Trip 04, Day 09 (Day 36):
SUNDAY, AUGUST 26, 2007: MILEPOST 153, HARNEY COUNTY
Up at 6:15 and walking by 7:45 a.m. we were. It was another cloudless August day in eastern Oregon farm country.
Starting point: 43.61367 N, 118.84607 W – elevation 4132 feet
Ending point: 43.62093 N, 118.65135 W – elevation 4150 feet
Joe ran ahead, and I did not see him again until I reached the end of the walk. The road continued due east, almost directly into the recently-risen sun, The air was still carrying some of the night chill, and as it warmed, a breeze at my back held the temperature at a very comfortable 70 or so. The ruled line of the highway paralleled a line of mesas rising from the northern edge of the valley about a mile and a half to my left. Ahead, the horizon was a monochrome line of low hills, and I knew from the map that the road would not bend again until I reached them. I passed a number of cattle ranches, as well as large circle-irrigated alfalfa fields. At one farmhouse, several dogs barked as I stopped to take a picture of cow skulls hung on the entry posts of the driveway. As soon as I continued walking, a white pick-up drove out from the farm carrying the three dogs, who gloated as they drove past me. About a hundred yards ahead on the highway, the pickup turned off into an adjacent field, and the farmer got out and adjusted some sprinkler heads. He gave a friendly wave, and we chatted for a couple of minutes while the dogs looked on.
A few miles further along, I talked to another farmer picking up something from his field, also with a white pick-up carrying a dog. He gave me a look like I must be crazy and said, “What, you just takin’ a walk?” “Yep,” I said. I briefly explained, and he said I would find some shade in a couple of miles.
A mile later, I came to a curve, and the road began a gentle climb into the Stinking Water Mountains.
Walk rating: 5.8
Money found: Day: $.04 Trip: $0.99 Project: $13.45
Distance: Day: 10.1 miles Trip: 89.1 miles Project: 340.5 miles
Significance: None.
