice but to continue to a place that has water.
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I expected an easy 20 mile ride to Galice because it's a 3500 foot (1060m) descent. The descent was easy at first but 1/3 of the way down the road was closed. I was diverted onto a gravel road that climbs 400 feet before descending 3000 feet to Galice. Still with no water. I lowered tire pressure to 20-30 psi for good traction on the gravel. That allows me to descend 11-15 mph on the washboarded road, braking constantly for 40 minutes. It was well past sunset by the time I got back to pavement 2 miles from Galice. From Galice (end of the detour) I pedaled upstream 5 easy miles to Indian Mary County Park. It was completely dark by the time I arrived. I rode past the "campground full" sign and set up my tent in a lush grassy field near a playground. Nobody noticed because it was dark.
I was exhausted but I knew it was important to refuel with a big dinner. I made dinner and took a shower. The temperature was still 75F at 10 PM. Much warmer than usual. I didn't put the rainfly on the tent so it would be cooler inside the tent. Experienced bike tourists can probably predict what happened next. At 11:30PM I started hearing a hissing noise. I knew that was a sprinkler system filling with water. So I rushed outside to put on the rainfly and got it only halfway on before getting sprayed by a nearby sprinkler head. I finished the job and got back inside the tent, soaking wet. For the next 45 minutes I was treated to a very loud splashing sound every 10 seconds as the oscillating sprinkler head blasted my tent. Not exactly conducive to sound sleep.
What a day! It started with an unexpected 800 foot climb and descent before the "main" climb began. Today's 6295 feet (1907 m) of climbing was far more than on any other day of this tour. The main climb was bigger than I expected, hotter than I expected (no shade), with no source of water. I lost a lot of time patching a tube and then later replacing the tube. There was no campground or water where I planned to camp. The final insult was a 12 mile gravel detour with an extra 400 foot climb and a painfully slow 3000 foot gravel descent. In comparison, the sprinkler incident was just a minor irritation. Quite a contrast to yesterday when everything seemed to go perfectly. To top it off, my throat is starting to feel scratchy.
Total Distance: 63.5 mi. (101.6 km)
Distance on gravel: 12 mi. (19.2 km)
Climbing: 6295 ft. (1907 m)
Average speed: 7.1 mph (11.4 km/h)
Maximum speed: 48.7 mph (77.9 km/h)
Hiking: none
Today's ride: 64 miles (103 km)
Total: 276 miles (444 km)
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2 weeks ago