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Bike from Oregon to Virginia, June/July Day 7: Baker City, Oregon to Woodhead Park, Idaho (near Brownlee Dam) Tire I got yesterday blew up, Achilles of left foot super sore or pulled, knees hurt, Jim doesn't do anything, otherwise, things are great. Today we rode 93 miles through an area called "Hells Canyon"; it was probably a pretty stupid thing to do. As you might imagine it was really hot, all day. We left around 7:00 am and arrived around 6:00 pm; of course the whole time the sun was blazing directly overhead. Early on in the day I thought about giving up, the main reason being my achilles. It was fine until this morning, but when I got on the bike it just hurt. To relieve the pain I had to pedal all day with my left foot pointed down. That is fine for a few days but I cannot keep that up for the whole trip. If I keep riding will it heal?
On the health front, I think my knees are doing better but I attribute that to not climbing out of the saddle. I love getting up when I climb and it kills me to go up a hill sitting down. Not literally of course, I just like riding that way. We had some pretty big hills today and went up all of them sitting down. Yuck Phoo! My saddle is quite comfortable and I don't think I need to get one with a hole in it. Of course if I have to ride sitting down all day that changes everything. They say that Hell's Canyon is deeper than the Grand Canyon. Save a trip to Idaho and go to Arizona instead, the latter is much more impressive. It comes down to this: given my injuries, our lack of time to relax, my tire problems, unequal workloads, etc., I would much rather get in a car with you and drive the route. I miss you terribly. Day 8: Hells Canyon, Idaho to Evergreen Campground, Idaho No shower, no sink, no electricity; things are great. I love the campground we are at, on top of some mountain in Idaho. It is so remote that no one is here to collect fees; it is just some pit toilets, picnic tables, and fire rings. Of course I shouldn't forget about the wonderful river in which I am now soaking my sore achilles (that's right, both are now injured), the trees, lush green foliage, etc. In short, this is the best remote campsite yet.
Today we rode 60 hard miles in which we climbed 3000 feet but only descended 1000 feet. Yesterday it was my left achilles, today the right one hurts. For a good part of the ride I thought about how much more fun it would be taking the route in a car with you. Likewise, I spent a great deal of time thinking about how I might get better and still continue with the trip. The question I have been asking myself is "Do I really enjoy this?". The answer of course is sometimes yes, sometimes no. Even with everything that has gone wrong though, the yes's outnumber the no's. Another thought which has occupied my mind is how much of the reason that I am doing this is because I want people to be impressed when I tell them that I rode a bike across the country. Of course I like the snob appeal, but I also like biking and seeing new things.
Jim has left! This is the real news of the day. After reaching the campground he called home to find that his mom is in the hospital and he needs to go home to help run the family photo shop. The weird thing is, it might not be a big deal at all. Jim spoke with his father on the phone, he speaks Chinese but very little English while Jim speaks English but very little Chinese. Since we are in the middle of nowhere a sheriff is coming to pick him up to take him to a town where he can catch a bus to Boise, Idaho and then fly home. All of this happened in a matter of about 30 minutes. In that short period of time we first heard the news then saw him ride off. I feel bad even thinking it, but I am kind of glad to see him go. He didn't shop, cook, set up camp, clean, look at maps, etc. It kind of put me in a foul mood to see him wandering around while all of us were working. He never even volunteered to help. In terms of community gear, he didn't' have that much so it shouldn't really affect us. If anything I think it will make the trip more enjoyable and will cause me to better appreciate the opportunity and wonderful adventure I am having. Tonight we had burritos and veggies for dinner. The burritos consisted of rice, refried beans and cheese while the vegetables were corn, squash, cabbage and a little garlic. Just as we started to eat we were mobbed by about 15 big black flies. We quickly moved our food but within a minute they were back. Eventually we realized it was the veggies that the flies were after so we dumped some about 10 yards away and enjoyed our meal fly free while pondering life's little questions such as: which of the veggies to the flies like (corn, squash, cabbage or garlic) and what do flies eat?
Day 9, Evergreen Campground, Idaho to Riggins, Idaho
Short day, all downhill yet very difficult for me with my bad knees and Achilles. We arrived in Riggins around 1 pm and found it to be a tourist-orientated town, the main attraction being whitewater rafting. Luckily, I didn't even have to talk anyone into doing it. For $38 each we spent about 3 hours drifting down the Big Salmon River, about 20 miles in all. The rapids were fun but not quite scary enough. I wish the vessel would have capsized. Our guide Steve was quite friendly and encouraged us to fall overboard. Although it doesn't seem like it, we were drifting in the second deepest canyon in North America (Hell's Canyon is #1 and the Grand Canyon is #3). It was incredible but I know that the Grand Canyon would be more awe inspiring to float through.
I told Kevin I might need to take a bus ahead due to injuries so we will rest tomorrow and see what happens. Due to cold joints and muscles, riding in the morning is getting downright awful. We encountered lots of crazy truckers on the way here. Imagine riding on a narrow two-lane road where there is no shoulder and a big cliff. Now add semi's passing you on blind corners taking up half of the other lane. So dumbfounded was I when this happened that I didn't have time to be frightened. I like Riggins as it is unlike the other little towns here. Young people come here for the summer to raft, people seem aware of the environment, etc. To dark to write, I have the flashlight hanging from my ear but that doesn't work so well. So this is 9 days so far, more to come.
Day 10: Riggins, Idaho (rest day)
Yesterday we went white water rafting with 3 guides, not a bad ratio (1 to 1). Anyway, towards the end of the 3-hour adventure I was getting a little bit cold (the sun was setting) and as such, was turning my head and body when in rapids to avoid the cold water. Mike, our guide who sported a 4-inch red goatee, picked up on this right away and said, "look's like someone doesn't want to get wet", at which point he turned the vessel into some whitewater and soaked me but no one else. Originally I thought Mike was around our age but at the end of the trip he removed his hat and, wow; he was totally bald. In the van, riding back from the river the 3 guides spoke of a billboard. At length they said how it was bad for the town, etc. What was really funny to me though, was when we drove by a local resident using a circular saw. One of the guides complained of the noise and the other two immediately followed suit. Growing up in Santa Cruz and attending University at Berkeley, usually I was the one on the extreme end of the spectrum but these guys had me beat. Billboards and circular saws? I suppose you had to be there. We declined an invitation to play ultimate Frisbee with them.
That night we were turning in early because we had a big climb the next day (7% grade for 8 miles, the famous Whitebird Hill). Anyway, we were staying in an RV park so I put my earplugs in so an idiot camper wouldn't wake me up at 3:00 am. Instead, sometime in the middle of the night Ned or Kevin did. Turns out an intense thunderstorm was headed our way, complete with rain, wind and lightening. The reason they woke me was because although I was in my tent, I didn't have the fly on. So with my tiny flashlight (about as big as my pinky finger) and despite the tremendous wind I managed to get the fly on and go back to sleep. Day 11: Riggins, Idaho to Kooskia, Idaho Leaving Riggins, Idaho we had about 20 miles of flat to downhill terrain before we hit the "Whitebird Hill". People had been warning us about it for days and everything they said was right on. It just kept going and going. Worst of all, when I thought I had made it to the top I discovered it was a false summit, still over 1 mile to go. Basically, it was a 7% grade for 8 miles. That means I was in my easiest gear the whole time. The climb was made much more palatable given that halfway up the hill was an information building. It turns out that in the valley below us the Nez Perce kicked some US ass. If memory serves, 38 U.S. soldiers died while the Nez Perce had zero causalities.
One of the reasons I was so frustrated early on had to be due to my exploding tires. In all of my years of bike riding I have never blown tires, only tubes. In my first week of riding I blew 4 tubes and 2 tires. Grangeville had a bike shop in which I got a meatier tire and I think all of that hardship is behind me. I suppose I was kind of asking for trouble when I started out with tires called "Paperlite". Grangeville was the city after the difficult Whitebird Hill and leaving it we were rewarded with the best downhill ever. I have never thought about how to rate a downhill but some things to consider should be: how often do you pedal, how often do you brake, are there fun turns, good views, do you get cold, how is the road surface, etc. In every regard this downhill was perfect. For about 5 miles I didn't pedal or brake but just flew down the hill. It had big turns so you could see where you were going and where you had been. The temperature was perfect (although just wearing shorts and a shirt I wasn't cold going 30+ mile per hour) and the views were spectacular. We started in cultivated fields and ended up in a beautiful forest following a river. Well, day 12 is tomorrow. Wish you were here.
Day 12: Kooskia, Idaho to Wilderness Gateway just east of Lowell, Idaho
Greetings from the Lewis and Clark Trail. As I lie here in a meadow next to a swollen river I find it difficult to comprehend what that party of men did (the Lewis and Clark expedition). Except for the roads, the terrain here is exactly as it has been for centuries. A river cutting a path through the mountains, so fierce, even I wouldn't attempt to cross it. Besides you, one couldn't ask for more than this; green trees and meadows, a cool (painfully so) river, blue skies and the sun on my back. Except for the occasional car, there is no sign of civilization here. Now let me tell you about the night before last… We stayed at a community park in Kooskia, Idaho. Because of the heat, we once again pitched our tents without flies and went to sleep with every star in the sky visible. A little after midnight I was jarred from my slumber by a sound and to my horror I knew exactly what it was. Automatic sprinklers had come on and were at that moment soaking Ned's tent. Before I could find the offending nozzle it soaked my tent as well. We ended up putting a pot over the sprinkler, drying out the tents as best we could (really just sopping up the puddles), ground sheets and sleeping bags with little hand towels and finally moving the tents to dry ground. After the fiasco of the previous night (the wind and lightening in Riggins) I wasn't amused. Surprisingly, we were able to get everything pretty dry and fall back asleep, in relative comfort, without our tents flies, beneath every star in the sky. It is now 4:00 am and for some reason I am awake. Crap, it's starting to sprinkle. This time I take no chances. Quickly I move all my gear, tent and all, under a gazebo and go back to sleep on a concrete slab. Within minutes an intense thunderstorm breaks out. For 2 hours lightning could be seen and heard every 10 seconds and then the rain came. At its peak it was coming down as hard as I've ever seen. But I didn't care, for I was warm, dry and comfortable and when I awoke at 6:00 am the sun was out and everything was OK. A quick note about the road we are on now. It is just like highway 9 near my parents house in that it is narrow, sinuous and follows a river but the difference is over half of the vehicles are big rigs. At one point a truck passed towing a huge boat, so wide that almost occupied both lanes of traffic.
If I might change the topic, let's discuss my health and morale. Only 4 days ago I was hurt and discouraged to the point that I honestly thought I was going to have to take a break to heal and then rejoin the group. As the saying goes, "what a difference a day makes"! Since our day off in Riggins things have been much, much better. In terms of my body, my knees and achilles are not 100% but I am no longer in pain. We are also in real wilderness, which really boosts my morale and helps a lot with the pure enjoyment of riding. To be blunt, I can't believe I'm doing this. What a great adventure! And what great stories I will have for the future kids and grandkids. |
