Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Day 12-Old McKenzie Pass…As Long As I Remember From Before

We don’t have many miles today, we said. We don’t need to start too early, we said. Little did we know it would take us six hours to get to the top of Old McKenzie! The last time I did it west to east, I was on my Bike Friday which weighed considerably less than Tilmann. I don’t recall it taking me that long. Fortunately, we had a spectacular day for it!

Today was the first day it was open to cars. At first, there was very little traffic. As the day went on, though, the traffic increased. It wasn’t too bad…they were pretty good. We saw several cyclists, but no one else carrying a load like us (there was one guy going the other way). We also saw some longboard skateboarders. Seemed mighty dangerous to us. 

No cars…yet. 

Only 3356 feet to go!

Getting closer!

The west side is mostly shady which was helpful. It’s also much more twisty turny than the east side. As best as I could, I tried to follow the grade through the curves. We took breaks as we went along (no choice when you are climbing for 22.5 miles). Because of the trees, there wasn’t much in the way of views until we got to the Lava Field. 

Belknap Crater. Notice the snow. I thought there would be more snow (I mean, there was quite a bit), but the lava fields were pretty melted. 

Theee Sisters Viewpoint 

Doug riding. 

We finally reached the Dee Wright Observatory at the top of the Pass. 

The climb up the stairs was a little tiring…

Mts Washington and Jefferson. 

From the top of the Observatory. Doug said he thought he looked pretty ragged.

There’s the bikes down below. 

Pano of the peaks. Way way off, we could just see the tip of Mt. Hood. 

The ride down was a great respite, but there was a headwind (Mother Nature’s brakes), and still a few little uphill parts. Mostly, I let Tilmann go with no braking. 

We arrived into Sisters with no water left. We had stopped just before and ate apples. That was perfect! 

On the way into town, we rode by Blazing Saddles Bike Shop. We stopped, and Doug got some better fitting bike shorts. Stylish too, with “Blazing Saddles” and Sisters, OR written on them. 

We are at Creekside Campground for the next two nights. We need a break, and we have chores to do tomorrow such as laundry, and resuppling food. 

Jen is in Sisters, leading a ride up the Pass tomorrow for Bicycle Adventures. She’s going to come by tonight. 



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