Cross Country Recumbent
Saturday July 19, 2003. Baker City OR to Oxbow OR
Start time
|
8:20 am
|
End time
|
3:20 pm
|
Miles
|
76.8
|
Time pedaling
|
5:19
|
Average speed
|
14.5
|
Odometer
|
536
|
Temperature
|
Way too hot
|
The theme for today is HOT. Real hot.
Breakfast at the B+B was splendid, and that's why I didn't get such an
early start. I stopped at the grocery on the way out and picked
up a few essential items (batteries, toothpaste, oatmeal, honey).
On the way out of town I passed folks who were doing a 10K run as part
of the Miner's Jubilee. Hah!, finally people covering ground even
slower
than me!
![](Joggers%20in%20Baker%20city.jpg)
Lest you forget, this is well and truly desert now. I keep
expecting Wile E. Coyote and the road runner to pop around the
corner.
![](Hells%20canyon.JPG)
This is almost the last view of the Powder river. I was
sorry to see it go because it meant I would soon climb up into the
entrance to Hells Canyon.
![](Last%20view%20of%20Powder%20river.jpg)
Just before the climb started I stopped in Richland and had a
milkshake. Although the milkshake was good in retrospect I
should've had the lemonade. I also got my water filled up.
By this time I'm down pretty low and the heat is becoming truly
opressive. I think the lady making me the milkshake thought I had
a few screws loose to be out in this stuff. The problem of course
is that it is hot here every day.
This is the shot about a third the way up, looking back towards
Richland. I will spare you the summit shot, as it isn't that
inspiring. The whole grade was a bit too steep and I was barely
moving in an effort to keep from overheating. I consider myself
pretty well informed with regards to heat-stroke, and I spent most of
this climb going over the symptoms in my head to make sure I was still
OK. The humidity was gratifyingly low, although I do think that I
personally contributed a measurable amount of moisture to the
atmosphere on this day.
One ironic thing about the whole climb is that most of it is lined with
those big free-standing metal fences designed to block snow
drifts. If only...
![](Climb%20outside%20richland.JPG)
Of course coming down off the pass is fun, except it just gets hotter
the further down you go. There is a reason why they call this
place Hell's canyon. The first town is Halfway (halfway to
what?). If you will recall, gentle reader, there
was a blurb in the news a few years back, during those heady dot-com
days, about a small Oregon town that changed its name to
Half.com. Officially. Well, this is it.
![](Halfway.JPG)
I did not have the gumption to inquire about this to the locals, but oh
to be a fly on the wall during that city council meeting!
I rested in Half.com and decided to move on. Next stop was Oxbow,
where this is a nice campsite right on the Snake river. I
jumped in the local swimming hole right where Pine creek empties into
the Snake. It was almost bathwater warm, so I moved instead to
the Snake which was reasonably cold. This shot is from just below
Oxbow dam.
![](Snake%20River%20swimming.jpg)
Tommorrow I'll ride through Hell's canyon and then climb out of
it. An early start is a must to make the climb before the heat
becomes too much.