Day 5 – Bog Hot Springs to Catnip Reservoir
A chronicle of my 7-day ride of the Oregon’s Big Country route.
Waking up a bit groggy, the sun was bright and burning my legs before I even had breakfast. Despite my worry that I would be eaten by a feral cat, I slept deep into the night.
At this point, I was feeling tired, sore, and wanted to get a move on. Without really eating a breakfast, I packed up camp quickly and hit the road to cover a significant chunk of miles.
The dust on certainly taking its toll on my drive train. It was fine and powdery, dust flying as if blown by a snow plow.
I crossed a bit of a flat valley area to start getting into a mining area. The hill was very steep and rocky to the point where I had to walk the hill, locking the brakes every few steps so I wouldn’t slip back. What was a very short hill distance wise, it took me well over a hour and uncounted breaks to finally get to the top.
A short time later, I found myself coming upon a busy campground with a couple dozen people, children, and another hot, or rather, warm spring. I went in for a quick dip fully clothed, minus my wallet and phone, and it felt amazing. It washed off the dust and left me feeling refreshed. I took a bit of time to eat lunch and drink as much fresh water from the tap my stomach could handle. It was nice to drink something not tainted with the taste of filtered water.
Back on the road, I had to pedal on highway 140 for a few miles. A few miles of up-hill with a stiff headwind. It too way longer than it should have, but my spirit was waning, my legs ticked off, and my butt was tired of being in the saddle.
Eventually, I turned onto another gravel road into the Sheldon wildlife refuge. At this point, the traffic dropped off and the terrain grew rough. The last vehicle I would see for the day would be a minivan that stopped to ask for directions around 5pm.
I finished up my day, once again by my lonesome, camped out next to the Catnip reservoir. It was quiet, undisturbed, peaceful sleep.
The day kind of just got passed me as I realized I didn’t take many photos. Regardless. It was another good day.
-Tomas