Oregon Outback Day 3 — The Saucy Desert
Today we set our sights high, aiming for a 92-mile journey with a 70-mile stretch that offered no water sources. Our strategy was to start and end our day where we could access water. Our first stop was a 5-mile downhill ride to Silver Lake for breakfast and resupply.
Upon reaching Silver Lake, we encountered the owners of the only grocery store and they recommended the breakfast spot next door called Bizzy Bees. Both Joseph and I had the biscuits and gravy. Considering the water-less journey ahead, I filled up like so: 1.5L in my frame bag, 2 large water bottles on my bike, 2 water bottles in my jersey pockets, and 1 small bottle under the downtube.
Meanwhile, Joseph attempted to secure additional water when suddenly I heard a yell, and there he was, lying on the ground. The zipper on his bag had broken as he tried to fit in a large water bottle. Joseph had been carrying some paracord that was being used to rig the solar panel and hang our bear bags on the first night. Now it served a third purpose as he rigged the cord around the frame bag while I held onto loose items such as snacks.
By the time we resumed our journey, it was already 10:15 AM, and the remaining 87 miles seemed uncertain. I had a backup plan to bush camp in case we couldn’t cover the entire distance. However, it quickly became apparent that the terrain was the real killer. The desert gravel was unforgiving, and a persistent headwind of around 15 mph slowed our progress significantly. We struggled to maintain a speed of 10 mph, and pushing ourselves any harder felt like a futile waste of energy.
The scenery along the way wasn’t particularly captivating. We exchanged waves with the occasional passing car, and a few mirages deceived us into thinking there was pavement ahead. However, we quickly learned not to fall for these illusions after the first one. After what felt like an eternity, we reached the town near Fort Rock, where Joseph tried his luck at the local slot machines, but unfortunately, he didn’t have any success. On the bright side, the peanut butter pie was delicious. We took the opportunity to refill our water, perform a quick gear check, and ventured back into the desert.
With just another 10 miles to go until we reached the infamous Red Sauce Forest, it took us nearly 2 hours to cover the distance. I was looking forward to some tree cover. Surprisingly, the red dirt wasn’t as challenging as it had been portrayed. It started off loose, and I had a momentary scare when I entered a loose sand pit, but I quickly recovered. As we progressed past the initial climb and ventured deeper into the woods, the ride became much more enjoyable.
The forest was quite populated, with the presence of ATVs, RVs, off-road motorcycles, and RV camps scattered every few miles. There were plenty of rowdy folks around. During one of my descents, I encountered a T intersection where an ATV rider spotted me descending. He stopped to let me pass and exclaimed, “Hell yeah!” as I rode by. It brought a smile to my face.
Joseph and I had reached a point in the trip where our paces differed, resulting in frequent separations. When he caught up to me, he mentioned that he had stopped to let some air out of his tires. He had been struggling with traction earlier but now seemed to have plenty. Throughout the entire trip, I had optimistically maintained a tire pressure of 50 psi on my 650b x 48 mm tires. If necessary, I would have lowered it, but with the added weight of my gear, this pressure seemed to be working well.
A little while later, while descending, I once again lost sight of Joseph. When he caught up with me, he informed me that something seemed off with his rear tire — it was going flat. The low pressure had caused a burp when he hit a rock, resulting in a significant amount of sealant being expelled. We attempted to use one of the three CO2 cartridges we had on hand, but the air just shot out, even when we tried spinning the tire with the wound facing downward.
We managed to get more sealant near the wound and made another attempt with a second CO2 cartridge, but it proved unsuccessful. It was time to use a tube. After inserting the inner tube, we first exhausted the battery of the Fumpa pump, and then Joseph started pumping with the hand pump so that we could save the third CO2 cartridge in case of another emergency. However, when he tried to remove the hand pump, the valve core came out, causing all the air we had just painstakingly pumped in to escape.
At this point, I didn’t want to spend any more time and decided to use the third CO2 cartridge. We really hoped we wouldn’t need it again. The following day, we would have an opportunity to resupply at the only bike shop on the route in Prineville.
Right after we set off, the sky began to darken. We had only covered 48 miles with 44 more to go. We expected the section with the red sauce to end soon, but as raindrops started falling and the temperature dropped, it became clear that we were in for some inclement weather. I turned on the inReach to check the weather report, but unfortunately, the basic weather request never gave me the weather. I should have used the premium.
I was hoping we could reach the end of the forest quickly and find a suitable campsite before the rain made the red sauce muddy and difficult. I was pushing to reach the end while also scouting for potential campsites to call it a day.
Finally, we located the forest exit, where the dirt was grey, but it was already 6 PM. Fortunately, luck was on our side this time. There was an RV campsite right at the exit, as well as an empty campsite with a fire pit. We had completed 56 miles but still had 38 left to go. Despite the remaining distance, we decided to call it a day and save those miles for another time.
Our first task was to put up our shelters. The wind was picking up, and the ground was loose. I dug around a bit to anchor my non-freestanding tent, using rocks borrowed from the fire pit to weigh down the anchors. I had been following @bblyther’s PCT journey and got the idea from there. There were suitable trees nearby for Joseph to hang his hammock, and he set it up along with the tarp for the first time.
We were even luckier still! The wind subsided, and it appeared that the storm was moving north, away from our location and towards the path we would have taken if we had continued. The area was dry, and there was an ample supply of firewood. We took advantage of this and started a fire in the pit, and got to preparing our dinner. We had three bags of food split between the two of us: two bags of Creamy Tuscan Chicken and one bag of Sticky Teriyaki Rice. The meals from Pinnacle Foods were A++ in quality.
Meanwhile, our neighbors, who had their ATVs illuminated, went out for a night ride. They returned a few hours later. With plenty of time on our hands, we enjoyed the warmth of the fire while sipping on Jameson’s whiskey. I took some time to journal as well. We stayed up until midnight, soaking in the peaceful ambiance of the evening, before eventually turning in for the night.
I found it easy to fall asleep, comforted by the presence of other campers nearby. We heard coyotes howling as the sun went down, but the barking of our neighbor’s dogs provided reassurance. Given the circumstances, we didn’t feel the need to hang a bear bag. As midnight approached, everything grew quiet, and I slept soundly throughout the night.
Metrics for the day:
Distance: 56.4 miles
Elevation: 1,703 feet
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9210795405
