Day 2 – We got wet

Hot spring count – 1
Mountains climbed – 0

Well, after all the talk and excitement about the little tent we are carrying, we find ourselves indoors tonight, and quite happy about it.  Last night in the tent was great — no doubt about it.  We even slept in some.  The morning was fine too, as we climbed through super-saturated soils.  It was almost as if it had rained more that night up high on the mountain.

For the most part the water in the soil was fine, or even good.  No sand or loose sections.  But in the middle as we wound our way around cinder cones, our tires were sinking deep into the silly soft soil.  I don’t know how much of it is just mental, but it sure seems like it takes *so much* more effort just to keep pedaling.  You know you’re supposed to get more out of your pedal strokes.

The trail is overall in good shape.  We pushed bikes some, we did have some sputtering of motivators.  Eszter at some point commented that it felt like everyhing was running in slow motion.  Slow dirt, slow trails, slow/heavy bikes, and slow lowering cloud levels.  Also, we had neglected to bring along a certain hot beverage.  Alexis had been serving us up big cups of strong coffee while we stayed in Logan.  Sadly she was nowhere to be found, with said mugs of strong coffee, this morning.

But I did have some caffeine pills, so we split one.  It turned out to be quite well timed.  The rain was about to start, the trail was about to get steeper.  No real matter — we had extra energy and motivation!

We climbed though open areas of volcanic rock, occasionally hiding in the trees from downpours.  The soil was more firm, and not being affected by all the rain.

The goal was on both our minds: hot springs!  There are two hot springs down in the Caldera.  But how far will it be, and how will we find them?

As we neared the Caldera’s edge, 4000 feet higher than Bend, it became clear the rain was not going to let up.  We dodged gigantic puddles on the rim trail, some seemingly full of tree pollen.  Then we turned to drop into the caldera.  A brief lull in rain intensity made the switchback attack more manageable and more fun.

By the time we were nearing the ‘civilization’ of a campground, the rain was in major deluge mode.  Engines were being fired up and people were abandoning their campsites.  Maybe this much rain, in summer, in Oregon is pretty unheard of.

We kept on singletrack until where we thought the resort was.  Core temperatures were dropping — we were beyond soaked to the bone.

The store/cafe inside was a welcome respite, but it was packed with people hiding from the rain, and I was skeptical that hot chocolate and tea would get us warm very quickly.  Best way to warm up the core?  Hot water!

We rolled along the edge of the east lake, then got cliffed out.  A small trail led us up over the butte, but we kept walking and walking without a way down to where we thought the spring should be.  I started to regret suggesting this — at least hot chocolate and indoor temps eventually warm you back up.  Instead I was leading us on a wild goose chase, while cold, wet and with rain continuing.

We gave up and turned back.  Then I spied someone in a swimsuit below.  Ah ha!  Scramble down, there’s steam rising!

The pools were not deep, but one couple was just leaving, and we got in just in time to grab the hottest pool.  YES…. warmth. 

You couldn’t submerge completely, but after 20 minutes or so, toes and fingers stopped tingling.  The rain kept coming down, further putting a dampner on the temperature of the pools, which are tempered by the lake water as well.

After maybe an hour of continued rain, it let up, and we really laid back for a nice soak.  Then, we heard thunder.

Better get going!  There’s a lodge at the far end of the other lake, and a warm room sure sounded nice given the soaked nature of all our gear.  We both put the probability of an availability of a room at roughly 0%, but it was worth looking into.  At least we’d get a hot meal and a spot at the campground to dry things out.

As we pedaled over it starting drizzling again.  It wasn’t enough to dissuade us from checking out the obsidian slides, though.  We parked the bikes and I went hiking with my helmet on.  There are huge chunks of black glass — very cool stuff.

The heat from the soak lasted maybe 2 hours, then wind and rain and soaked clothes got the best of us.  Luckily the lodge was not far… we rolled in and rolled the 0% dice, asking about a room.

What?  You have one?  Done.

Tomorrow I’ll do more to waterproof my sleeping bag.  Forecast called for only isolated t-storms, not hours-long deluge.

We’re on Paulina lake, where the other hot spring is.  Perhaps an evening run and soak is still in the cards…