Oregon Outback Route – Day 2

A hotel?

Continuing on my route planning and having settled on a one day push to the Cowboy Dinner Tree, I started contemplating day two. Once again, I pulled up the official route and started reviewing notable stops and camping opportunities.

Looking at the map, Fort Rock comes at less than 20 miles from breaking camp, that was far too close. There’s the Prineville reservoir at mile 80, and many campsites northward along the crooked river. That seemed promising. However, it would leave 160 miles for the next two days. Days where I presumed we wouldn’t be nearly as fresh. I looked up the road further.

Prineville – A real bed!

Only 25 miles or so up the road from the reservoir was Prineville proper, the biggest town in the middle of the route. There are actual hotels, with beds and showers in Prineville. This would mean two back to back century plus days, but it would also mean an opportunity to shower and charge everything. Then we could attack the Ochoco forest, fully charged, restocked, and well rested, with only 70 miles (and a hearty 5,000′ of climbing) for day 3. If all else fails, we could bail along the Crooked River and see Prineville in the morning.

Up next, routing, day 3.