Day 1 (May 10, 2021): Adel to Hart Mtn Hot Springs, 46 Miles, 14 Gravel
After having to cancel this trip the year before due to COVID-19 concerns I am elated that it is finally becoming reality. It all starts in the small hamlet of Adel on Hwy 140. I meet my riding partners Russ, Jeff and Alden in front of the Adel Store, a combination of Store, Restaurant, Bar and Gas Station. We get permission from the owner to park our cars in front of the business under a big elm tree. When they hear about our itinerary they are surprised and offer (jokingly?) to call the Lake County Sherriff Search and Rescue if we are not back three days after our planned return on Friday afternoon.
We do a bit of last minute packing and are on the road at about 10 AM. Fresh legs and excitement to finally be riding makes the first few miles fly by quickly. The road is paved and traffic is almost non-existent. Far to the north we can make out the silhouette of Hart Mountain, our destination for today. An hour has gone by when we run into an obstacle. A cattle drive is happening on the road in front of us. About 200 cows are walking on the pavement. We are approaching carefully and talk to the cowboy who is riding his horse in the back. He advised us to just slowly ride right thru the cows without scaring the animals. We follow his advice and try not to get splattered with too much green cow shit.
After 18 miles we make it to the small town of Plush and stop at the Plush Store, the only place to buy anything for today and the next 83 miles. The local mailman is just delivering some packets to the store and has time for a little conversation. We complement him on the nice little town and he said that it was a lot better before the electricity came to town and the road was paved. “Too much traffic nowadays!” he says. Hmm, we see about two vehicles come by in about ½ hour…
After an Ice cream bar we continue on our way north through the Warner Valley along a series of shallow lakes. We see a lot of birds and other wildlife. Finally the pavement ends and the rough gravel road turns east and steeply uphill. We are entering the Hart Mountain National Antelope refuge. This refuge covers 422 square miles. We struggle to climb the steep road with our heavily packed bikes under the searing afternoon sun. Finally we make it to a look-out spot and take a well-earned break. Our water bottles are getting lighter quickly. Our next water spot a spigot at the Refuge Headquarters several miles up the hill. We fill up there and splash our faces with clean, cold water. I admire the beautiful stone buildings of the Headquarter buildings constructed around 1935. We have about 4 uphill miles to ride to our final destination for the day. A primitive campground at the Hart Mountain Hot springs. When we get there the sun has already gone down behind the hills and the air is getting quite chilly. We quickly set up our tents and walk over to the concrete reservoir that collects the hot water from the spring. Our sore muscles welcome the warmth of the water and we feel like we are melting. We make sure not to stay in the hot water too long to avoid passing out. Night comes quickly and we crawl into our tents early.
(mehr …)
