0706 - Not just whistling "Dixie" - Rejuvenation? Or Last Hurrah?

July 6, 2022

0706 - Not just whistling "Dixie"

Add in Tipton and Sumter for good measure

DO THREE SUMMITS make a summit conference? If so, I attended one today.

Before we get to that, though, there's this: from the time (about 0500) I bade "Safe Travels" to Ethan, the campmate I met last night, I didn't see and interact with another human being outside a motor vehicle until 1600 this afternoon. In fact, I saw relatively few people in motor vehicles, at least compared with the first four days of this trip. Both US 26 and OR 7, the two roads I followed today, are pretty low-traffic, or at least they were today and especially in the morning hours.

I did get a few salutes from oncoming motorcyclists- it's always nice when they acknowledge me- and a couple friendly taps on horns from motorists. I knew they were friendly because they waited until they were past me, and then gave only a very short "beep".

Knowing what the day held in store: Dixie Pass (5,279 feet, 1,650 feet of climbing); Tipton Pass (5,124 feet, 1,100 feet of climbing); and Sumpter Pass (a mere 5,082 feet and only 1,000 feet of climbing) I was up by 0500 (should really have been up an hour sooner but oh well) and ready to roll right at 0700.

I'm definitely getting spoiled, though: the weather was once again absolutely perfect and I had the road nearly to myself for the first three or four hours.

Dawn breaks dramatically over the Depot RV Park in Prairie City. But don't worry: those clouds soon disappeared and gave way to another day of faultless, deep blue skies.

Climbing toward Dixie Pass I created a new game, similar to The Guardrail Game. Ride until I've gained 100 feet of elevation, take a short breather. Count down, in hundreds of feet, how many feet remain to the summit. At even multiples of 500 feet remaining, take a slightly longer break and reward myself with a couple handfuls of cashews and M&Ms. (Getting low; need to restock that and other items in Baker City tomorrow.)

This oversized replica of a Conestoga Wagon sits in a viewpoint that looks over the John Day Valley. It's bait put out by the Grant County Department of Tourism, hoping to entice people to take, tag, and share their photos on Instagram.

I dont think the Conestogas that actually traveled the Oregon Trail were quite this big. Not unless they were pulled by Paul Bunyan's big blue ox, Babe, at least.

Looking back one last time into the John Day Valley, before summiting Dixie Pass.

I didn't focus at all on either distance traveled or forward speed: it was all about reaching that next 100 foot mark. I think that really helped me not overtax myself, and I added to the diversion factor by ticking off every ten foot increment to the next hundred (90 to go, 80 to go, 70...)

At the summit of Dixie Pass I stopped to collect my summit photo as a reward.

That also afforded me the opportunity to change from my regular glasses to my dedicated sunglasses. They're much better at keeping the wind from causing my eyes to tear up and blur my vision, on high-speed descents. The downside is that they are single-vision lenses, so it's hard to read the instruments on the handlebars.

The next several miles flew by, almost in a blur. (As long as I had good sight lines I pretty much let the bike run free, but on curves or when I was being overtaken by a vehicle I slowed and transitioned to what passes for a shoulder in these parts. It was mostly pretty rideable but not as smooth as the travel lanes. Its main drawback is the deep bed of soft gravel at the edge, which will spill you quicker than you can blink if you stray into it.)

All too soon I had reached Austin Junction, where the eastbound TransAm departs from US 26 onto OR 7. There's a convenience store there, or will be sometime. The building exists but is under new ownership; the sign out front says "CLOSED: Open Summer 2022". I had been counting on that spot to get water but alas there was none to be had.

Happily, just a bit down the road are both a State Park- a sure source of water- and a roadside flowing spring. I elected to go with the spring water, and it was delicious! (I learned later when we met again that the Swiss rider I'd met in Dayville had also stopped at this spring.)

Delicious, cool, FREE spring water. One of life's simplest yet most satisfying pleasures, at least when you're bike touring and running low on the stuff. DAMHIK.

Then it was time for my assault on Tipton Pass, which went as smoothly (though with slightly more effort due to tired legs) as Dixie had gone.

Once over the crest it was definitely lunchtime. Finding a convenient place at a point where an unpaved County road departs from OR 7 ("ROUGH ROAD: Not Recommended For Automobiles") I got out my stove, heated some water, and treated myself to one of the backpacker meals I've been lugging around for the past five days.

This is as close as I'll come to having a gourmet meal for lunch, when I'm preparing it by the side of the road.

While waiting for the boiling water to reconstitute the meal, I poked around and saw some interesting greenery. I'm guessing it's a pine-specific fungus of some sort (it'd almost have to be pine-specific as that's nearly the only tree in the area).

I assume this is some sort of fungus that is specific to the species of pine (Ponderosa, I think) in this area.

Bill Shaneyfelt to the White Courtesy Phone, please. Plant ID needed on Aisle Seven.

Also while I was hanging out, a hawk flew out from the trees, pursued hotly by a couple smaller birds who didn't want it hanging around. That was cool to see, as it happened relatively close to me. It was over and out of view too quickly for me to catch with the camera, though.

Lunch was followed by another speedy drop from On High, and another grinding climb up to Sumpter Pass. By this point I was definitely feeling the effects of the two previous efforts, but I made it. Water was beginning to become a concern, as there had been no places to refill and I knew I was starting to run short.

Thankfully, once over the pass it was (DUH) downhill again for a goodly stretch.

I never saw an official Summit sign on Sumpter Pass so I settled for the next best thing. Trust me, this was at the top of the climb.

Once down the hill it was again something of a grind to get to the campground, and I was once again running short of water. My attention was caught by a sign advertising the Sumter Valley Railroad Museum, just a quarter mile off the route.

Where the Conestoga wagon was oversized, this little pufferbelly is decidedly on the small end of the scale, even for a narrow gauge operation like the SVRR.

These, on the other hand, may be the real McCoy.

By "refrigerated" I'm guessing they mean "big hunks of ice". I recall a scene from "Giant", where a trainload of "refrigerated" railroad cars carrying California lettuce gets stalled. The ice melts, leading to water pouring from the slats on the sides of the cars.

Not surprisingly, it was closed. Happily for me, however, there were two trucks of Forest Service firefighters, waiting for details on reports of smoke sighted some distance away. They kindly refilled my bottle and also ponied up a nice cold bottle of commercially-bottled water for good measure. That one didn't last long.

The guys in this USFS fire crew really saved my bacon. Thanks guys! May the fire season be short and easy for you.

I took it easy on the final leg to the campground, found my site (reserved months ago to ensure I'd have a space) and got set up. There's water but no showers, so I took what amounted to a sponge bath at my site's picnic table. Fortunately the other sites are too far away for it to have attracted the notice of the neighbors.

My home for the evening. You could do worse.

Now I'm (relatively) clean, fed (another backpacker meal I no longer have to lug around), and I can hear guitar music drifting over from another campsite. The sun's almost set and the temperature's definitely dropping along with it. Coupled with the breeze that's whispering in the treetops it's starting to get too cool for shorts and a lightweight tee shirt so I'll sign off here. Besides, I still have to get the inside of the tent arranged and sorted out.

But, it's been a good day overall, and not the near-death experience I was secretly expecting (and dreading).

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Consecutive days without a tire problem: 4

Today's ride: 50 miles (80 km)
Total: 231 miles (372 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	14
Comment on this entry	Comment	6

Scott AndersonYour comment about the motorcyclists reminds me of the only time I’ve ridden east from Austin Summit - 40 years ago on a solo ride from Detroit to Baker City (simply named Baker back then). I was racing down from the summit watching a pod of about a half dozen bikers rapidly approach me, when a deer leaped out of the trees immediately in front of the lead biker. He hit it, and I held my breath watching him swerve all over the road, wondering if he’d crash or maybe hit me - they were only a few hundred yards off. I was breaking to hit the gravel when he got the bike under control. I stopped to check in with them, standing on the shoulder cursing loudly and surveying the damage to the bike.

Amazing - 40 years ago this year, and it’s still a clear image in my mind.

Killed the deer.
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1 year ago

Keith AdamsAs a one time moto rider myself, I have an abiding dislike for deer. Yes they're beautiful but they're almost as dumb as sheep, seemingly, and far less predictable.
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1 year ago

Kelly IniguezTo Scott AndersonHoly moly! I'm eavesdropping on this conversation, but I can see it all vividly in my mind. No wonder that stuck with you for so long!
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1 year ago

Kelly IniguezKeith,

That's an excellent write up to your day - I feel as if I were riding with you. Especially since we also had a tough riding day. I've done the count down thing many times, to get to the top!

Something a friend pointed out years ago, when I offered her a snack on the climb, is that her body is too busy climbing to digest food. That made sense to me. But, I feel as if I need fuel replacement on extended climbs? What to do? I go for really easily digested things, such as gels, or those Hammer brand Perpetum tablets I talk about. I think I"m in the minority on my hill climbing fuel process. That, or no one else talks about it.

Jacinto never eats at all during his riding day. Nothing. IDK how he does it. Oren doesn't seem to eat much either, if he does it, it's a bite of a bar.

I like peanut M&M's, but try to stay away from them, as I can plow right throw a share size bag. Share? ha!

A good touring friend says his favorite convenience store snack is a big PayDay candy bar and a V-8 - that sounds like a terrible combination, but I tired it and like it!
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1 year ago

Keith AdamsTo Kelly IniguezThinking about digestion was why I had lunch at the summit. That way I was not starting the last climb on a full stomach.

Payday bars are the poor man's Powerbar...
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1 year ago

Rachel AldrichYou're doing great at riding and writing! I hope you have to replenish your M&M's often!
Rachel
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1 year ago