Based on the weather from the previous day I got an early start. It was turning daylight at 4:30 am so slowly got my things together for a 6 am start. It was a cool 47 degrees when I started so a sweater was necessary. Made good time to Prairie City and arrived before any stores opened but still managed to get chocolate milk and yogurt. Immediately after that was the first of three climbs to an elevation greater than 5000 feet. On the climb to Dixie pass I stopped at an overlook to watch a 5 point buck graze. At the overlook I met Tim another retired cyclist going to Colorado. I chatted with Tim for part of the climb until he stopped for water. I never saw Tim again. At the top of Dixie pass the temperature was now 74 degrees. After the first climb I stopped at a small store for nourishment and Gatorade at Austin Junction. As a result of that stop my mug is displayed someplace on Facebook. I don’t have Facebook myself so I will never see it. Next was the 2nd climb which was not as high as the first but had steeper grades. The 3rd climb was also lower and steeper with temperatures now in the mid 80s.
From there it should have been easy cruising the last 30 miles to Baker City but it was not. It was hot and I was running out of water. I popped into a campground run by the forest service to fill my bottles for I was almost out and was a good thing I did. The last 10 miles were into strong headwinds and temperatures in the mid 90s and it sucked a lot out of me.
Needles to say I made it here and saw the sky scrapper, or the Baker Tower. Nine stories tall it is but very strange to see in this town of 10000 people.
Today’s stats: total mileage 80.3 miles, average speed 11.5 mph, max speed 36 mph, total elevation gain 4648 feet, and elevation descent 4178 feet