PCT 2007 Day 11

Stage 11 / 4-5-07

Umpqua – Orford

79 miles; 567.96 total miles; 11.9 mph avg.; 6:38 hours

60’s sunny

I slept well last night despite having to get up once to answer nature’s call. Around 7 AM a bunch of Steller Jays came into the campground and man were they noisy. I was up so it didn’t bother me. I got on the road the earliest yet, 7:30.

Today started with a climb out of the campground back out to 101. After that I was gifted a nice downhill to Lakeside. From there the road just kept on rolling, but nothing too bad.

Going into North Bend I had to walk my bike over the Coos Bay bridge. I could have ridden it but I was a good boy and followed the rules. It is very high so I got incredible views of the bay.

When I got to Charleston, I stopped for a Coke and an ice cream. I had a road called Seven Devils coming up so I figured I’d better fuel up. I had to navigate a bunch of side streets to get here and at one point wasn’t sure I was going the right way. Seven Devils took me back to 101, skipping the busy part of 101 through North Bend. Seven Devils started off with probably the hardest sustained climb of the trip. It was a cat. 1 or 2 in steepness but wasn’t that long. Once up that the rest of the road was a roller coaster that gained more than it lost, finally ending with a nice down hill.

Back on 101 I made my way into Bandon, out of water and very hungry. I ate lunch next to the restroom on the pier in the old part of town. Leaving Bandon I got off course trying to once again navigate the inner city bypasses my maps provide. Once on track I was blessed with the nicest beach view yet. It’s called Coquille Point. It had tons of rock islands of all shapes and sizes and the surf coming in was the biggest surf I’ve seen yet. I had a hard time leaving.

Once back to 101 it was rollers again up to just before Sixes. Before I got to Sixes, I stopped at a West Coast Game Park Safari. I had seen advertisements for it way back in Seaside. I wasn’t sure I was going to go in until I learned I would get to hold and pat a 6 week old black bear. Her name was Bailey and she was adorable! I got my picture with her so keep an eye out for that one. They also had a bunch of big cats, monkeys, goats, foxes, elk, zebra, lions, birds and deer. I also held a joey wallaby and baby opossum. While taking pictures, I must have been 3 feet from a Siberian Tiger. He was huge and so beautiful. He had massive teeth and paws.

After that nothing could top that. I rode about 20 more miles to Port Orford. Today was my biggest day yet. I feel super strong on the bike but 6+ hours of ride time and almost 12 total on the road makes for a long day. I also got myself a sunburn on my legs so their super hot inside my bag, while it’s pretty chilly outside. It’s actually super foggy out.
I had a long talk with a man named John here at the RV park. I won’t explain it because it would take too long, but it was a good talk.

The new seat is much better than my old one. I will be keeping it.

Glove count is 19 now.

Scatman

Get out there!

You can check out my Appalachian Trail or Continental Divide Trail journals too!