At 6, I left the motel and headed back for 3 miles on College Avenue to Old Hwy 99. On the way, I passed the College of the Siskiyous. The 10-mile ride to Gazelle proved pleasant and easy in the cool morning air. Irrigated and dry pastures filled the flat valley bottom with grassy or forested hillsides (see photo). In 11 more miles, I reached Montague and stopped for a breakfast sandwich, a pastry, coffee, and a water bottle refill. After a short climb, the road descended to the Klamath River, flowing strong. Water in the Klamath reflects common disputes in the West as to who gets the water (irrigators, fish) and for what (hay and crops, threatened species). Hoping in vain for chocolate milk, I rode through Hornbook then on to I-5. The 8 miles on I-5 were noisy, but I felt safer here than I did yesterday on Hwy 89 with logging trucks zooming by. A mile into Oregon, I left I-5 and ate lunch on the side of Old Hwy 99 in the shade of ponderosa pines. Then on the bike to complete the 2,000-foot climb to the summit where the PCT crossed the road. Soon after, I turned east and rode under I-5 to Callahan’s Mountain Lodge. I got a shaded, grassy tent site for $15 and took a nap in my tent. Revived, I spent an hour in the lobby of the lodge reading during a brief thunderstorm. Back in my tent, I cooked dinner and planned the next 5 days to arrive in Sisters late Monday afternoon. A short 58-mile day.
