Day 66 Sep13: John Day OR to Mitchell OR, 62.5mi 2582ft

I was in John Day OR almost exactly a year ago, following a Cycle Oregon route with friends Leisa, Tim, Jeff, Linda and Henry. I had so much fun and it was on that trip that Leisa and I vowed to do the TranAm in the spring…and we did! Left Clyde Halliday CG after sleeping in and having a leisurely breakfast. The headwind going west was brutal and consistent all day. Stopped in Dayville for a pumpkin spice latte and a BLT at a cafe we visited last year. It had made quite an impression because the young couple that own it and work it each pack pistols at their hip. Weird…your order is ready, here is your latte…and she is carrying a gun at her hip. Just another day in Central Oregon. I just had to see if they are still locked and loaded and they are.

After Dayville one enters the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. The geology gets very interesting with volcanic relics, uplifts and basalt rock. It was a steady climb and though the total ascent was only 2582ft for the day compared to 3665ft yesterday, it was a taxing slog into the headwind. I ran out of water and got a bit forlorn. Finally, I got to the big descent into Mitchell OR.

The plan was to park the trailer just outside of Mitchell for the night for free on some janky BLM land but we stopped by the Spoke n’ Hostel because I wanted to show Bill what a neat place it is (we stayed here last year) Jalet the owner was just leaving. She remembered me and the gang from last year. She told Bill we could park the trailer in the parking lot and have the run of the hostel, its kitchen and the showers. She is a trail angel extraordinaire!! Writing this post from inside the hostel with some nice hot tea, rippin’ WiFi on a cozy sofa. People are so nice.

Day 65 Sep12: Union Creek CG to John Day OR, 68.2 mi 3665ft

Today was a trifecta: three ascents all 1000ft climbs followed by going all the way back down 1000ft. I heard someone on the TransAm near the Blue Ridge Mountains call these PUDs. Pointless Ups and Downs. But I don’t mind climbs and I certainly love the downhill rewards so today was a gratifying day. The towns along this route came to be because of logging and railroad. Prairie City was very cute and had a railroad museum that Bill visited (I will catch it on the return journey).

Met the unlocked trailer in John Day and heated myself up some ramen with hot dog slices in it. Junk food for sure but pure salty comfort and after all it is the official cuisine of bike touring. Bill was in the Kam Wah Chung museum and was deeply impressed by it. Apparently at one time John Day had the third largest Chinatown in the United States! The museum showed the hardship and discrimination the Chinese folks suffered as well as their grit and perseverance. They focused on two particular Chinese men that became successful businessmen, generous and kind, pillars of the community. I didn’t visit the museum but very much look forward to catching it on the way back.

Settled down in Clyde Halliday State Park Campground which was a blue ribbon facility! Beautiful park with mown lush grass, water and electrical hookups, flush toilets and showers. You can even stay in a teepee if you want. We are living large!

Day 64 Sep11: Richland OR to Union Creek Campground OR, 63.5mi

Today was a pleasant pedal as the rugged, harsh terrain of Hells Canyon gave way to the Elkhorn scenic byway after passing Baker City. Bill left camp at Richland and headed straight to Baker City for some chores; grocery shopping, car wash and laundromat. On my way there was a historical site where you can see Oregon Trail wagon ruts. A very pleasant hilly pedal with very little traffic. We met for lunch at Good Wife Bakery which was super yummy. Another TransAm cyclist was there that started in Astoria and intended to finish in Pueblo CO. His wife was sag-supporting him from their Tesla. They are hoteling it, but apparently charging is a bit of an issue and they intend to mitigate by camping at the occasional RV park with electricity. 

The ride along the Elkhorn byway revealed idyllic mountain streams, chiefly the Powder River, ghost towns and lakes. We made camp at a huge but virtually empty Union Creek campground. A wonderful place with sites ranging from tent to partial and full hookups, a dog park, boat ramp, well spaced sites, empty camp store, tall lodge pole pines. It was kinda weird though. This recreation site is in on Phillips Lake and the lake is very, very, woefully low. So much so that one would have to hike way, way down through mush to get to it. All the docks are high and dry by I’d guess 200ft. It just feels wrong. It’s just another illustration of climate change at work. They say that Oregon is in a severe drought, there is reduced snow pack and temperatures are hotter causing evaporation. Well it looks pretty obvious here at Phillips Lake where the lake is pretty much inaccessible for recreation. A little web research revealed that Baker County has declared a drought emergency and the lake is at 11% of capacity. It just feels like this well developed campground is going the way of nearby ghost towns. 

Day 63 Sep10: Brownlee Campground ID to Richland OR, 55.1mi

Had a hearty eggs’n sausage breakfast and started the day with a long, beautiful downhill into Brownlee Reservoir basin. This is Hells Canyon country and the valley walls are steep, a bit volcanic with basalt and covered in golden grass. With the morning light it was gorgeous. Rode along the Snake River for a bit and enjoyed the serenity of waterfowl, fishermen folk, glassy water and zero traffic. Crossed the border into Oregon, the final state of the TransAm! Went through Oxbow and cruised the rolling hills into Halfway OR. Halfway is a cute, tiny town and today they had a little farmers market and an interesting Mercantile. Treated myself to a veggie burger, an iced tea and a leisurely sit down. 

Finished up the last 20 miles with a big climb on Highway 86 followed by a huge, ripping downhill. There was little to no traffic so I took the whole lane and refused my brakes. So fun. Pedaled right into Hewitt County Park and Campground near Richland to the awaiting land yacht. Bill had it all set up. We had electrical power for the first time, so microwaved Trader Joe’s fried rice was a snap. Today was a good day.

Day 62 Sep9: New Meadows (Zims) ID to Brownlee Campground ID 73.5mi

 Took off from the hot springs campground with a route whereby I would pick up the Wieser River Trail just after New Meadows. I have been very curious about this trail since I discovered it on a trip to McCall in May 2020. It is 82 miles long and ideal for bikepacking on gravel bikes. My route was to ride on it from New Meadows, through Council and end in Cambridge. So yeah, I entered the trail after New Meadows and found it to be a complete mess with very thick ground gravel, like riding in sand. So I got back on Highway 95, which has absolutely no shoulder. It felt completely dangerous and after being buzzed a little too close I jumped back on the trail. Joy! This part of the trail had lovely compact dirt, tall trees, streams and plenty-o trestles bridges. Delightful. That lasted about 10 miles then the trail turned to dusty, ground cementy washboard. Again I crossed over to the highway and a double trailer semi truck came super close (<3 ft?) and it completely freaked me out. Back to the retina detaching washboard. Met Bill in Council ID for lunch. Stopped in a cute Mennonite dry goods store and bought some jams, salsa, peach pies. 

After lunch back to the washboard for another 20 miles because there is no way I want to die in Idaho. The stretch of the trail between Council and Cambridge goes off into the backcountry range so there is no bailout. Not only was the washboard jarring but every mile or so you have to unchain and re-chain a cattle gate. I thought if I can just get to Cambridge, we are camping at a hot springs resort there and I will be golden. Alas, when I arrived Bill reported that the resort/campground is closed for the season. The next campground is 20 miles up the road. So be it. He offered to load the bike on the car and drive in but No Way! EFI !! (Every #$@‘ing Inch as my Jamestown VA friend Debra says!! So I wrapped my head around riding another 20 miles (it’s simply like doing the morning Rocket Ride, right?) and pressed on. It was smokey, hilly and straight into a head wind. 

We camped at Brownlee CG US forest service which was nice and treesy. I ate, took a shower, took two Advil PMs and slept like a rock.

Day 61 Sep8: White Bird ID to New Meadows ID (Zims Hot Springs) 60mi

After a good nights sleep had a quick cuppa tea and instant oats and took off. The smoke had cleared overnight but by the time I got to Riggins it was pretty thick. The route ran alongside the Salmon River and it was beautiful with the high cliff walls and ancient lava flows. Met Bill at Riggins city park for second breakfast of eggs, sausage and potato salad. I am getting used to this pampered sag wagon way of touring! No peanut butter tortillas and ramen on the curb here. (Not that peanut butter tortillas and ramen while bike touring aren’t completely delicious and desirable!) The river and cliffs gave way to prairie as I approached New Meadows. 

Tonight we camp at Zim’s Hot Springs which was a tip from my friend Ruth. As a youngster living in Cottonwood ID, she came here with her family as a little girl. Zim’s has seen better days. It is quite dated and rustic but altogether clean. The swimming pool is 85F and the hot pool is around 103F, but varies. It is owned by Nez Perce Enterprises. So good for them. Larry, the manager is a tribal member and said the building was built in 1958 and replaced the original one which burned down. He said indigenous peoples, the Nez Perce, have been soaking in these springs for at least 12,500 years.

Day 60 Sep7: Wild Goose CG to White Bird ID (Hammer Creek CG) 66.5mi

After a nice yogurt bowl breakfast I took off and rode along the rest of the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River. It was a beautiful, treesy meander. Saw osprey and deer. Left Bill to do the dishes, take down camp and walk the dog. It sure is nice to have a support-spouse domestique! 

The approach to Kooskia is a little tricky and I almost made a wrong turn. The little town of Stites is right after Kooskia. These little towns of America are such a kick. Why are they there? Probably from mining, lumber, gold or some such industry that is no longer exists. We’ve seen this the whole route; Kentucky coal mining, Kansas cattle. Right out of Stites was a big big climb: Lamb Grade. Oy, sometimes it was 17%. I zigged and zagged up it taking the whole road trying to create a small switchback effect. After that it was wheat fields as far as the eye could see. Which actually wasn’t that far because wildfires had rendered the air quality “unhealthy”. The vistas are smokey, the sun is nuclear, the smell is instinctively ominous.

I rode with an N95 mask which was actually not bad. I felt like I was getting enough air. I looked it up and N95 masks will filter out 95% of particles larger than 0.3 microns, so they are very efficient with keeping out the 2.5 micron particles in wildfire smoke. So take that! cancerous smoke, you can’t have me. I met Bill in Grangeville and we had a nice chopped salad and chili in the trailer. Then we hung out in the library for a while for some internet time.

Then onto White Bird. The route took me on the Old WB Hill Rd which was a quiet country road, not the “New” WB Hill Rd which is basically Hwy 95. After the climb, I missed the turn to stay on the “Old” road and found myself on Hwy 95 which is a long, long, long screaming downhill. I mean the longest descent of you life. The shoulder was wide and I pretty much didn’t brake the whole way down. Gawd it was fun! Pulled into Hammer Creek campground in time for dinner and a shower. It was a good day.

Day 59 Sep6: Powell ID to Wild Goose Campground ID

 Mornings are getting cold at this altitude and I’m not so keen about setting out early and leaving the creature comforts of our setup. Managed to have tea and breakfast and depart by 7:30a. The plan was for us to meet 20mi up the road at Weir Hot Springs which we did.

After a nice brisk steady downhill, I met up with Bill, changed into hiking attire and we walked the 1mi trail to Weir Hot Spring. And oh what a blue ribbon hot spring it is! Primitive, and arranged in a gorgeous alpine setting. A perfect 102F in our estimation. No one was around so we wore our birthday suits. Hiked back out to the trailhead and the trailer and had a nice second breakfast of fried egg over quinoa/chorizo/black bean bowl. Delish! With 47 more miles to go, I was anxious to get back out. It was a long, long descent to Wild Goose Campground. The wildfire smoke got pretty thick, to the point that I had to strap on an N95 mask. The world we live in, I guess what with pandemics and climate change. Don’t get rid of your masks any time soon, people.

Bill had the trailer all set up in site #3 and he remarked that we were in heaven. This is certainly our idea of heaven; disconnected, plopped along an alpine river with a book. Took a bath in the river, did some reading and took a nap. I came into this figuring I would get conditioned as I go along and sure enough, I’m pretty tired at the end of the day.

Day 58 Sep5: Lolo MT to Powell ID

The intended 57mi ride to first stop Powell Campground got shortened to a 46mi ride when it was pointed out by someone that we need not begin in Missoula to pick up where we left off. Missoula is a spur on the TransAm so we drove to the corner of Highways 93 and 12 at Lolo and I started there. I didn’t mind the shortcut because while the air quality from the wild fire wasn’t as bad as forecasted, it was still suboptimal with the potential to get worse.

The ride was lovely and it was just so nice to be back on tour. It was a long, 0-3% climb up to Lolo Pass with Montana awesomeness all along the way; ranches, ranchettes, pine forests, streams. I pedaled past Lolo Hot Springs where Brad Pitt got the crap beat out of him in “A River Runs Through It”.

Lolo Pass

Up at the top Bill and Kobe greeted me with a cool drink, the trailer awning opened up for shade and a couple of folding chairs. We made a very civilized lunch and shared observations of our mornings. I reported that while there was very little to zero shoulder on the rode, the cars gave me a generous margin as they passed. Bill and Kobe did a short hike around the Visitor Center, an interpretive trail explaining the habituation of the Nez Perce Tribe and the forced exodus from their homeland. Despicable heritage, ours. Billy Boy got himself a souvenir mug from the gift shop.

With that I was on my way over the western side of the pass, a nice long 12mi of downhill. We made camp at Powell, a lovely campground along the Clearwater River. All the Labor Day vacationers had left and it was nice and quiet. We walked over to the adjacent Lochsa Lodge and had some onion rings and a cool drink. Digging life!

Part Two of Our TransAmerica Tour - Bill and Angie

Tomorrow Bill and I embark on Part Two of our TransAmerica Bike Tour picking up in Missoula MT where we left off and finishing at Florence OR on the Pacific coast (inshallah). This leg of the tour will be a little different from the Yorktown VA to Missoula MT leg. For one thing, it will be just Bill and I and Kobe the wonderdog. Eric and Leisa intend to finish up in summer of 2023. It was such a fun and rich bonding experience riding with our tour-mates and without them it surely won’t be quite the same. 

This leg of the tour is going to be a bit cushier. We couldn’t find someone to watch Kobe so we decided to bring him along with the Airstream trailer. I will ride from Missoula to the coast, and Bill will drive the hotel-on-wheels along the way. No camping in parks, fairgrounds, churches!…unfortunately, because all that made it such a great adventure. I plan to take fourteen days to get to Florence. Once there, we will turn around and come back to Missoula but this time Bill will ride and I will drive the support vehicle.

Because we will have the car, we won’t have to carry as much stuff! No need to carry stove, sleeping gear, tent, clothes, etc. My Surly Disc Trucker steel tour bike loaded weighed 67lbs. For this leg I am riding my Salsa Cutthroat carbon fiber gravel bike and loaded it weighs 30lbs. Super cush!

At this time, wildfires have once again compromised our skies here in the northwest. The air quality is worsening. Hopefully we will be able to ride through it. Pray for rain! I am so excited to get back on my bike again!!

Tonight we are just outside of Missoula, in Frenchtown at Grassy Farms, a Harvest Host. For an annual subscription we can stay for free at various farms, wineries and breweries. Also staying here are Min and Jeff from Walnut Creek CA in their way cool ruggedized rig. 

Final Map

This map shows the path our intrepid travels took to get from Yorktown, Virginia to Missoula, Montana.

 

Day 62 July 18th Florence to Missoula, MT by Leisa

The last day was such a sad/sweet day.  It was a nice ride day and Regine joined us in Missoula.  Adventure Cycling was a great place to end our ride.  I should not say "end".
It is only on hold until we can all finish it.  Angie and Bill are already home and Eric has to go back to work tomorrow.  We will be back on the road again.  It was sad to be done riding but it was great to see our friends,Tim and Priscilla.  They made the trip from Spokane to Missoula in their van to haul us home. The trip to Spokane was super fast to me.  A car going 70 mph does not feel the same as a bike going 10 mph.  Now I am home
and the adjustment has started out very well. My riding friends left me an "epic" greeting and others left me food and coffee to start my return.  How can I not be glad to be home to see all of them.  I will cherish and reflect on my adventure as I start planning for the next one.

 

Day 61 July 17th Hamilton to Florence, MT by Leisa and Eric

 

The start of our day was highlighted by sourdough huckleberry waffles made by our hosts Regine and Mike.  Gourmet french press coffee also made the menu.  We visited with them about their travels and they gave us info to do an extra excursion to the Redsun Labyrinth just outside of Hamilton.  Mike drew us a map and we took the extra waffles as we headed out.  The route was 20 miles and worth every mile.  The Labyrinth was built by a husband and wife in the 1990's.  They were influenced by a friend from England.  We enjoyed the site as well as the Bitteroot mountains all along the way.  A trail took us in from Victor to Florence.  We stopped at Stevensville for lunch that included a great root beer float.  Cory and Dianna have welcomed us into their home in Florence.