Wilsons Sandbox

Adventure Touring in Eastern Oregon Last winter I broke my leg in a skiing accident in Idaho and was laid up for three months which gave me an opportunity to catch up on my reading. I read several books, but there were three in particular that stimulated my wanderlust nerve and got my wheels spinning. The first book was The Oregon Desert by ER Jackman and Reub Long. The authors write specifically about Lake county, and places like The Lost Forest, Christmas Valley, Silver Lake, Crack in the Ground, Fort Rock, etc. When I finished the book, I became a big fan of Reub Long. He was a true cowboy and western philosopher. The other two books were Steens Mountain, and Gold and Cattle Country, both of which ER Jackman had also co-authored. Steens Mountain is a kind of Bali Hai to me, in southeastern Oregon and is very remote and rugged. Gold and Cattle Country was told by Herman Oliver who was a friend of my mother and grand mother and is a book about John Day and Grant county. I promised myself that as soon as my leg healed and I could get into a pair of motorcycle boots, I would leave on my Kawasaki KLR 650 in search of these wonderful Oregon places. On Monday, August 23, 2001, I packed my gear on my moto and left Vancouver, Washington for the Oregon desert. Going over the south side of Mt. Hood through Government Camp and south on Highway 97, I rode to La Pine and took a left on Highway 31, visiting Hole in the Ground and Fort Rock before arriving at Christmas Valley. I checked in at the Desert Inn (how appropriate) for the night for the low price of $30.00. Tuesday AM I checked out, had breakfast at the local caf and then rode to the Lost Forest, so named because it is a 9000 acre ponderosa pine forest in the middle of the desert. The annual precipitation in the Lost Forest is 9.5 inches. Ponderosa typically require at least 14 inches of annual rainfall, which is part of the mystery of the Lost Forest. Right next to the Lost Forest is Christmas Valley Sand Dunes, the largest inland shifting sand dune system in the northwest. Actually, the dunes are not sand, but rather pumice particles from Mt. Mazama (Crater Lake). And adjacent to the sand dunes is Fossil Lake. Ten thousand years ago, flamingoes, camels, mammoths and other post ice age animals roamed the shores of a giant lake that covered the entire Fort Rock/ Christmas Valley basin. Today, Fossil Lake is recognized as one of the most significant sites in North America for Pleistocene fossils. Many ancient animals were first discovered and named from specimens collected at Fossil Lake in the early 1900's From this area I rode toward a place known as Crack in the Ground, via Green Mountain Lookout. I wanted to ride up to the top of Green Mountain because at 5,190 ft elevation, you have a panoramic view of the lava flows, cinder cones, and the desert landscape of the Fort Rock and Christmas Valley area. I was about 150 yards from the top of the mountain when, of all things, the rear tire went flat. I stopped, got off the bike and stared at the flat tire in anguish and disbelief. I just couldn't believe this was happening to me. What a place to have a flat tire. Within minutes, a BLM ranger came by and offered help. He said the closest place to get a flat tire fixed was 90 miles away in Bend. I had a spare inner tube for the front tire, but as luck would have it, the rear tire was flat. The irony of it all is that I put a new tire and a new tube on the rear wheel and added 8 oz. of slime (a sealant) prior to leaving. I had two tire irons and a compact bicycle pump. I told the ranger that I felt confident that I could fix the flat. He said that there was a phone up at the look-out where I could call for help if I needed it. I pushed the bike into the shade of a tree, lifted it up on to the side stand until the rear tire came off the ground and shoved a large boulder under the frame to steady it. Within minutes I had the rear tire off and the tube out of the tire. The culprit was a sheet rock screw. The tube had a 6 inch long tear in it. The hardest part was wiping out all of the green slime sealant. I replaced the tube, and pumped it up to 24 lbs. of pressure and put the wheel back on the bike and road off towards Fort Rock. I knew I had to get to a cycle shop to get the correct size tube. I retraced my route back toward Bend and decided to stop at the Fort Rock Tavern for something cold to drink. Expecting to see some real live cowboys, there were instead, two bikers in the tavern who suggested that I take my Kawasaki to Sweeney's Cycle Shop in Bend for repairs. One of the guys was nice enough to draw me a map. I wanted to take a closer look at Fort Rock so I decided to take a few extra minutes to visit the nearby state park. The property that Fort Rock sits on was donated to the state of Oregon by Reub Long who, after reading the Oregon Desert , is my hero. As you approach the park you pass a pioneer cemetery. While at the park, I asked the camp host if he knew where Reub Long was buried, and as I expected, he said "over yonder in the pioneer cemetery". I paid my respects to Rueb and then left for Bend with my fingers crossed. I arrived in Bend at 6:00 pm and checked into the Chalet motel for $32.00 for the night. The next morning my tire was flat again, but surmising that it was a slow leak, I pumped it up and was able to ride over to the local Kawasaki shop for a new tube. One hour and $66.00 (ouch) later, I rode out of Bend. My original plan was to ride from Christmas Valley to Lakeview, then to Plush, over Hart Mountain. and finally to French Glen. Since I had lost the better part of a day, I decided to ride directly to Burns to save time. The most direct route to Burns from Bend is Highway 20, a two lane, straight stretch of nothingness. I dreaded the thought of riding Highway 20 and opted instead for 380 which goes through small towns called Post (the exact geographical center of Oregon), Paulina, Suplee, Izee and ends on 395 just south of John Day. This route was longer but much more enjoyable. I rode south to Burns for a gas stop and continued to Malhuer National Wildlife Refuge where I secured overnight lodging for $20.00 at the Field Station, which is a former Job Corps center and is used off and on for Elder Hostel bird watching expeditions. For $20.00 I got a three bedroom apartment that was furnished with what appeared to be surplus government and hospital items. For $20.00. you do not get bedding so I used my sleeping bag. No TV, no telephone. Very Spartan accommodations. But then what do you expect for $20.00? I had a hot shower and slept like a baby. At 6:00 am I packed up and rode down the road to an establishment called the Narrows for breakfast. After being fortified, I mounted my Kawasaki, hit the starter button and nothing. Despite all of my coaxing, I couldn't get it to turn over. Not even so much as a click. I remembered reading on the klr650dsn list that KLR's are famous for kickstand safety switch problems so I began trouble shooting. After a while a local, named Eric Beaver, who goes by Beaver, saw that I was in need of help and joined in. After about an hour and a half Beaver suggested that I put it in gear and rock it back and forth. I did. It worked. After expressing my eternal gratitude, I rode on down the highway to French Glen and started up Steens Mountain. Long ago, massive pressure forced the east edge of Steens Mountain upward along a fault line. The result was a 30-mile-long fault-block mountain with a spectacular and rugged east face that rises abruptly, one vertical mile above the Alvord Desert. Steens Mountain is the largest fault block mountain in the northern Great Basin. The Steens mountain loop road is 66 miles long, deep gravel and about 58 miles of it is wash board. The other 8 miles is large rocks and boulders. Ideal terrain for a KLR 650. On gravel roads, there are two lines where car wheels throw gravel to the center and sides of the roads. The best way to ride this road, despite it's 25 mile an hour speed limit, is to pick a line out of the gravel, which in this case is all wash board, focus 100 feet down the road, and accelerate to 45-50 miles an hour. At this speed, the washboard becomes very smooth. Because of the spindly unstable front forks on the KLR. It is critical to stay out of deep gravel, unless you have a fork brace. The down side to this kind of riding is that you are so focused on the road in front of you, it is impossible to enjoy the scenery on the way to top. About half way up you come to Fish Lake and Whore House Meadows, so named after the prostitutes who would come to visit the Basque sheepherders in the area back in the twenties and thirties. There are tree carvings in the aspen groves that were made by the same Basque sheepherders that have gained a lot of notoriety lately because the carvings are considered folk art and are rapidly disappearing. I would like to have stopped to take a look, but the exact whereabouts of the tree carvings is vague. Prior to reaching the summit, you come to Kiger Gorge which was formed by glaciers during the ice age, and is one half mile deep. At the base of Kiger gorge, 15 miles to the north is where the famous Kiger Gorge wild mustang herd still roams free. To see Kiger Gorge alone is worth a trip across Oregon. About a mile past Kiger Gorge is the summit of Steens Mountain, elevation 9500 ft. The view from the summit is spectacular. If you look west, the base of the mountain is 30 miles away, If you look east, the base of the mountain is straight down. The air is so clear, you see into Idaho to the east and Nevada to the south. The annual rainfall on Steens Mountain is 25 inches. One mile to the east in the Alvord Desert, it is less than 6 inches, making it the driest place in Oregon. The Alvord Desert is an ancient lakebed and is virtually the flattest spot in Oregon and is used frequently for land sailing (sailing on contraptions with wheels). There are many other interesting features down there including Mann Lake, which is known for it's trout fishing, a ranch that has been in operation since 1880, Mickey Hot Springs and a green circle about a half mile in diameter that reflects new age farming. I only wish I had time to ride through the Alvord Desert. While at the summit, I saw four golden eagles catching thermal updrafts and two prairie falcons. Along the way I also saw numerous deer and two antelope. There are two other gorges cut out by glaciers that run east to west that are noteworthy: Little Blitzen and Big Indian gorge. On the south side of the summit is Wild Horse Lake. The ride down the mountain follows Big Indian Gorge for several miles and eventually leads you back to French Glen, where I stopped at the general store for rest and a cold beverage. It was 2 O'clock in the afternoon and I left for my next destination, John Day. I stopped again in Burns for gas and as I rode past the bank building, the sign was flashing time and temperature: 6:00pm and 91 degrees. I arrived in John Day, my birthplace, at 7:30 and checked into the Travelers Motel for $27.50 a night. It was sheer luxury compared to the Field House at Malhuer National Wildlife Refuge the night before. I had a TV and an air conditioner! The next day was Friday and time to ride home. Instead of taking the quickest way back, I decided to take the most scenic and less traveled way home. My chosen route took me to Mt Vernon, Dayville, Kimberly, Spray, Fossil, Antelope, and Shaniko. As you approach Shaniko from Antelope, you ride up a hill onto a high plateau and the view was amazing. To the south you can see the Three Sisters, and Mt. Jefferson. To the west is Mt Hood and to the northwest is Mt. Adams. I took a long break in Shaniko, had some lunch and continued north to the Columbia Gorge through small towns with names like Kent, Grass Valley, Moro, Wasco, and finally to Biggs Junction. The winds blowing from the west were so strong, I had to hang on to the handle bars for dear life hoping I wouldn't get blown off the road. It was the most harrowing experience of my entire trip. I refueled in Biggs and rode West on I-84 through the gorge to Hood River where I crossed the Columbia River and rode on in to Vancouver on Highway 14. On my way home that day, I was in pain, and reflecting on some of the misfortunes of my trip along with some of the risks associated with adventure touring and decided that this style of riding wasn't for me. But in spite of it all, it was still a marvelous adventure. When I got home, after 1300 miles and five days and 4 nights, my expenses were just a little over $200.00. I then stripped all of the after market accessories of my bike and sold them the over the internet for 50 on the dollar and last week sold the KLR to Mark Lindstrom, a tug boat captain and former Ididerod musher from Alaska. I am switching to strictly asphalt touring and am presently in the market for a comfortable touring bike. The most comfortable bike I can find. In case you are wondering, I am 61 years old, retired, and I called my sweetheart, Carol every night at 9:00 pm sharp. Mike Roberts Vancouver WA -- [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]