The No Water Challenge

If you ask me for one defining feature about the Oregon Outback it is remoteness. A close second is an eerie lack of water sources. Today presented both of those in spades. I woke up at his morning after a pretty restless sleep to a hard rain pelting the tent. The cows kept the whole camp up all night with their incessant mooing. They were at it all night until the rain started around 3AM. Listening to the rain from my warm dry sleeping bag is one of my favorite things. Hauling myself out into the cold wet weather to pack my gear is not. I stayed dry as long as I could but had set myself a deadline of being in Fort Rock at 9AM to pick up my food drop that I mailed to the post office. Fortunately, the rain tapered off as I set out on the bike and the sun peaked through the clouds to light up the crater known as Fort Rock.

When I walked into the post office, the friendly postal worker perked up and before I said a word she said “Oh, you’re the General Delivery” – I was wondering about you today. I got all of my food organized and mailed a box back to myself home of some extra gear to lighten the load. When I started this trail my bike looked clean and packed like a pro. It’s a hot mess now – I’m stuffing things where they can fit. There is a washcloth hanging on the saddle bag to dry and sour patch candy stuffed in every pocket and bag for easy access. I’m learning a lot on this trip about space and how things can be carried on a bike. After I loaded all of my food in the saddle bag, my bike was much heavier but the weight distribution felt better. It moves like a tank now – best in the small ring and I have at least a five foot braking distance.

Before I left the post office, I chatted a bit with my new postal service friend. She asked where I was headed and she said “Oh boy, that’s down Cabin Creek road. That thing goes on forever and there ain’t nothing out there. I mean – NOTHING!” This assessment was absolutely correct. The trail notes warmed me that once I leave Fort Rock there is no water or other services for 70 miles. Outback riders have to make the decision to either haul enough water for an overnight somewhere along the way or travel with just what water you think you will need and make a run for Prineville Reservoir. I chose the later with three liters of water and it worked out great. It took a lot of discipline though – I held to a strict schedule of drinking in small sips. Carefully monitoring how much I had left so I would be sure to make it to the reservoir.

I stopped at thirty miles for my standard trail lunch. You can call it a charcuterie board if you are feeling fancy but it’s really just Parmesan cheese, sausage and crackers. I never get sick of this lunch and it saves time and water from not having to dig out the Jet Boil for a hot lunch. The ants loved it too. A few showed up as soon as I laid out my spread and they ran back and told their buddies and it was a full on ant picnic in no time. They hauled away a few choice pieces of cheese and meat and scurried back to their mound.

I never did see the group that I camped with last night. They were planning to stop for breakfast in Fort Rock and camp somewhere on the way to the reservoir. The other two other humans I saw were a couple of bike packers that were friendly and offered me to join them. I politely declined after finding out that they were doing the course in four days. I didn’t want to risk the possibility of blowing up over the chance to talk to other people but I’ll admit that was pretty tempting. It’s a lot of alone time in your head out here. I mean A LOT!!

I’m getting pretty good at spending large chunks of time alone. My mind races just like everyone else’s but I found a new mantra lately to try to quiet the noise. It’s from my favorite book “When Things Fall Apart” and the author Pema Chodron has this great advice: “Then we come back to just being here . . . We stop talking to ourselves and come back to the freshness of the present moment.” Well, ok. My present moment is leg pain, a sore back and thirst but at least I’m present damn it. Yes, my mind goes right back to the weird chitter chatter but this phrase sneaks back in and I let it go for a few moments. It’s a big leap for me and I’m going to keep at it.

The rest of the day was long but peaceful. I finished with a long four mile climb up out of the valley right at sunset. The light was incredible and it was a fast descent into the reservoir campground. I found a sweet spot next to the stream and there was potable water and a pit toilet. It felt like a five star hotel. I put my tent up in the dark and treated myself to a beef stroganoff dinner. I have an easy day tomorrow and am going to sleep in before heading into Prineville for a hot lunch and a trip to the bike shop to get my gears adjusted. Three days down and over halfway.