Trip 04, Day 01 (Day 28):
SATURDAY, AUGUST 18, 2007: A GREAT, DRY EMPTINESS
Trip 04 began with a very long day. I got up at 4:15 a.m. in Newberg, Oregon, where I had spent the night at my mother’s place, sleeping some, mostly dozing. By 4:30 a.m., I was on the road south, driving in the dark toward Salem. There I took highway 26 east toward Bend, driving 2 ½ hours before reaching Sisters. I walked into McDonald’s by 7:10, and Joe arrived from Albany by 7:15. After a quick egg sandwich, we were off again, driving through Bend and east on Highway 20 to milepost 65, our end point the previous October.
We had two vehicles, so the option was there to park one at each end and walk together. However, we had computers that we did not wish to leave unattended by the side of the road, and Joe also wanted to run the first 3 miles. So we did this day one person at a time, shuttling each other to the appropriate starting spots, with one person staying with the computers in Joe’s truck at all times.
Starting point: 43.65909 N, 120.21481 W
Ending point: 43.58785 N, 120.07794 W – elevation 4601 feet
I went first, walking 3 miles. Then we drove back and Joe ran that same 3. We alternated 3 and 3 again for a total of 9 miles, our daily benchmark distance.
There isn’t much to tell about the scenery here. It was remarkable more for what I did not see than what I did see. I saw no intersecting paved roads, no dwellings, no buildings, almost no artificial structures at all except for the highway itself, the barbed wire strung along both margins to discourage large animals from wandering into the roadway, and the cell tower atop Glass Buttes, the twin mountains looming ahead higher and higher on the horizon. There was not even grass here, just sand and sage brush. But weather-wise, it was nearly perfect with a nice tailwind to fend off the afternoon warmth to just the right degree.
About halfway through the walk, I left Deschutes County and entered Lake County.
About a mile from the end, an Oregon state trooper pulled over and asked what I would be doing ‘way out here. I explained the coast-to-coast thing briefly. “For what purpose?” “Oh, just for fun. Can I take your picture?” I told him I like to document it when someone stops to check on me. No one yet has said no.
The day’s walk ended at something of a pass where the highway crossed the north flank of Glass Buttes, climbing to our ending point right at 4600 feet elevation. Here there were lots of large pieces of obsidian and jasper beside the road, undoubtedly the reason for the naming of the peaks.
Walk rating: 3.7 due to very soft gravel shoulders, boring scenery.
Money found: Day: $.00 Trip: $0.00 Project: $12.46
Distance: Day: 9.0 miles Trip: 9.0 miles Project: 260.4 miles
Significance: Start of Trip 04. Left Deschutes County, entered Lake County.
