Day 11 – June 23, 2015

Day 11 – June 23, 2015
Maryhill State Park to Crowe Butte Campsite – approx. 58 miles

Bumble Bee – Audrey:

So this day was all about heat and hydration. We had a longish day but relatively OK in terms of hills and climbs. But it was the heat that would get to us. We looked at our ACA (Adventure Cycling Assoc) maps and saw that we had a good 35 miles without any facilities, which meant NO WATER. Not only was there no water but no shade anywhere. We hoped to grab some water bottles at the front entrance to the campsites but they were closed. So we went to the fruit stand do around the bend and bought the last 6 little water bottles they had. So we each had 2 full bike bottles and 3 little bottles. As Gregg said, in the worst case we could resort to dipping my water filteration system into the Columbia river.

The day started with a steep climb. Not the best way to start a ride when you legs are cold. But after we reached the ridge it flatten out a bit. At the top we passed a full replica of Stonehenge. Yep, right out there in the middle of nowhere someone had built a scale replica. We couldn’t stop since it looked like it was a good 3/4 mile off the main highway. The ride itself on HW 14 was good. The shoulder was big, a good thing. There was the occasional truck but most were courteous and moved to the far lane of traffic.

It was hot. In the beginning of the day about 80 but by the end temps dipped into the 90s. Warmer conditions are expected in a couple of days where everyone is saying the mercury will hit over 100. Not good. The heat was so oppressive that every so often we had to stop because Gregg got little bits of the road stuck to his tires. One chunk must have been so big that it dislodged his fender. The fender was rubbing so badly on the tire that we had to stop and Gregg had to take his front tire off and adjust it.

We heard from the young men with the flat tire issues who camped with us last night, Julien and Kem, that there was a convenient store in Roosevelt. We were almost out of water and suffering from the heat when we arrive at the little spot on the map, and there it was, Mary’s little store. It was heaven sent. Dismount and into the store. More then a store it was a little lunch restaurant. And most importantly, it was air conditioned! We sat down, I had a chicken wrap with fries, and Gregg the BBQ beef sandwich, and of course, lots of cold water.

Gregg said we should rest awhile. As we sat there, I managed to use their wi fi to upload yesterdays pictures. A father and son duo that was riding west stopped in. Steve and his 17 yr old son Zack were from Boise. They were doing Clarkston to The Dalles. They had some nice touring bikes with some stylish older handle bar bags. This was Zack’s first tour. It was a tough one because of the heat and the head winds. But they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

After about an 1 1/2 hrs we hit the road for our last 23 miles. Water bottles full and legs rested we were off. I even had a chance to ice my knees that were still suffering from the hike up the steep grade a couple of days back. Once we started rolling again I was panic stricken. The temperature was well into the 90’s, no shade, would I be stricken by heat exhaustion? Ride slowly, I said to myself. We climbed out of little Roosevelt into a small canyon inland and that was hot. Drink water, drink water, I said. Turning round the bend we headed back down to the river. Gregg said, is it his imagination or did it suddenly get cooler. Yep, the little breeze from the river was acting like an mini air conditioning unit. Thank you might Columbia. You may have just saved us from heat stroke. Another strange thing I noticed is my desire for trucks to pass us. Why? because every truck, as it sped by at 65 mph, created a welcome puff of air to help with our cooling efforts.

The road seemed to never end. It got kind of repetitive. I thought, wow, this is what it will be like day in and day out on the great plains of Eastern Montana and North Dakota. To pass the time I created a little game. As I heard a vehicle coming from behind I tried to guess whether it was a truck, a car, a pick up or a smaller truck like a UPS truck.

When we finally were around 3 miles from the campsite we saw it in the distance. It was on a little island. But once we saw it, it was another 3 miles of peddling before we got anywhere near the entrance. The road got bad too. They were resurfacing the road and it was covered in gravel. Each truck that passed shot rocks at us. Luckily none of these rocks hit us but it was a warning that these types of unpaved, incomplete surfaces, were dangerous.

Exhausted, we arrived at the campsite. There was no hiker/biker but the camp host said we could choose from one of the open sites. It was very beautiful, as it butted up against the river on all sides. When we got to camp we waded into the river with all of our bike gear still on. Ahh, cool fresh water, what a relief. A quick dinner of shredded brussel sprouts, grean onions, garlic, and smoked salmon over pasta. The two young men Julien and Kem, from New Hampshire/Boston, had also made it to the campsite so we shared a few stories and some triscuits and cheese before turning in for the night.