Day 6 : Along the McKenzie to Clear Lake (Oregon)

I woke up after a wonderful night’s sleep to a partial view of the McKenzie River. I wasn’t sure how close I was when I dropped anchor the night before - it was simply too dark to see through the thicket of brush. I thought, Gee, too bad I left my night vision goggles at home or I could be having a field day out here. Oh well, they are too bulky anyway, and besides, with the hills on the horizon I’m sure I’d be cussing them out just like I do with the rest of my gear.

I stumbled clumsily down to the river like any mortal might before morning coffee. I was awestruck at the beauty, momentarily forgetting my own groggy plight. Luckily, I had my Jetboil in hand and within two minutes I’d be the envy of baristas worldwide with fresh brewed McKenzie River coffee. Coupled with the bagel and fresh cherries the Karpins gave me as a parting gift, I was living La Vida Loca Mocha!


[Above: A great start to a great day ]


I spied a couple shore fishermen coming my way and as soon as they got within chatting distance I asked them what was biting. They replied, “Mainly rainbow trout, using red power bait.” He also added, “But we haven’t caught anything yet.” Just then the guy closest to me hooked one and wrestled the little bugger to shore. He held it up as if he had a trophy on his line and asked me if I’d care to immortalize the moment with a photo. Sure, I thought, this is the first fish I’ve seen pulled out of the McKenzie – this is big news!


[ Above: Give a man a fish and he'll have fish for a day. Teach a man to fish and minnows beware! ]
After it became apparent the fisherman weren’t going to share pole time with me, I made my way over to the shallow area of the river where I would tend to my tooth brushing duties. I also cleverly doused my head in the frigid waters to drive out any wood ticks that hadn’t yet dug in too deep. As you know, you can never be too careful when camping in the wild.

I hit the road after all the morning excitement eager for the new day. My knee was still bothering me so I tried to adjust my pedaling action to minimize the pain. The correct action should feel like your feet don’t mash into the pedals on the down stroke – rather they float on them, dancing on the pedals is how some describe the feeling. It seemed to make it more tolerable.

[ Above: A lonnngg covered bridge ]

I continued onward, paralleling the McKenzie River, enjoying the perfect weather and spectacular scenery. The smell of the towering pines coupled with the unbeatable scenery helped me forget about the world around me. This bicycling trip is really shaping up to be a lot fun!

[ Above: They never seem to come in blue. ]

[ Above: Sahalee Falls ]

[ Above: A random roadside waterfall ]

I continued to ride into the early evening beginning my ascent up the 4800’ Santiam Pass. I thought it would be wise to break the climb into two days especially as I wasn’t getting full use out of my left leg. I climbed to the 3000’ mark and since it was getting close to dark, I planned on setting up camp for the night. Unfortunately, I was completely out of drinking water and the last known water source was at Clear Lake, some 3 miles back down the hill. I had no choice but to reluctantly turn back, cussing myself most of the the way for not stopping earlier.

Clear Lake Resort is a great little place with cabins for rent, a small restaurant, and non-powered boats for rent. But unfortunately, no tent camping was allowed. I stopped by the restaurant to see if I could find a cabin but they were all closed for the evening. It looked like I had no choice but to set out for the far reaches of the lake where I could camp undetected once again.

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