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Wallowa Lake - Imnaha [Hells] Canyon out and back

November 29, 2019 (Morning)

Exercise Type: Bike

Weather: mid 20s/overcast --> heavy snow!

Comments:
Bert (and Courtney) are pretty hardcore cyclists, so today - despite my skepticism - we piled the road bikes into vehicles and drove into town, and north, hoping to find some clear roads.

Frankly, I thought it was ludicrous that we even brought bikes: the forecast was for snow and temps in the single digits - 20s, and mother nature delivered.

But Bert - who's more familiar with the area - thought we could find dry road if we drove downhill outside Joseph to the tiny town of Imnaha, on the south edge of Devil's Canyon.

So that's what we did.

My skepticism didn't prevent me from driving separately; CA and I took my truck, just in case we didn't want to ride in shit!

Drove into Joseph, got a couple MMLs (macadamia nut milk lattes - amazing!), then we headed north.

Interestingly, within a mile, the road was pretty clear. But we kept driving all the way to Imnaha, to be sure. It was, and though there were a few inches of snow on the shoulders and roadsides, it was bike-able.

But it was still cold! Like low 20s and a little breezy. So I bundled up, big-time: puffy jacket, baggy-ass "wind" pants over thicker SportHill pants, and mittens with chemical hand-warmers inside!

So when we got started, riding back the way we came, out of the tiny (like 20 building, two-business) town, I was dragging ass, and the three pedaled away.

No matter. I biked solo, and rather enjoyed it!

The canyon was treeless but had pretty cool (~500') ridges. A few houses here and there, and lots of cows, but very little traffic, which was great.

The ride was a gradual uphill grind, but hardly noticeable (except for riding slowly). The trio turned back to check on me every once in a while, and at 12.5 miles, we turned back, as the road was getting icy.

On the inbound, the downhill made for much faster riding. Since I rode a bit farther to get exactly 12.5, I was well behind everyone, so I rode harder to try to catch up.

Midway back...I looked up and saw a big, thich gray cloud with flakes: "Uh-oh!" Within a mile, it was snowing...and pretty hard, with a headwind!

I rode pretty damn hard, hoping to catch at least the girls.

The snow worsened, and it was clear that it was accumulating more, the farther north we rode.

Thankfully the miles flew by and, I covered the 12.5 miles in <40 minutes. Good thing, becuase by the time we got back to town, we were riding in over an inch of fresh snow! Yikes!

Fun adventure! And glad we finished when we did and not a moment later!

Rest of the day:
* quickly changed and drove back to Joseph...
* then drove to Enterprise (5mi to the NW) and went to Terminal Gravity for a happy hour beer! Delicious dark beers
* home, hung out, and - per the routine - ate, then played cards. :-p