Day 63 In and around Astoria and Seaside, OR and Cape Disappointment, WA

Spent my final day of the tour cycling in the area and saw the salt cairns,Cape Disappointment, and Fort Clatsop. Great way to conclude an amazing journey,

Day 62 - Ranier, OR to Seaside, OR

A touring bicyclist assumes many risks. This is just one of them.

Upon seeing the Pacific Ocean for the first time, William Clark penned the following in his journal; “Ocian in view! O! The Joy!”

Today I arrived in Seaside, Oregon, which marks the end of the Lewis and Clark trail.

Portland

I spent an afternoon and a morning Bicycling through and around the city of Portland, A city that prides itself On being “weird “ and bicycle friendly. 

Here are some of my findings:

A signification number of Portlanders live in floating houses.

The artistic attention to detail in the bike lanes is impressive. (Almost all cyclists I saw were wearing helmets and many had backpacks.)

Almost every street has a generous bike lane, motorists are courteous and attentive to bicyclists, and there are a lot of cyclists on the streets (in part because there are relatively few designated bike trails)

I stayed in a hostel in NW downtown Portland in an effort to understand what Portlanders mean when they say they want to “keep Portland weird “. 

I have always heard that ,”Oregon is God’s country.”  Outside of Portland, where things are even weirder, I found evidence to support that. And yes, it appears God is an American.

Day 61 - Portland, OR to Ranier, OR

I expect this will be my last night camping on this bicycle tour. The weather from start to finish has been magnificent, which has enabled me to camp almost every night. I have had only one day of rain and that was on a scheduled rest day in Missoula.

Things were different for Lewis and Clark. By the time they arrived here it was early November 1805. They, of course, camped every night and were experiencing cold, gray, drizzly weather as is common for this part of the country at that time of year. They had big campfires every night to stay warm. Due to high fire risk, I have been unable to have campfires for quite some time. 

Initially, at least, the Corps of Discovery’s displeasure with the weather in the Pacific Northwest was overshadowed by their excitement about getting close to the ocean.

A guy on a recumbent bicycle came up to me today as I was riding through a small Western Oregon town and asked if I would like to take a shower, a swim and camp at his health club. I had just showered  and was focused on logging some miles, but I accepted the gift of a shower and brief swim to be polite. It felt great and made me think back to all of the kind things that people have done for me on this trip. 

On days when the temperatures soared to over 100° on the high plains, several drivers stopped and offered me cold bottles of water from their coolers. Numerous people stopped to assist with directions when they saw me looking at my Maps And several offered lodging.

We bicycle tourists also have a trail angels.

I am about 75 miles outside of Seaside, Oregon, which is the official end of the Lewis and Clark trail. My goal is to watch the sun set over the Pacific ocean in Seaside tomorrow night And the next day ride the 25 miles back to Astoria, which is where Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1805-1806. There is a replica of Fort Clatsop and a Lewis and Clark interpretive center in Astoria, so I will have plenty to do there.

This has been such a great trip; it is sad to think it is coming to an end. But I have much to look forward to at home and am excited about these Last two days of bicycle touring.

Ranier, OR

Day 60 - Cascade Locks, OR to Portland, OR

Bid a sad farewell to The Columbia River Gorge today, but not before seeing some amazing sights on another gorgeous day in the Pacific Northwest.

Lower Multnomah Falls

Bridal Veil Falls

The stunning Vista House, which when constructed in 1917 was intended to be, and for bicyclists still is, a rest stop on Historic Highway 30

Resting with two fellow bicyclists (Robert and Michelle, a touring bicyclist from Rome) at Vista House

I decided to get the true Portland experience so I am staying at an international hostel in NW downtown Portland tonight in a room with three other guys.

Pacific Crest Trail Hikers at Cascade Locks

Spent more time last night and this morning chatting with the fascinating Pacific crest Trail hikers we’re staying at our campground in cascade locks. There was:

Juice - A 26-year-old woman from so named because of her tendency  to spill the juice from her canned tuna fish when she opened it. This morning she boiled the coffee she was making and spilled it all over the picnic table.

Water Rope - This was the 19-year-old Austrian  kid i had dinner with last night. He was so named because not knowing the English word hose, he referred to it as a water rope. Water rope left camp well after dark last night to hike over the bridge of gods and into Washington. He said he wanted to wake up in Washington.

Yes Man - Did not meet him but he reportedly is a real laid-back kid of Asian descent from the San Francisco Bay area who is very agreeable to anything.

No Man - An Asian man in his 20s from Phoenix Arizona. Despite the fact that he is much taller than Yes Man and bears no physical resemblance To him aside from the fact they are both Asian, he was constantly being mistaken for for Yes Man. After Correcting many of the hikers who called him yes man, he became known as No Man,

Pizza - A man in his 20s who is so named because of his love of pizza.  No other name could’ve worked for this guy. He has pizza-related tattoos all over his body, including the ones below.

I was tempted to spend the entire day meeting and talking with the dozens of hikers to pass through Cascade locks every day.

Here are some things I learned in talking with these hikers:

1. Your trail name becomes your real name as far as other hikers are concerned.

2. Over 2000 hikers started the trail from south to north this year. Most started in April or early May. Most were young kids in their teens and 20s. The second largest demographic is retirees. By the time they reach cascade locks, many of the retirees had been forced to retire from the hike due to injury. It was all kids when I was at Cascade locks. About a third of the through hikers make it this far.

4.Everyone who made it to Cascade locks Is dealing with some form of injury – joint pain, foot pain, blisters, athletes foot, etc.

5. There is a definite hierarchy on the trail with through hikers being at the top. We need through hikers are section hikers and, the lowest form of hiker, the day hiker. When encountering a female day hike here it is common for a through hike to say he smells perfume.

6. through hikers average between 25 and 30 miles a day. Rest days are called zero days. They are generally on the trail 12 to 13 hours a day.

7. When in close proximity to a town, the hikers or a designee will generally hitch a ride into town for supplies. The longest they go without replenishing supplies is about six days.

8. All of the hikers are at some kind a crossroads in their life. Just finishing high school, just finishing college, changing jobs, Going through a divorce, retirement, etc.

9. All of the hikers are very familiar with the book and the movie, wild. Some say it was their inspiration to hike the Pacific crest Trail. Others were dismissive of her having only hiked 1,000 miles of the PCT (about 40%).  Everyone I spoke with was also very familiar with Bill Bryson’s book about hiking 400 miles of the Appalachian Trail, a walk in the woods. By the way, juice hiked the Appalachian Trail in its entirety last summer. She Said that even though it is shorter than the PCT it is more physically demanding.

10. The Pacific crest Trail could be called the love hike. Romances among kids break out all over the place over the course of 2650 miles of walking.

11. There is a tremendous amount of drama among the small groups of hikers. Sources of drama include competition for leadership roles, disagreements Over when and where to rest, what to eat,  romance-related issues, pace, etc. some people treat the hike as a race.

12. Just about everyone I spoke with had a lot of interest in bicycle touring and what I was doing. Most expressed a desire to do a bicycle tour at some point.

13. There are “trail angels” who assist hikers by bringing food and water to the trail, occasionally supplying lodging, etc.

These guys make me feel like a slacker. Below is a picture of a couple of PCT hikers getting ready to hit the trail this morning.

Day 59-Viento State Park, OR to Cascade Locks, OR

I hadn’t intended to take a day off, but I essentially did when I learned of the opportunity to take a cruise on an authentic sternwheeler in this fascinating town. 

About 800 Years ago the front of the mountain shown below essentially slid into the river in a landslide creating huge rapids through a narrow, Rocky passage.

Lewis and Clark had to portage their canoes for about four miles around these Rapids. In 1876 construction began on a lock that was completed 20 years later To enable sternwheelers to pass through this portion of the river.

This town is the location of the bridge of the gods, which was the bridge upon which the final scene of the non-fiction book/movie “Wild” took place.

The Pacific Crest Trail runs through Cascade Locks And over the bridge of the gods. I am staying in a campground that is literally in the shadow of the bridge in which dozens of PCT hikers stay every night during the summer. 

Most are in their 20s and a fair number are limping. I spoke with several hikers who started in early May at  the California-Mexico border and are hiking the entire 2,650 miles of the PCT. There is a fascinating sense of community that develops among these hikers. Most have been assigned a trail name by fellow hikers.

The state of Oregon is Constructing an amazing bicycle trail that when completed next year will run all the way from Portland to the Dalles.


This is an area that are really caters to bicyclists.

I met up with Robert again this afternoon. He had been traveling on the Washington side of the river the past couple days and I have been on the Oregon side. We had dinner tonight at a restaurant window side table overlooking the bridge. A 19-year-old PCT hiker from Austria joined us.

Day 58 - The Dalles, OR to Viento State Park, OR

Today was a magnificent combination Of riding on the historic Old Highway 30 and an Oregon state bicycle trail leading to the gorgeous tourist town of Hood River. Historic Highway 30 runs somewhat parallel to interstate 84, but it was constructed in a way that was intended to enable motorists to enjoy the spectacular beauty of this area. Today it is used almost exclusively by bicyclists.

As I climbed the switchbacks on old highway 30 leading to the overlook above, I was passed by a group of cyclists. One of them shouted to me, you are tough. If I’m so tough, I wondered,  then why are you passing me? When I descended into the town of Hood River, I got my answer.

Hood River Is the mecca for kite boarding and wind surfing. It is a fantastic place that draws enthusiasts from all over the world. The harder the wind blows, the happier they are. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that it blows even harder in the Dakotas!

I camped in Viento State Park last night. Viento means wind in Spanish. They told me that is purely coincidental, but I don’t believe them.

Oh, and there are vineyards and wine tasting rooms on historic highway 30. At this one I met a group of e-cyclists. They said they didn’t need the rest, but wanted some wine!

Day 57 - Roosevelt, WA to The Dalles, OT

Gorgeous day in The Gorge.  

And just when I thought it couldn’t get any prettier, Mt. Hood made a grand entrance.

 

The rims of both the Washington and Oregon sides of the gorge are littered with the highest concentration of wind turbines I have ever seen.

 I happened to meet a guy at the laundromat tonight whose job it is to make repairs to blades on wind turbines when they are damaged by lightning strikes. That entails climbing the ladder inside the wind turbine tower, locking the blades in place, and repelling down to make the repair on the damaged blade. The outer skin of the blades is constructed of fiberglass and he uses a resin to make the repair similar to what you might use to repair a gash in a fiberglass boat.

Once again, the road construction crew summed up my day perfectly!

Day 56 - Umatilla, WA to Roosevelt, OR

I was reunited with my friend, Robert, at the campground last night. Robert flew into Vancouver and is doing a tour of the national parks in Canada and United States That to date includes Jasper, Banff, Yoho, Glacier, and Yellowstone. He had a close and scary encounter (5 meters) with a grizzly bear on a trail in the glacier national Park. 

A fellow camper asked if this was a father – son trip.  I was surprised, but then again Robert is only 34.

My constant traveling companion all day was the glorious Columbia River.

The landscape was full of lava rocks from ancient volcanic eruptions and fresh onions discharged from high speed trucks.

Robert and I camped along the banks of the river with a bunch of kite surfers. I spent much of the evening conversing with a kite surfer who grew up in Edina and graduated from the University of Minnesota.