Temperatures remained cool today. As I traveled south this morning, the temperature dropped into the mid 40s before warming into the mid 60s later in the day. Winds were mild and there was no rain, though it was the cloudiest day of the trip.
Day’s distance: 457 miles
Total trip distance: 1,539 miles
It’s true I was in the northeast corner of Oregon in early August on my Trip to Wallowa Lake.
It was during that trip that I met up with Forrest, a former co-worker and current BMW rider. He mentioned how cool Hwy 129 was to travel between Lewiston and Enterprise. I decided to add the ‘Rattlesnake Highway’, as it is known, to this trip.
Leaving the campsite in Lewiston at 7am, I crossed the Snake River into Clarkston. I filled up with latte in Clarkston and with gas in Asotin, where Hwy 129 turns south and heads up through the canyon’s grassy hillside. It was kind of a fun introduction to what was ahead of me 🙂
The only issue I had with the trip to Enterprise was it just seemed to get colder and colder as I traveled south.
I stopped to put on my GoPro at Fields Spring State Park. Here’s a closeup of that section on the map.
And here are some photos of the roadway as I passed through …
As I passed Boggan’s Oasis, I thought wow, that was cool.
Traveling a bit further, I realized looking up at the switchbacks cut into the hill that more was fun in store for me.
Here’s the map of the second half …
and a few more photos …
The second half put the icing on the cake – what an awesome road. Thanks to Forrest for making me aware of its existence and thanks to Al for encouraging me to detour here and ride the Rattlesnake. 🙂
The rest of the trip into Enterprise was pleasant, with the road winding through the Wallowa-Whitman Forest and eventually into town.
The roads home from Enterprise were mostly familiar to me from my trip in August. Here are just a few shots from the afternoon’s canyon carving 🙂
I made it home just after 5pm, before traffic in town was too bad.
This was a great four-day trip.
– I feel like I stretched the distances I can travel over the summer and felt pretty comfortable with a daily average of just over 380 miles
– The weather cooperated the whole time, with mild temperatures and no rain
– I met a number of other bikers, and in one case his ‘co-pilot’ 🙂
– I made it home safe and sound which is always a good thing.
That part of the ride is incredible, glad you had the opportunity to fit it in. Al
Me, too!