McKenzie Pass

Day Four, June 11th (Jerry reporting)
This getting up at 4:30 am to get an early start and beat the traffic is getting to be a routine that I don't particularly like, but for now with the traffic situation it seems to be necessary.  We spent the night at a nice campground adjacent to a B&B (although it was a bit pricey and services were limited, but it worked fine).  We had a pleasant 20 miles to the cutoff to McKenzie Pass, then began the long uphill 22 mile climb.  The road was fairly gentle, but 22 miles of any uphill gets wearing.  I dropped down into my lowlow gear after awhile, and settled in for a long crawl to the top.  We watched the elevation signs go by one at a time - 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000...and the temperature began to drop...and the wind began to pick up...and the snow patches on the side of the road began to get larger.  Finally we got to the summit where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses.  There was a nice stone observation tower, and a great view of the surroundings.  Much of the entire area is covered with lava flows, some a couple of thousand years old, some only 400 years old. The distant mountains were snow covered, although it was somewhat cloudy so we couldn't get the whole picture.  It was cold and windy, and we were poorly dressed for winter conditions, so we didn't stay too long, and started the long, speedy, very cold descent.   It was 6 mph up the hill, and about 30 down the hill.  There were many cyclists coming up as we were going down, which was nice to see.  Finally we made it to the bottom, to a town called Sisters.  There are three large mountains around the city, for three sisters apparently.  We were told that they are called Faith, Hope, and Charity.  Sue, along with our friends Jim and Karen, had gotten a camp site at a National Forest campground nearby, and that is where we are spending tonight.  But as a special treat, and due to the cold weather up here, we are in town and going to a restaurant for dinner.  All is well, and we will continue on...