Day 5 June 8 – Hood River, OR to Mary Hill, State Park, WA – 53 Miles

Today started with sunshine peaking thru.  We hoped we were far enough east to avoid the rains of yesterday.  The rest of the group had stayed at another small hotel in Hood River, and had decided to start early to try to make up miles.  Joe and I had to repack all our equipment that had been drying in the room so the prospects of an early start were out for us.  The other riders had finished breakfast and were leaving when we arrived.  They told us they were going to try to get as far as Roosevelt, WA about 83 miles.

Joe and I finished breakfast and headed out about a half hour later.  Just as were about to get on the bikes it started to rain.  I quickly put on the rain suit and outfitted my panniers with their rain covers.  By the time we got on our bikes, it had stopped raining.  For good measure I was going to leave the rain covers the rest of the day.

Near the east end of Hood River is a hiker/biker access only portion of the Columbia Gorge Heritage Trail.  It encompasses about 7 miles of a very scenic portion of old US 30.  It includes 2 tunnels near Mosier.  The trail winds its way up and down then back up.  The morning was filled with such climbs and descents.  The scenery changed significantly from Hood River as we moved east.  The climate became more arid and the landscape was filled with brown grasses and scrub pines.

It was difficult to select clothing for the ride today and we were constantly changing as we went from one altitude to another and from sunny skies to clouds.  A westerly wind picked up considerably as the day went on.

We made our lunch stop in The Dalles, OR.  We looked at our maps and decided that Mary Hill State Park in Washington, looked to be a reasonable goal for the day.  From The Dalles, we took the 197 bridge and entered Washington, the second state of our trip.

Route 14 on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge is a well maintained two lane road.  It is mostly flat from Vancouver, WA to near the 197 interchange, where it begins to more closely follow the undulating terrain.  While there were climbs on the Washington side, the grades were not nearly as steep as those on old 30 in Oregon.  The traffic is not heavy but it does move at a quick pace.

We arrived at Mary Hill State Park around 4 PM, a decent stopping time.  To continue on for 30 more miles would have put us in late.  We could see dark clouds moving in from the West and the temperature was dropping noticeably.  East of Mary Hill State Park there are very few if any services.  We will stock up in the morning before heading east.  Tonight Joe and I are camped along the shores of the Columbia River!