Day 42, Maryhill State Park to Cascade Lock

Thursday July 9, 2020, 70 miles (113 km) - Total so far: 2,312 miles (3,721 km)

Today is why I tour. It was stunningly beautiful.

But first, back to the guy I met on the road yesterday. I had just ascended a pretty rigorous up, maybe a 1,000 feet. It involved a switchback, hard to describe the terrain, but the roads are terraced out of the hillside and you just go back and forth on the brown, stubbled slope. So when we met at the top we had both come up, but his up could have been DOUBLE mine, as the descent into Maryhill was quite steep. The reason he was turning around and going back was because the day before had been windy. And, he'd met a lady at Subway who told him the winds get worse the more you enter the Columbia Gorge.

It reminded me of that lady in Norway on my last day who tried to steal my victory. I went ahead and did the Lysevegen and had the best memory from it. So, yeah, I'd hated the wind the day before, and I'd also heard the wind is worse in the gorge, but I also thought--why not try. So yesterday I ate and hydrated in anticipation.

I knew wind and climbing would be involved.

I woke up early, of course, I planned ahead and had tuna burritos prepared in both my handlebar bag and my lunch bag. I had flavored water ready. I was going to power through. Leaving Maryhill there were other camping places associated with Columbia Gorge about 5 miles outside of Biggs. If you bought food and water and took a trucker shower, you could opt for those campgrounds. I had to get on the highway for 10 miles. No problem. Then I got onto historic route 30, the original, hacked out of the sides of the mountain, through the forest,the very first gorge road. Later 30 was all but destroyed to make the interstate. But in places 30 still exists. It was a joy.

Outside of Rowena (and pictures, when they are added, will tell the story) literally climbs up and up to a plateau. Smokey Mountain roads times 2. I loved it! Temps were cool, and I started getting a better sense of the landscape changing. I was definitely in evergreen country and not dry arid land. In Mosier I went through a series of tunnels. Now I was on the Columbia river state trail--I believe a ghost of 30, closed to motorized traffic. At the end I rolled into the town, Hood River, a mini Moab as far as too cool for school people. Coffee and cannabis shops.

After a tuna tortilla and flavored drink I was back at it. 20 miles to Cascade Lock. This is where L and C had to portage because of some falls. More highway riding, I thought 10,but it should have been 5. I didn't know the trail had been extended. Oh, well. The highway was crazy. Narrowest part of the gorge, the windiest part. So much traffic and wind, I was definitely white-knuckling it.

I was glad to turn off. I was at 60 miles. I'm in the heart of pine forests and mountains. I'm tired and walk the bike for a few miles up. All you can hear is the shhhhhh of wind blowing through boughs.

In Cascade Lock the signage for bikes and cycle tourists was outstanding, I rode directly to Marine Park, where despite a tiny Covid glitch, I was still able to set up. Fee: $5 if you come on a bike. The camphost lady even brought me a hot chocolate. My last night camping.