Government Camp, OR to Smith Rock State Park, OR
I didn’t sleep well last night. I had dreams about bears driving semi-trucks and sleeping in my own bed and waking up in the hammock in the forest. Plus it was freezing. No pad and low 40’s don’t work well in the hammock. (There was snow near my camp site) Needless to say I was up early.
I soon crested the pass near Mt Hood reaching over 4000 ft, and then had a blast riding down the other side. I then rode through an Indian Reservation. It was quite a shock because it was on of the first desert areas I encountered. The other issue was that it was about 30 miles between towns so my water supply soon was running low. I was making great time though with a tail wind so I couldn’t complain too much.
Because of my early start I made it to Madras, OR about 12pm and went to the coffee shop to update the journal. When I was finished it started to look like rain but I decided to chance it and head to Smith Rock State Park about 22 miles away. It ended up being a good choice. I got a hot shower and a place to pitch my tent for $4. The only thing that would have made the night really great would have been a sleeping pad. The scenery was amazing, but the little rocks all over the ground were very very hard.
