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.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please 1) select to sign with "Name/URL" in the drop down or 2) sign your name at the end of your post so we know who you are. Otherwise the default is “Anonymous”.