Sisters, OR to Blue River, OR

Miles: 48.35
Total Miles: 1076.5
Climbing: 2,605’
Total descent: 4519’

What an absolutely fantastic day! It was cold (42°) to start and I wore layers, as usual, with tights, long finger gloves, jacket, and arm warmers. We had about 6 miles of warm-up for our 15 mile climb to the top of McKenzie Pass, our last high pass and our last day in the eastern high desert country. It was an absolutely gorgeous sunny day without a cloud in the sky, a perfect day to ride up the pass. It was apparent that quite a few other cyclists thought so, too, as we were passed by many cyclists today. The 9 mile climb was not nearly as hard as everyone had imagined and as we neared the top, the views became more and more stunning when we came out to a viewpoint called Windy Point.

It actually was not that bad of a climb!

Anne at Windy Point

Nancy J. and Virginia at the lava fields near Windy Point

Barb enjoying the gorgeous day

I am sure it is aptly named but we did not have any winds today. The view was surreal, with lava beds all around, almost like a moonscape, with the beautiful mountains in the background. NASA actually came here to test the moon landing vehicle. It looked to me like earth moving equipment had been pushing around dirt, but it was all lava. The last time there was an eruption here was 1500 years ago. A few trees had made their way out of the rock; otherwise, it looked totally barren, or as if a fire had swept the area recently. As we climbed higher, the mountain views became even more beautiful.

Belknap Crater, erupted 1700 years ago to leave much of the lava in the area

At the Dee Wright Observatory, at the top of McKenzie Pass (elevation, 5,325) named for the man who built the structure we saw, we were able to look out each little window and see a mountain identified. He had been a CCC foreman and in 1933 began the building after working many years for the forest service/CCC. He also located some of the Pacific Crest Trail, which crossed McKenzie Pass.

Paths through the Lava fields, including the PCT

Dee Wright Observatory

Two of the three sisters from McKenzie Pass

Our ride down the mountain was wonderful. The road was brand new and just opened last week. However, there was some loose gravel on it and it had no shoulders. Since no trucks or RV’s over 35 feet were allowed on it, we had only car traffic. It had dozens of hairpin turns, switchbacks, and straight-aways. I loved it! Several cyclists were coming up and several passed me going down so fast it was scary. I guess they are local riders and used to all the turns. The main thing about the ride down the western side of the Cascade Mountains was that it was no longer dry. The vegetation was green like the Smokies! It was just amazing the change in the landscape. Ferns, flowers, rhododendrons, and trees were all growing on the west side. What a change from the previous few weeks of high desert riding!

The ONE lupine I saw in bloom among thousands of finished blooming

On the way down, I saw a sign for Proxy Falls so naturally I had to find out how far it was. A sign for 1.2 miles was enough to get me stopped and on the trail to see the falls. Several of us decided to walk the loop trail and it was definitely worth it. The trees were huge and the falls beautiful, though some of the lava rocks could be seen along the trail.

Hiking along the trail to Proxy Falls

Peg looks pretty small next to that tree!

Proxy Falls

We continued down the hill and I saw a large black object in the road about 50 yards away. It looked up at me and then ran into the woods, not to be seen again. It was a black bear. It had been a long time since I had seen one and I was thrilled! What a sight!

Later, we took another detour off our route to see the Belknap Hot Springs Resort which had hot springs and beautiful gardens. There was a wedding going on in one of the gardens so we had limited access to the area. What a disappointment!

Beautiful gardens at Belknap Hot Springs

The McKenzie River flowed through the resort and we saw a raft and a kayak go by in the most pristine water I have seen in a long time. The flowers near the resort were beautiful and well kept. Hunger kept us from spending too much more time there, however, and we soon arrived at our motel and ate a very late lunch in the café across the street.

We are headed to Eugene, OR (elevation 430’) tomorrow and towards the coast. The ride continues downhill as we head toward sea level. We are still at 1200’ of elevation but will lose all that as we head for the Pacific Ocean. It is amazing that our trip is rapidly coming to an end. It has been so awesome to be riding in this varied climate, vegetation, and landscape. Our weather has been perfect so far. Jackie Marchand, the president of WomanTours will join us tomorrow for the rest of the ride which ends in Portland next Saturday. I guess we have to be on our best behavior!