Saturday, August 26, 2017

Twilight Zone: Steens Mountain ride

August 2017: The big cross-country solar eclipse is scheduled for Aug. 21, 2017.  My friend and I have been planning "doing the eclipse" for at least 13 years, and now it's almost here.  Because he needs assistance getting around, he decided to drive over 2 days from Eugene to Baker City, and arrive on Friday, Aug 18. I would meet him there, driving from Seattle and we'd have some time to hang out before the big event.

I had read an article about "Steens Mountain" - a nearly 10000 foot "peak" in southeast Oregon, with a road you can ride on a bicycle, and all I knew was "it was a great ride".   Although Baker City is still 200 miles from the start of the ride, it's 371 miles closer than Seattle.  I asked my friend if it'd be OK to do the ride on Saturday, and he said sure.

I had the alarm set for 4am, got up at 3:45, got ready, and rolled out of Baker City in the dark at 4:30 am.  As I drove south, the sky lightened, and I got a spectacular view of the setting waning crescent moon hanging above the eastern horizon with bright Venus just above it.

The road alterately went over ridges, twisting and turning in 40 mph curves, and flat straight stretches where could open it up and fly.

As I descended one of these ridge roads just south of John Day, I spotted a man shuffling along the side of the road, the same direction as I was going.  He had long hair, sweatpants, and bare feet. We were miles from any town, store, or house.  I passed him, and then thought, "What's wrong with this picture? What's he doing out here miles from anywhere, with bare feet no less?"  I turned around, and pulled up next to him "Hey, you need a lift?" "Oh that'd be great". I turned around again, and he got in.  "I'm heading to Burns, if that's OK with you", I said.  "Sure, I guess."  

He told me that he had come up from Santa Barbara, where he lived, with two friends, to see the eclipse.  They were going to photograph it and had found a great site, and left him there to save it.  "Where are they now?" "I don't know..."   He continued: "I was walking down a path, and there were teenagers on bikes with guns, although they didn't shoot them.  And I saw a momma bear feeding her cubs, and a mother moose feeding her babies. "

"I'm Geoff, what's your name?"  "I'm actually Transgender - I didn't even know that word until recently. I go by Birdie - like 'tweet tweet'.  And I'm trying to make some other changes in my life, too. I've always been left handed, but I've decided to be right handed from now on.  Hey, do you have a tissue for my nose?" "Here are some napkins."  I noticed later as he needed to put them in the trash, they had blood on them, and his face was scratched up.  "How'd your face get scratched?  Did you fall out of a car?" "Yes, that's what happened."   (I regretted giving him the suggestion , he seemed to sieze on it as reality).

"So where are your friends? Can we give them a call?"  "I don't have a phone." "I do, do you know their number?"  He didn't know.  He continued "Last night I was cleaning out my furnace, and dealing with a pile of bricks in the basement - there's a lot of work to do at my house."

We neared Burns, and after driving through the deserted town, I said "Hey, we're in Burns, how about I let you out here?" "Sure, OK..."  He was an easy to get along with guy.

As he got out and stepped on the gravel shoulder, he remarked "I have bare feet. I used to have flip flops."  "Well, perhaps but you were bare feet when I picked you up."

He shut the door and started shuffling off.  I watched him for 30 seconds as I drove away, then turned around, and parked right by the Senior Center. "Hey hang on a sec.  Lemme make a call."  911.  "911 what is your emergency?"  "I am in Burns right by the Senior Center.  I picked up a guy back on 395 coming from John Day, who is bare footed, scratched up, and lost." "OK we'll send an officer."

5 minutes later, the officer arrives, and talks with Birdie.   He gets the same story I got.  "Are you on any drugs? Marijuana? "No." "Take any medications? "  "Niacin."  "What day is it?"  "Thursday?  (it was Saturday)  Took us 3 days to drive up... Friday?"  "What year is it?"  "2017" "Who is the President?" " Donald Trump".  But he also told the officer about the furnace.  "Where IS your house?" "oh..  that's a good question!" 

The officer called for another officer to confirm all details and then said "We think that since you're scratched up, and you've been out all night, you should get checked out at the hospital.  We can commit you, or you can sign yourself in." "What's cheaper?" "Neither, but if you're indigent, they will treat you."

At this point I asked the officers if it was OK if I took off, and they were "Yeah sure, you're good. We got this."  So I shook his hand, said goodbye, and said "These fellows will take care of you."  And I drove the rest of the way to the bike ride.

What an interesting delay!  I hope his friends will look for him, and eventually make it to town!

8:30 I start up Steens Mountain - a gravel road, 30 miles long to the summit , going up almost all the time at various pitches.  There is a lot of washboarding that is hard to ride on going uphill and impossible to ride on going downhill.  There is an occasional path of flat road, and also windrows of loose gravel that are dangerous to ride in.  The ride is slow going and I'm tempted to quit or get a ride to the top many times, but eventually I get there, hours later than I had planned.  I did NOT want to ride down - difficult riding, very slow and brakes all the way, and it'd be dark before I got to the bottom - so I decided to try to hitch a ride to the bottom.  There were a few cars in the summit parking lot, and eventually a group of hikers came back to one. "Can I hitch a ride down?" "Sure."  4 people, mid 30's, 3 guys, one girl,  plus a medium dog with short salt and pepper color coat.  We pulled the wheels off the bike and fit it in the back, then 2 up front, 3 in the back, with the girl in the middle with the dog on her lap.  The dog's head was right where she could rest it on my knee, which was just fine with me.  I told them this whole story as we drove down the 30 miles of washboard gravel road.

As we neared Frenchglen where I was going to get off, I went to pet the dog and noticed her nametag for the first time.  BIRDIE.