Wednesday 19th August. Oregon

Whilst I may have had an early night yesterday, there was still a feeling of reluctance to leave my nice cosy sleeping bag this morning. The sun seemed reluctant to show its face and even when I crawled out of the tent at around 7am the sky was overcast and gloomy, in fact I thought it might rain. However, as I made tea, breakfasted and took my now customary shower under a tree a large red orb appeared. Although, by now, fairly high in the sky, the smoke, which was still hanging in the air, was diffusing the light, almost smothering it, and as I left camp at 8am the faintest yellow could be seen struggling to break free from its blanket. I just hoped that at some point I would ride clear of the wild fires but it seemed that most of Canada and the US were suffering the worst fire for many years. Nowadays they have a policy of containment and management rather than trying to extinguish them, God only know what that does to their carbon foot print! In fact from what I have witnessed so fat on my trip. North America’s whole global warming policy is a bad joke. It’s seems that it is only us mugs in the UK and a few parts of the EU that pay the huge price demanded by government to try and combat that which more and more scientific minds are saying is just the normal cyclic phenomenon of the earth; something which has gone on since time immemorial!

Anyway, enough already! As mu old dad used to say! I rode on down to the Columbia river, and staying on the north bank, away from the Interstate, I headed west right along its bank. I stopped at “Stonehenge” another American bad joke. To be fair it was meant well as it is dedicated to the fallen of the First World War. However, I would have thought they could have done better. Concrete rather than stone, about 1/3 the size of the original, although the proportions of the columns didn’t appear to have been scaled down by anything like the same amount; it didn’t align properly and all things considered, it was a very, very bad job, Bodget and Scarper at their worst!

As Joel had said the scenery was really beautiful right along the river… except for that damn all pervasive smoke which still lingered. I finally crossed the river at White Salmon and by the time I had ridden over the longest steel grid Bridge deck ever, the Salmon weren’t the only things that were white. These type of bridge decks feature strongly over here, and all I can say is that the designer was most definitely not a biker! The feeling as you ride over it is bizarre, it’s almost like riding on ice, yet it’s not slippery! Your tyres track along the ridges which are not perfectly straight, causing the whole bike to “shimmy” Nothing has ever got my sphincter muscles twitching quite so quickly!

 As I was running short of US Dollars, I’d been trying unsuccessfully to change some Stirling which I was carrying. Would you believe that in the US I was having then same trouble which I found in Europe a few years back… nobody wants Stirling anymore! I was finally offered a deal in The Bank of Columbia but at such a bad rate I might have been dealing with the Mafia, so I gave up and will sort it via my plastic.

Crossing the Columbia river, I was now in a completely new State of the Union, Oregon, having crossed from Washington State on the north bank. Oregon would see me right across to the Pacific coast which I should, hopefully, reach before camping up tomorrow night. Joel’s routing was, again, spot on; running me down through the Hood River National Park. Past Mt Hood at 11,246ft ( yes, back to ft now I’m in the US!) and along some of the smallest and twistyest road I’ve been on since Cap Breton back in May. The pine trees had taken over once more and it was like being back with old friends.

At Detroit ( no, not THAT Detroit) I was back to larger roads and I called at halt at a little hamlet called Marion Forks. Camping at a National Forest camp ground at just $10 for the night. I’d tried a few others on the way but with prices as high as $30 I’d voted with my feet (or rather wheels!) and ridden on intending to wild camp. Yet again I’m one of only a couple of units on site and I'm right at the top, so it’s just as though I'm wild camping.

The night was as peaceful as expected and \|I was up just after 6 having slept the sleep of a baby! However, whilst having my morning tea and breakfast, something high in the trees took exception to my presence and started hurling pine cones to the forest floor all around me. I suspect more of those pesky squirrels which have plagued me on many sites, but in spite of spotting the odd wavering branch I failed to get a glimpse. However, just in case, I sit typing this with my bear spray close to hand….  And now It’s time to hit the road once more!