REST DAY!!

Hello everyone,

I am happy to report all is well. My ride started off a day earlier than I had planned. I discovered that the McKenzie Pass was closed because a snow avalanche destroyed the road and it was being reconstructed. This required me to take the Santiam Pass and make last minute changes to my route. The first three days it rained consistently all day.

On day four, I camped at Detroit Lake, which is an upper elevation lake in the Cascade Mountains that supplies power for the State Capitol of Salem, where I stayed the night before.

Santiam Pass was closed the day before I had planned to tackle it due to snow. Park rangers informed me on day five that it was now open, so from my campground in Detroit Lake, it was on to Sisters, Oregon, which is the town at the high point of the pass. I started through the pass and have never ridden in rain that turned to sleet, then snow. The temperature was in the 20's so the snow did not stick. Because of the rising temperatures, steam was coming off the road making it very difficult to see. It was a very different experience for me in my riding travels. I was well prepared with proper cold-weather cycling gear. I was never cold, and once I got started, it was comfortable riding.

The Cascade Mountains are amazing. They are experiencing their first signs of spring with localized wildflowers blooming and numerous varieties of massive ferns. The north center of the mountains has springs and waterfalls that are breathtaking. It is so very different from the Rocky Mountains because it is on the Pacific Ocean coast. Very beautiful!

Next stop is heading east of of Sisters down a valley to a more higher-plains plateau. The weather is much drier and warmer. Yea!! I reached John Day and it is a rest day. On to the Blue Mountains and tomorrow may possibly be one of the most difficult days of the trip. There are three passes to cross - Dixie, Tipton, and Sumpter. So tomorrow's objective is to reach Sumpter.

So all is well in bike, body and mind. Talk again in a week.

Larry