Previously: Oregon Outback - Day 4
I again woke up shivering, the next morning. I think this was the coldest morning. It was damp and dark in the canyon, and it was tough getting moving again. Adam was always the first one ready, and he rolled out ahead of us.
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Find one in every car, you'll see - Miller |
Someone had gotten their deer early that morning and gutted it right by the side of the road. The descent was a hoot, a little wild and wooly on rocky dirt. We passed many hunters on our way down. In hindsight, it's fitting to remember that Prineville is a low point of the route; you do a long descent to the reservoir and town, and a long climb out of the town.
We knew that we needed to filter water that morning, that there was another long dry stretch to Ashwood. Adam was meticulous in pointing out that there was a crossing of Trout Creek ahead of us, that the best spot for filtering was the 3rd crossing, where the creek runs left to right, and that we should not miss that opportunity. When we got to the third crossing, we just saw a muddy, still puddle in the road, and none of us were interested in filtering there at all, each of us felt we could make it to Ashwood. We went 30 yards further and realized that in fact, the creek alongside the right side of the road was running clear and had good opportunities for filtering, so we stopped in the sun, filtered water for the first time of the trip, (for me, and I think for most of all of the others) filled our tanks and bottles and washed spare riding shorts in the creek. A very big, hairy bumble bee came to visit me, keen for something. Salt?
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Not Gummi bears from Haribo, but Werner, kinda like gummi peeps |
From there we rode the beautiful Trout Creek Road to Ashwood. It was gorgeous, just the prettiest country, and the sun was shining. We all knew that in Ashwood there was an honor fridge run by Frankie. As we rolled up I saw a man and asked if Frankie was around, and he said yes, and soon after Frankie came out to greet us. He's an older fella, really nice, really friendly. Told us it was free ice cream day.
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Morgan, Frankie, Adam |
Frankie asked us if we wanted to stay in the A-frame cabins in Antelope and we said yes, and he offered to call Brandy, the owner and tell her that we were coming. This made us feel much better, because we had been trying, when we found brief and intermittent cell service to make a reservation there via Hipcamp, or some other way. Knowing there were cabins possibly available in the next town gave us some inspiration, and we began the climb out of Ashwood, targeting a night in Antelope, maybe even in cabins that evening.
The climb out of Ashwood is steep, dirt, climbing up through pines and Chaparral to a high point. On the profile it doesn't look bad. It is a long series of undulating climbs and descents, high up, with amazing views. This was the first time we could clearly see the northern mountains; Mounts Hood, Jefferson, Adams etc. I have this app on my phone, Peakfinder, that uses the GPS, the compass and I guess some other wizardry in a smart phone to identify the mountain you point it at, and I used it to identify some of these mountains, high up on East Divide Road. I had again rolled off the front, preferring to climb by myself and have a peaceful, solo ride. I enjoyed this beautiful section.
I had curved needles and kevlar thread, for sewing tires, in case of a bad tear. I used them to sew up the gash in my knee warmer. It held for the rest of the trip, but was not pretty.
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Old man eyes make it hard to sew. I'm proud of this repair. |
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