Some people apparently died there (they got stuck in the snow in winter), I got into the heat, which only made me jump straight into Rogue river once I had made it down from the mountain and rejoined it. It’s a tough ride and now the day after, I still feel like almost dead.
Bear camp road is a very beautiful back road that takes you from Gold Beach over the coastal range to Grants Pass, it cuts short the Rogue river valley over the hill top. You pass along Agness, one of the most secluded communities of Oregon, without really going through town (that would be a couple more miles to go) It’s fishing and river rafting area. All the cars you see on the road are outdoor agencies with boat trailers going to and fro, loaded with customers and canoes or empty. Bear Camp, the top, is around 1400m but you do much more climbing as it goes up and down before the real climb even starts. Total distance from Gold Beach to Grants Pass its approx. 90 miles.
I topped off my water bottles on the campsite on the Agness road near the junction with Bear Camp road and made sure with the camp hosts that it would be possible to dry camp anywhere along the road. Then off I went to the wilderness. There is again a very beautiful park/campsite on the river close to Hell’s gate at the other side. I was so tired once I reached it that I considered staying there. Going from that last campsite close to Agness all the way to Hell’s gate would make a reasonable day load, but I had contacted a Warmshowers host in Grants Pass, so I did go on once being so close. I crushed under a tree and joined his dwarf when I reached the house until he got home.
Today I finally hit the freaky bar somewhere outside Merlin. The Thelma and Louise kind of bar. It sayed “No minors” at the door, it was dark inside and full of people you never want to meet again in your life. They had cool coke and that was all I wanted.
Tales of the Queen 