Day five - Depoe Bay, OR to Winchester Bay

Nice day today, although every morning is sooo freaking cold. It takes a lot to get going. I discovered that if I stuff my sleeping bag and deflate and roll up my thermarest before I get out of the tent, it warms me up. It's the wrist excercise of rolling that gets the blood flowing. Yeah man. Wrist excercise in the morning.

Once the fog burned off, it turned out to be an amazing day. Breathtaking views that made all the climbs worthwhile.

Today, I observed an interesting phenomenon as I kept passing the same hitch-hikers over and over again as they would go from town to town and I'd catch up with them. One set of hitch-hikers was a young couple who asked me for a lift. I didn't want to go into the details of how that wasn't a feasible option and instead smiled and waved. I saw them again three more times down the road. The other was a lone guy who had the disheveled look of a science major at UW Madison: Bearded, indifferent and way creepy. The couple held a sign that simply read "South" while the other guy just held out a less descriminant thumb, though he was hanging out on the southbound side. (Aren't we clever mister science major.)

The last twenty miles were a little nerve wracking in that I had to get to my campsite before sundown. I have a tail-light and I am quite well covered with reflective material; but it would have been impossible to see where I was going once the sun was gone. But I got in, and just intime to see the sunset opposite the Umpqua Lighthouse. Set up camp and slept.

During those last 20 miles though, I debated whether or not to change plans and just take it easy--50 to 60 mile days--and take a bus to L.A. from wherever I end up. I suppose a holiday shouldn't have to be mixed with this anxiety of getting from place to place on time. But it's part holiday and part challenge to myself, so I'm going to keep at it for a while. I'm still a day up and when I need a break, I can afford to take one. And so, I truck on.

For the day:
Rolling time: 6:50:31
Distance: 86.70 miles
Avg speed: 12.67 mph